| the-pi-guy said: The current narrative is that everyone else was tariffing us first. A lot of conservatives have been running with that - even graciously accepting the incoming recession. I've found it very hard to actually investigate how many countries had tariffs - a lot of Google search results are focused on the current Trump tariff war. So I really doubt that most of those conservatives could even come up with 3 examples of other countries having tariffs on the US before all of this. Critically though, even without research, it is a very blatantly dishonest take, as there's no consideration for what tariffs exist or what percentage they are at. A 45% tariff on every single import from a country is equally as bad a 1% tariff on US steel in that framework. When they clearly have very different economic effects. |
The goalposts are moving as that gets debunked. Now they're claiming that the tariffs are to level out trade deficits.
Take the automotive industry. Ford and Chevy pretty much only survive on gigantic gas- and diesel-guzzling trucks like the F-series and the Silverado. These vehicles are not suited to European roads, and the build quality isn't all that good, either. Why would Europeans pick these vehicles over their own vehicles? And it's even more ludicrous to think that the Japanese would rather buy a Ford F-150 than a Toyota, Honda, or even a Suzuki or Isuzu. Japanese cars are awesome. Even Americans know this, which is why Toyota and Honda dominate the lists of best-selling cars other than the aforementioned F-series and the Silverado.
Apple is pretty popular in Asia. American chain restaurants and snack foods do well over there, so it's not just "Asian snobbery" or tariffs or what have you. They make products that people in other countries actually want to buy.
Vietnam runs a $123 billion deficit with the U.S., which is the fourth largest trade deficit (after China, the EU, and Mexico). But Vietnam manufactures stuff for the U.S. market. The U.S. has a voracious appetite for goods that it cannot meet internally. Meanwhile, a lot of American products are too expensive for the average Vietnamese salary, and Vietnam has a population less than one third of the U.S. What, exactly, are they supposed to be buying? Ditto with China and Mexico. China and Europe also have local manufacturers that make things for domestic consumption, and Chinese manufacturers can actually price stuff at a level that a Chinese salary can afford.
As someone else put it, you probably run a 100% trade deficit with your local grocery store, unless you're a farmer with a contract. They have things you want/need to buy, but you likely have nothing to sell to them, so you trade in cash you get from your sources of income.
