Trump's Tariffs on China Ended Up Just Being a Tax on US Business
POTUS' ignorance about basic economics costs businesses real money
Recent data confirm the additional tariffs collected that DT is so proud of talking about is basically a shifting of billions of dollars from US companies to the US government treasury. The net result of which is a huge tax on US business.
Additional tariff revenue increased by $46 billion from the start of the trade war in February 2018 through November 2019. While the Phase I Trade Deal will be lowering tariffs on $120 billion worth of products, it will be keeping them in place for the vast majority of targeted products.
Trump has falsely asserted that China and other foreign exporters pay for tariffs, but there is overwhelming evidence that the costs of protectionism fall on domestic consumers and businesses. A National Bureau of Economic Research paper released this week said that "approximately 100 percent" of tariffs had been paid by American buyers. Markets Insider
If DT knew about Economics or at least spent 20 minutes reading Chapter 11 of this classic book he could have known this would be the result.
If you have not read this short but infinitely useful and impactful book, please click the button below and buy it now.
The whole of economics can be reduced to a single lesson, and that lesson can be reduced to a single sentence. The art of economics consists in looking not merely at the immediate but at the longer effects of any act or policy; it consists in tracing the consequences of that policy not merely for one group but for all groups. Hazlitt, Henry. Economics in One Lesson (p. 17). The Crown Publishing Group.
Thanks for reading,
James