Tariffs Catch-All

  • Thread starter Thread starter BubbaOtis
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I find it fascinating when tariff apologists cite specific examples that they think will prove the rightness of their position, only to be shown by actual data just how fucking stupid they actually are. It won't make them apologize with any less vigor, but it's incredibly amusing to watch the gymnastics happen in real time.
 
Interesting. That's why you think F-150s and Chevy Suburbans are not being sold in Japan? Have you ever been to Japan?
Hell, have you ever driven a Ford Focus or Chevy Cruze, and then drove a Civic or Corolla?

US auto manufacturers aren't competitive internationally because they:
  1. Make non competitive vehicles in their classes, most notably because they fail the reliable test. One offs exist, like Buick was once a big seller in the luxury adjacent category in China and the Ford c-Max and Focus had their time in the EU markets. Yet, when the Prius, Corolla, Civic, HRV, market specific subcompacts, and better hybrid and electric tech exist, the US manufacturers don't have much of a market, particularly when Tesla is run by a Nazi.
  2. Make absurdly sized vehicles that make no sense in the more urbanized, walkable, and public transit supported international communities.
 
Hell, have you ever driven a Ford Focus or Chevy Cruze, and then drove a Civic or Corolla?

US auto manufacturers aren't competitive internationally because they:
  1. Make non competitive vehicles in their classes, most notably because they fail the reliable test. One offs exist, like Buick was once a big seller in the luxury adjacent category in China and the Ford c-Max and Focus had their time in the EU markets. Yet, when the Prius, Corolla, Civic, HRV, market specific subcompacts, and better hybrid and electric tech exist, the US manufacturers don't have much of a market, particularly when Tesla is run by a Nazi.
  2. Make absurdly sized vehicles that make no sense in the more urbanized, walkable, and public transit supported international communities.
I have no idea what you’re talking about. I park this bad boi every night in front of my chalet in Azabu. 1747066537855.gif
 
Are American car manufacturers looking to sell more cars in Japan? If so, wouldn’t this be achieved by making cars that the Japanese consumer would want?
How is Trump going to negotiate so that the Japanese consumer wants to buy American cars?
First, American automakers better up their quality game if they want to sell more cars to the Japanese….S. Koreans, Germans….pretty much each market in the world.
 
This is presumably what Trump is trying to "fix":

Capture.PNG
What In this chart is he trying to fix? I may be wrong because there isn’t any explanation of what these numbers represent, but it looks like in black it is tariffs we imposed on goods from other countries on 4/2 compared to the new tariff levels.
 
This isn't about just Japanese cars. It's about other countries generally imposing high tariffs on US goods while we generally don't impose tariffs on their goods.
We’ve had tariffs on “light trucks” since the ‘80’s. SUV’s, minivans, pick-up trucks.

Those tariffs are why “light trucks” are so profitable for Detroit AND help explain why the quality of those American-made vehicles is so low.
 
What In this chart is he trying to fix?
Season 4 Andy GIF by The Office
I may be wrong because there isn’t any explanation of what these numbers represent, but it looks like in black it is tariffs we imposed on goods from other countries on 4/2 compared to the new tariff levels.

The tariffs on the right are Trump's new tariffs. The left is what are imposed on the US.
 
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The tariffs on the right are Trump's new tariffs. The left is what are imposed on the US.
Incorrect.

Here is the graph pulled back out, which states the tariffs on the right are the revised US tariffs announced as of 4/9, and the tariffs on the left are the original US tariffs announced as of 4/2.

Screenshot 2025-05-12 at 1.53.04 PM.png
 
Ok, but that's still what he's presumably looking to fix, right?
So we're back to square one, huh? Didn't pay any attention to what's been going on?

The trade deficit is not something to "fix." It is a consequence of American choices, mainly the political choice as to deficit spending but also the personal choices about savings rates.

There are two ways to address the overconsumption. First is to make consumption more expensive. Tariffing foreign goods will create a one-time jump in price level, and then consumption will fall. If the consumption can be replaced by domestic production, then consumption will rebound somewhat due to import substitution. But to the extent that domestic production cannot fill the void, what happens is a forced reduction in consumption by Americans. That could come in the form of inflation, or unemployment, or both.

So that's the tariff strategy: make everyone poorer to make imports decline, and hope to make it up through domestic supply.

Another strategy to reduce the trade deficit would be to lower the federal deficit. If we have to borrow less from abroad to finance our public spending, then our trade deficit will also shrink (as they are mirror images of each other). And one way to do that would be to not cut taxes for the rich people yet again. We need more tax revenues, period. If they were serious about the trade deficit, they wouldn't basically be ending all tax enforcement. They would step it up, over and above Biden's increases, since it's a tremendously profitable investment. More taxes paid by Americans to the government = fewer dollars need borrowing from abroad.
 
IF trillions of $ (a lie) were pouring into the US, then that would be incredibly inflationary.
Was just recently reading about this.


The Price Revolution, sometimes known as the Spanish Price Revolution, was a series of economic events that occurred between the second half of the 16th century and the first half of the 17th century, and most specifically linked to the high rate of inflation that occurred during this period across Western Europe. Prices rose on average roughly sixfold over 150 years. This level of inflation amounts to 1.2% per year compounded, a relatively low inflation rate for modern-day standards, but rather high given the monetary policy in place in the 16th century.<a href="Price revolution - Wikipedia"><span>[</span>1<span>]</span></a>

Generally it is thought that this high inflation was caused by the large influx of gold and silver from the Spanish treasure fleet from the New World; including Mexico, Peru, Bolivia and the rest of the Spanish Empire.<a href="Price revolution - Wikipedia"><span>[</span>2<span>]</span></a><span title="Page: 70">: 70 </span>

Specie flowed through Spain increasing its prices and those of allied European countries (e.g., the imperial territories of Charles V). Wealth then spread to the rest of Western Europe as a result of the Spanish balance of payments deficit, or was directly introduced to countries like Great Britain and France, using piracy to attack the Spanish fleet. This enlarged the monetary supply and price levels of many European countries.
 
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