The free-trade globalization crowd – who saw the 80s up to early 2000s as their heyday– believe in a world that does not exist the way they say it does on paper. Do you think Germany allows Ford Mustang’s into their country tariff free? EU charges Ford a 10 percent tariff, four times what we charge their automakers.
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Too many people don't realize that:
ReplyDelete1. "Free trade" and "Fair Trade" are tow very different things.
2. Free Trade IS the best approach, but only if everyone does it.
3. You can't let Free Trade be an opportunity to export "social problems".
I'm all for Free Trade. But if it isn't Free on both sides, then we should exactly mirror their trade practices . They charge a 10% tariff on cars? We should as well.
ReplyDeleteAny product that they charge a tax/tariff on, we should as well. Any product they restrict, we should have an equivalent restriction for one of theirs.
Every country, every export/import product.
If we can't have true Free Trade, then lets have Even Trade practices.
Makes good sense.
DeleteIt must be election year our elite admit water is wet. At a minimum we should have a law of reciprocally tariffs. But our better know what best for us from there ivory towers.
ReplyDeleteTariffs are simply a way for the government to skim more money into its pockets while protecting domestic producers from foreign competition. NEVER mentioned is slashing government power, size, regulations, taxes, etc. that HOBBLE the domestic producers, nor any calls for elimination of the domestic protectionism that enables domestic producers to not face serious competition within the country either. Government is just a protection racket set up by big business to keep them wealthy. Slashing government, slashing taxes, increasing freedom, etc. would ALSO put more money back into the hands of citizens, who could then not be essentially FORCED to go in search of the lowest possible price simply to try and stay afloat.
ReplyDeleteTariffs were intended to be how the feral government was funded. We need to expand the tariffs and get rid of the income tax.
Deletex2 well said
DeleteThe dirty little secret of the free trade proponents is SLAVE LABOR-unionized labor in this country could never compete with that; I think that's been made clear.
ReplyDeleteCC
Americans generally are unaware of how much of what they buy and consume is on the backs of modern slaves. Clothes, those fancy cell phones... built by people laboring under conditions that drive many to suicide. Think about that.
DeleteThere is no such thing as free trade if a government is involved. In the US there are subsidies, EPA, OSHA, Naltional Labor dept, USDA, etc. Each government agency putting a restriction on the manufacturer causing the product to cost more. Some restrictions make it cost prohibitive to be made in the US. So it is made off shore. The offshore company will not have all these restrictions. I think the climate cult (china) through the various agencies is trying to regulate most production out of the US so it is made in china.
ReplyDeleteNo pollution in the US means it does not exist any where in the world because china is running the show.
Freaking .gov has made everything so damn difficult that to start a small business is damn near impossible. Fuck a kid needs to permit just to sell lemonade. Next that same kid will need visits from OSHA, health inspectors, a tax number, file W2s and 1040s, and a vaxxx to protect the public. Just for starters. So no wonder so much is made offshore. And that doesn't even include all the unfair trade practices.
DeleteAmen to that. Just look at the way subsidized corn exports destroyed Mexican small farmers in the 50's and 60's. Subsidizing shit is just as stupid as legislating it into unprofitability.
DeleteIMHO we should stop ALL farm subsidies, deregulate (or better, legalize) everything, and tax everything imported at a flat rate, unless it's from China (which essentially subsidizes everything) or it's subsidized in the source nation.
But that'll never happen, and certainly NOT all at once. So incrementalism FTW, taxing the shit out of Chinese imports is an OK start. Better to start by reducing our own subsidies and such, but I'll take what we can get.
John G