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Comment by ccorcos

7 days ago

I really want to read a good response to this comment. I have the same questions, and I’ll add one more thought.

Lots of people talk about how the US should be more like Europe. People say the average European has a better quality of life, etc. Well, Europe has tariffs…

8 comments

ccorcos

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horsawlarway  7 days ago

So does the US??? Ex - we've been placing tariffs on solar/ev parts for many years now to drive investment in those industries (And this is hardly the only place we've done this).

Targeted tariffs to protect and strengthen specific industries are fine - especially if done slowly and while supporting those industries internally to make sure that they aren't disrupted, and that they can actually capitalize on the space provided by a tariff.

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This policy is not fucking that. It's just a backdoor tax on everyone, with zero planning and support internally to bring those industries back.

Simple terms for your simple comment:

A morbidly obese guy slowly exercising is great.

A morbidly obese guy getting dropped into a marathon with no prep is a recipe for a heart attack.

qingcharles  7 days ago

Europe has tariffs. Everywhere has tariffs. Europe doesn't have tariffs like this.

Europe has higher taxes. But, somehow, despite the inefficiencies of governments, this produces a happier populace who work less and vacation more.

ViewTrick1002  7 days ago

Europe has tariffs pretty much in line with the US. The weighted average tariff for the EU is 2.7% and 2.2% for the US.

There's of course the opportunity to get those in line, but that requires negotiations.

  • ccorcos  7 days ago

    Weighted average is an interesting metric, but I'm not sure of its value in this context. I can imagine that perhaps 2-3% is more of an equilibrium and any amount of tariffs will still trend towards some market equlibrium.

    I believe the EU has 10% tariffs on all US autos and we didnt have tariff theirs. That seems relevant in a way that this weighted average doesn't account for, right?

    • rat87  7 days ago

      We tarrif Trucks because they tarrifed our chickens. Tarrifs are pretty complicated and often don't make sense. But no the idea that EU tarrifs on the US are much higher on average is unsupportable

    • ViewTrick1002  7 days ago

      And the US has a 25% tariff on F150s (light duty vehicles).

      You can go tit for tat down the line, but all in all the numbers I gave you are the sum of everything.

      Heavy tariffs won’t bring an equilibrium. It will only make imported goods expensive and allow the existing domestic producers to become laze and uncompetitive, all in all zeroing their export value.