I don't support these tarrifs. I would, however, support tarrifs on offshoring. Let's say a company replaces a team of onshore programmers with offshore ones to "save money". They should have tarrifs/taxes imposed on them, so that those savings evaporate into thin air. That would both prevent exploitation of desperate workers overseas and protect jobs here.
New US Tariffs are Anti-Maker and Will Encourage Offshoring
331–340 of 357 posts
Re: New US Tariffs are Anti-Maker and Will Encourage Offshoring
#332Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’ll concede that Trump indeed doesn’t say nice things. But there is little point in understanding what he says because tomorrow he could just as well say the complete opposite. Most of it is just empty posturing anyway so there isn’t a lot to understand. I think most countries are just trying to shield themselves from his damage until his term ends.
>empty posturing Trump has followed through on his posturing several times now. I think he’s shown the world he’s not joking around. I think it’s legitimate to criticize his actions, but I don’t thing it’s accurate to say his posturing is empty.
> Most of it
You can’t change most of it by changing some of it.
Re: New US Tariffs are Anti-Maker and Will Encourage Offshoring
#333Earlier quoted context omitted.
There is no trade deficit with Canada. At all. Claiming there is one, in the face of all facts to the contrary, is not having a discussion in good faith.
So instead of enlightening me with these facts, you accuse me of acting in bad faith? I was under the impression that there was a trade deficit with Canada given the evidence I have found: https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c1220.html . jeromegv said there was no trade deficit with Canada, so I assumed good faith and responded to him/her under the pretense that they were referring to the "aggregate sales su…
My understanding is that your reference doesn't include services. I find this: https://www.usitc.gov/publications/industry_econ_analysis_33... and a synthesis by the WP: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/06/11/w...
It seems that US and Canada trade is globally balanced.
Re: New US Tariffs are Anti-Maker and Will Encourage Offshoring
#334Earlier quoted context omitted.
There is no trade deficit with Canada.
There was a cumulative $370 billion trade deficit going back to 2007, and a nearly $800 billion trade deficit back to year 2000. There has been a trade deficit with Canada every year the past 30+ years, including so far in 2018. [1] How would Canada like to run a $800 billion trade deficit with the US over the next 17 years? You know, just to make things fair over time. Didn't think so. On the upside, the trade defic…
It doesn't count services. I did find a useful link when I wanted to respond to another comment : https://www.usitc.gov/publications/industry_econ_analysis_33...
Re: New US Tariffs are Anti-Maker and Will Encourage Offshoring
#335Earlier quoted context omitted.
Even better, they will re-open the factory but because of better tech, instead of the 5000 employees from 20-30 years ago, they'll have just 100, many of which will be either remote or specialists who move in for this exact position. Not the 5000 local blue collar workers :)
Advances in manufacturing automation is actually the strongest argument in favor of rebuilding a domestic manufacturing base.
Yeah, but are tariffs the best way to achieve this?
Re: New US Tariffs are Anti-Maker and Will Encourage Offshoring
#336Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Access to US consumers is a big bargaining chip Which is why finished consumer products are not part of the new tariffs, so companies that make stuff in China and ship it to the US are better off than companies buying parts in China and assembling in the US? Or was there a big push of end-product tariffs before that didn't make headlines? In most cases, buying all your parts locally is fairly impractical. (The docu…
I think you’re making an assumption that the ongoing trade negotiations is static. It’s not. Today it’s parts, tomorrow it could be fully assembled goods. If you’re going to negotiate, you don’t play all your cards at once. I don’t think the end state of the negotiations is protectionist tariffs for the US, it’s to get China to drop their protectionist tariffs. If we reach that end goal, how is that a bad thing?
It just seems odd to put tariffs on things that'll hurt local industries and make life harder for companies that have moved at least some production steps into your country (after lots of talk to encourage companies to do that, and apparently at least some successes doing that) over those that operate entirely outside.
> I don’t think the end state of the negotiations is protectionist tariffs for the US
We'll see, at least some of the recent tariffs seem to be exactly that, e.g. the steel and aluminium tariffs against the EU (which are now countered by the EU with tariffs on american exports) to limit their exports to the US, all the while complaining about Canada doing the same for agricultural products.
Re: New US Tariffs are Anti-Maker and Will Encourage Offshoring
#337Earlier quoted context omitted.
So instead of enlightening me with these facts, you accuse me of acting in bad faith? I was under the impression that there was a trade deficit with Canada given the evidence I have found: https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c1220.html . jeromegv said there was no trade deficit with Canada, so I assumed good faith and responded to him/her under the pretense that they were referring to the "aggregate sales su…
My understanding is that your reference doesn't include services. I find this: https://www.usitc.gov/publications/industry_econ_analysis_33... and a synthesis by the WP: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/06/11/w... It seems that US and Canada trade is globally balanced.
You're right. It looks like US - Canada services trade surplus makes up for the goods deficit.
Re: New US Tariffs are Anti-Maker and Will Encourage Offshoring
#338Earlier quoted context omitted.
You are correct, but most restaurants just multiple the food cost by 4 to set the price. It is rather silly, but that is the way the industry works.
I don't think it's silly to come up with a pricing method that is simple and uniform to apply. However, "4" can just as easily morph to "3" or "5" if the fundamental costs change industrywide.
It is silly because food cost is only one part of the cost of providing a meal. Really all of the costs should be dumped into a program which spits out exactly what to charge for each menu item.
Re: New US Tariffs are Anti-Maker and Will Encourage Offshoring
#339Earlier quoted context omitted.
really? never got hit with duties from imports that were under-declare, even in cases where the item in question was obviously worth more than $20 (eg. phones).
I take it that knowingly participating in fraud doesn't bother you at all?
I was under the impression that the importer must do a declaration and pay the duty. The exporter is lying but the importer is really the one committing fraud.
Re: New US Tariffs are Anti-Maker and Will Encourage Offshoring
#340A repost of my comment from few months ago: When it comes to trade war topic these days, most Western commentators completely miss that a trade war is what China was preparing for the last three decades. They well expected somebody like Trump eventually coming, as well as economic pressure on a scale even bigger than what the West puts on North Korea and banana republics. They totally understood that the West will no…
The US tried to do that for a long time in the Middle East and South America. China may be underestimating just how unstable these regions are. It's all fun and strategy until the Taliban starts blowing up your infrastructure because its haram
The difference is that outside China, Chinese leaders doesn't try to push for a model. They don't push for things like Human Right, Intellectual Right, Representative Democracy ...