Like I said, I'm not saying that there haven't been attempts to adjust tariffs, I'm saying I don't trust Wikipedia for anything. I don't trust the bureaucrats, Even if they've tried 50 times, to adjust them correctly, especially when you're talking about poorer countries.
1. You not trusting Wikipedia is a you problem. It's based on a fundamental misunderstanding of how wikipedia works. wikipedia is by far the most reliable general purpose linkable reference work on the internet. You don't want to trust it, that's your choice but I'm not changing my posting habits for your stupidity.
Plus, the real problem isn't wikipedia, it's that you got dunked on so hard.
2. Here's what you wrote: "The strategy, in general, should be to come to agreements with each country so we aren't getting hit with large tariffs while charging low tariffs."
So I see now that you've conceded that this has in fact been the strategy. The country did what you wanted it to do for 50 years. It worked.
3. You don't trust the bureaucrats? Another you problem. How do you think huge negotiations get done? The presidents of each country get together in a room for years to hash it out? Every country on Earth has trade representatives. Every country on Earth has bureaucracy -- just like every big company has middle managers. Middle management and bureaucracy have acquired negative connotations, but of course there's a reason why they exist everywhere: you cannot run a complex organization without multiple levels of decision makers.
4. Even more foundationally, the lesson you should be drawing from Trump is that bureaucrats are actually pretty good. You should be trusting them. They are by no means ideal -- nothing is -- but they are far, far better than the alternative.
Look at how much Trump has destroyed in a few months by disregarding bureaucracy. Our national aviation system is fucked because they didn't consult any experts before taking a chainsaw to the FAA. Schools don't know where or if money will be coming to them, because the Trump people have been cancelling grants and withholding money. One of my autistic sons is probably going to lose his staff support at school because they can't afford it, for example. Public health is at a low point; FEMA basically doesn't exist. We're losing our weather forecasts because Trump shuttered the agency.
The bureaucracy >>> Trump and his clowns. That should be a lesson of our time.
