Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

kielinstitut.de

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 814 posts

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

#61

Post by vlovich123 »

FrustratedMonky wrote: post #11
duxup wrote: 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.

Specifically Congress. The President doesn’t have the right to create taxes which is one key difference here. The argument is whether Congress abdicated their power here and whether that’s something they can do in the first place.

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

#62

Post by throw101010 »

wanderinghogan wrote: post #23
sensanaty wrote: post #13

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.

FOX News, after their scandal with Dominion, should have been broken down or even shutdown.

They deliberately disinformed the public, there is blatant evidence that the news anchors were aware that they were lying. Not just bending facts a little or opining, but knowingly and purposefully lying.

The pretext of freedom of expression, and more narrowly freedom of press should not *continue* to apply to businesses/individuals which are found liable/guilty of such destructive behavior for the society they operate in.

The same should apply to people like Alex Jones, you had your chance to use freedom and you have wasted it, move on to another profession.

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

#63

Post by disgruntledphd2 »

dfee wrote: post #37
sensanaty wrote: post #13

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

even if we take the number presented as fact (i'm not sure we should), the articles claim is that: > "Foreign exporters absorb only about 4% of the tariff burden-the remaining 96% is passed through to US buyers." so yeah, the exporter does pay some burden. it's not binary. indeed, tariff exports can be designed in a way to dial either direction. certainly, we could dial foreign exporters burden to 0% – and we could d…

> finally, the effect of tariffs is argued to be wealth transfer to the US Treasury. this is worth thinking harder about. but also, exports may change from whom goods are purchased. thus, it's a diplomatic policy, as well.

It's a national sales tax really.

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

#64

Post by mrtksn »

I always thought that this tariff stuff is about restraining American consumerism first and coerce export oriented countries.

Also, this obsession over the importance of accessing US consumers feels ridiculous. If Americans aren't buying then it means more stuff for everyone else.

EU/China etc. sends actual things to US and US sends back dollars that are created out of thin air. It must be a restructuring pain more than anything since US doesn't actually export much goods. With the proliferation of cheap and available solar energy the trade with US can halt, endure the pain of restructuring came out of the other side with using the produced goods domestically instead of sending them to US and replace the US services with domestic ones. Then US can produce their things that they consume and have 350M market for the US companies instead of 7B.

It almost looks like Trump is Pushing for US irrelevance, its vey strange. Why would US be looking to abandone such an advantageous position? The people in the rest of the world are working their asses off, breathing toxic air just to obtain dollars.

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

#65

Post by like_any_other »

protoster wrote: post #18
sensanaty wrote: post #13

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

Many problems in the world would be solved if people actually read Economics 101.

Does reading Econ 101 make one okay with losing their industrial base to a competitor that hasn't bought into the free market dogma?

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

#66

Post by shaky-carrousel »

There's an entire world to trade with. If the Americans choose to shoot themselves in the foot, we won't be the ones paying for the bandage.

Also, it's deeply naïve to assume tariffed countries would absorb the cost. Why would they? It's like going into a shop and asking for a discount because you just took out a loan. Why would the shop give you a discount for something you inflicted on yourself? And what makes you think other customers wouldn't ask for the same discount?

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

#67

Post by dghlsakjg »

mekdoonggi wrote: post #41
protoster wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many problems in the world would be solved if people actually read Economics 101.

Surprisingly few Americans can read, and surprisingly fewer at a college level.

I was an econ major, and a lot of the lower level courses were required for business majors.

It was genuinely shocking how many people from the latter group just could not understand the absolute basics of supply curves and demand curves.

The upside is that I was able to help them understand it by offering tutoring, where I was in limited supply, and there was endless demand for my services!

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

#68

Post by timeon »

anovikov wrote: post #45

What's the problem about it? Trump cuts one kinds of taxes and introduces others in place. I see it reasonable because it means going from taxing good things (people making money, people holding property) to taxing bad things (imports that drain cash from the country). Direct net result is perhaps zero, but indirect one is what it's for.

> to taxing bad things

Yeah no need for coffee beans in USA.

Seems more like from taxing companies to taxing citizens.

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

#69

Post by disgruntledphd2 »

pembrook wrote: post #57

Obviously this was always going to be the case. But here’s the hard truth: the US has needed to raise taxes for decades given its inability to reduce spending. Hence they massively inflating runaway deficit. If this is the only way Americans will accept tax increases, and they aren’t willing to decrease spending, then this policy will ironically end up being the only way forward to climb out of the financial hole.

Except that the budget post tariffs completely messed up that plan.

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

#70

Post by [deleted] »

jcims wrote: post #58
sensanaty wrote: post #13

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

There's been this phrase 'passing costs off to the consumer' that I've heard since I was a kid, used as some kind of indictment against companies raising prices when their costs go up. Even as a kid I was confused. Where else is the money going to come from?

[deleted]
Post reply on HN