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American importers and consumers bear the cost of 2025 tariffs: analysis

kielinstitut.de

21–30 of 814 posts

Re: American importers and consumers bear the cost of 2025 tariffs: analysis

#21
post #8

We will see if SCOTUS majority decides tariffs are a tax or not and push the absurdity of their position even farther. I fear that they already decided that issue when they chose not to intervene and now have the excuse of "lol well can't undo it now" ready to go. Edit: It appears Trump & Co intend to replace SCOTUS if they lose the tariffs ruling ... https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/19/us/politics/trump-tariffs... --…

I remember the justification for Obama Care was by calling it a 'type of tax'. Which actually was the reason to negate the rights argument at the time, they were using to cancel it. The government is allowed to create 'taxes', and since it was a 'type of tax', it is allowed.

That’s just the justification for the individual responsibility penalty. SCOTUS justified the penalty by saying it is a tax on inaction.

Re: American importers and consumers bear the cost of 2025 tariffs: analysis

#23

Isn't this literally economics 101? How did we ever even end up imagining that tariffs are somehow paid by the exporter??

I suspect tens of millions of Americans believe whatever they are told by their trusted "news" source. My only basis is anecdotal though, a dozen or so "maga/trump no matter what" family members and people I grew up with are mostly believing the tariffs are something other countries are paying the US.

Re: American importers and consumers bear the cost of 2025 tariffs: analysis

#24

Isn't this literally economics 101? How did we ever even end up imagining that tariffs are somehow paid by the exporter??

No, it isn’t that simple. Who bears the most weight depends on the elasticity of the curve on each side. This is confirming demand is more inelastic, which causes it to bear the burden, but could have been the other way around.

Re: American importers and consumers bear the cost of 2025 tariffs: analysis

#25

Isn't this literally economics 101? How did we ever even end up imagining that tariffs are somehow paid by the exporter??

There's this tribe who have been systematically shepherded into having no critical thinking skills.

Re: American importers and consumers bear the cost of 2025 tariffs: analysis

#26
I actually think Trump is going to lose big soon. One turning point was the death of Renee Good. Past this point the ICE stormtroopers may kill anyone else too, no matter who that is - just step in front of a car and shoot when the car moves.

For serious penalty, all those TechBro cronies need to have all assets seized. They are imcompatible with democracy.

Re: American importers and consumers bear the cost of 2025 tariffs: analysis

#27
The most depressing thing about the tariff fiasco is how stupid and gullible many people are because a significant number of them thought that the other country was somehow going to pay the tariff.

I don't mind people being ignorant. We all are at some point. We all learn. But what's really depressing is that people who wear their ignorance and intentional unwillingness to learn like it's a badge of honor.

In the early 2010s I had discussions with people who pushed the idea of the resurgence of anti-intellectualism in the US, which I dismissed at the time. I think about that a lot.

Re: American importers and consumers bear the cost of 2025 tariffs: analysis

#28

Can the title be changed to match some of the content text (eg America’s Own Goal: Who Pays the Tariffs?) ‘US Americans’ makes it sound as if a distinction is being drawn between Americans inside and outside of the US or something

As an american not from the US, I'm glad they used "US Americans"

Re: American importers and consumers bear the cost of 2025 tariffs: analysis

#29
post #10
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then it was a big win for Putin and his agent in the White House.

Ive done a lot of analysis on the Trump as Putin agent topic. I found he nearly as often acts agents Russia as with. What's more likely is he treats Putin as an inspiration, wrt to converting the country to an oligarchy and offshoring national funds for himself.

Yeah. The idea that he's a Russian asset, although tempting, has always seemed to me like a coping mechanism of sorts – externalizing the evil, like blaming the devil for one's bad deeds.

And, of course, Hanlon's razor is very much relevant here, although certainly it doesn't apply to everybody in Trump's inner circle. Some of them are very much competent and malevolent.

Re: American importers and consumers bear the cost of 2025 tariffs: analysis

#30
post #7

American trade policy has gone so far in the direction of Mercantilism that both the Neoliberal and the Keynesian economists can agree on something. That's not a good thing.

Keynsian economists are in favour of reducing global imbalances. While tariffs are a crude and disruptive tool to achieve it, the US ultimately can unilaterally close the gap.

What is misleading is labeling a global system marked by large, persistent imbalances as benign or indicative of "free trade". A healthy free trade system should have balanced trade, and the reasons that are not are unfortunately the fault of surplus nations like China or the EU. I know, its unintuitive, but going back to Bretton Woods to IMF analysis will back this point.

P.S if one wants to note the grocery shop analogy, a better analogy is that if you count up all your transactions, your income should exceed your spending, or else you're probably in trouble. That's roughly the problem here, but made more complex with the shenanigans of the US dollar.

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