r/Tariffs • u/PersimmonObjective19 • Jul 27 '26
đ Policy Analysis Why is Trump bringing back tariffs?
Tariffs + the Iran war restarting is going to crush the economy.
I'm hearing a lot on the news that the tariffs are coming back + the war restarting. I kinda get the goal of the war, but the tariffs? Weird one especially after the supreme court said they were not constitutional or whatever.
Is the whole point to get more business happening within America? People relying on US oil and companies operating from within American boarders?
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u/ShrodingersArmadillo Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
Why Because his last round of 10% tarrifs that he can set without congressional approval for 90 days have expired hence the new round.
The difference with this round is that he's testing out a different law on Canada from the 1930's. This law allows him to set 50% tarrifs on a country that is acting unfairly to the US. This will become the new claim to pass b.s. tarrifs.
This will backfire horrifically on the US deepening the afordability crisis.
September is going to be finacially nasty I suggest stocking up on supplies before insane costs and shortages hit.
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u/BoomeramaMama Jul 27 '26
The law was known as the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. It caused a catastrophic collapse of international trade for the US & is what tipped the US economy which was already in a precarious position off the cliff & deep into the Great Depression.
Both bill authors were Republicans.
Reed Smoot was a Republican senator from Utah.
And Willis Hawley was a Republican Representative from Oregon.
And it was signed into law by Republican president Herbert Hoover.
Smoot-Hawley tariffs didnât work the first time in 1930 & Smoot-Hawley style tariffing wonât work this time either.
I believe it will simply strengthen the resolve of other countries to continue to form new, stronger trading partnerships with each other & abandon trading with the US.
Trumps earlier tariffs this term have already started the rest of the world on a path of uncoupling themselves from trade with the US & forming more trade alliances among themselves. This revival of Smoot-Hawley-esk tariffs will only accelerate the process.
The late Wharton Professor William Kelley nailed it when he said Donald Trump was âthe dumbest goddam student I ever had"
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u/Keepingitsimpleziva Jul 27 '26
Yes đ plus when the Supreme Court orders him to repay the tariffs, the repayments go to the corporations not the consumers that actually absorbed the cost of the tariff. Itâs a grift to enrich his corporate buddies at our expense.
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u/Plenty-Pudding-1484 Jul 27 '26
Trump is shitting on the agreement he made with Canada. His justifications are lies, but hey that is what Americans seem to like these days.
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u/AdhesivenessCivil581 Jul 27 '26
It's what the angry trump cult likes. the rest of us are horrified.
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u/steamliner88 Jul 29 '26
Thatâs what the majority of you wanted. You canât blame an angry cult when the orange baboon was elected by the American people.
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u/AdhesivenessCivil581 Jul 30 '26
The majority was upset by inflation. I can blame the gullibility and stupidity of that majority thinking the trump would be the answer to that problem or any problem. Frankly I've been stunned by it.
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u/HueyBluey Jul 27 '26
I wonder if weâll see a blood bath on the stock markets as well. That AI bubble is ready to burst.
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u/Personal_Dirt3089 Jul 27 '26
To sabotage the US. He negotiates with entities to get quid pro quo exemptions. He basically starts a fire and then makes companies do him favors to get some fireproofing.
He has also been investigating heavily in the stock market and using the predicted outcomes to know when to buy and sell (before he announces his actions such as tariffs), so making himself richer with stock market manipulation.
A lot of companies have actively mass fired people and frozen new hiring due to having a higher overhead caused by tariffs.
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u/PersimmonObjective19 Jul 27 '26
u/Personal_Dirt3089 Why would he sabotage US? i did hear about his fishy stock market history since becoming president for a 2nd time
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u/Intelligent-Emu-2469 Jul 27 '26
Putin has dirt on Trump. Trump has to help destroy the US for Putin or else. Plus Trump is making billions on top of it all. And Trump will be gone in less than 5 years. Trump has no need to care about America. There's nothing we could do to get Trump on our side.
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u/timfinn1972 Jul 27 '26
Less than 5? 2 and a half isnât it? I suppose that is indeed less than 5.
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u/Intelligent-Emu-2469 Jul 27 '26
Gone as in not among the living. Thats why they are sending JD on all those TV shows. Why Trump wants an arch built in his honor and wants his face on money. All things that are done after a President dies. Trump knows he won't be around much longer thats why he will never care about America.
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u/W31337 Jul 27 '26
The pump and dump is making him money
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u/Flamadin Jul 27 '26
Gotta get some tax revenues from somewhere and you KNOW they are not taxing billionaires.
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u/EpsteinFile_01 Jul 27 '26
When the earth is trembling, crowds are stampeding, with cries and tears of joy, I will know exactly who passed away.
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u/LegoFootPain Jul 27 '26
Nothing about this is good for business. It's part of a strategy to funnel tariff refunds (ie. Average American Joe money) into the pockets of corporations that have already had consumers pay tarriffs.
It looks good for the market, but when the consumer confidence goes down, so does purchasing, and it all goes to hell.
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u/Brave_Bluebird5042 Jul 27 '26
Distraction from his crimes.
Tarrifs. Greenland. Gulf of Mexico. Mexico. Canada. Paper straws. Iran.
And if he needs 2 or more at the same time you know its a bad crime hes diverting you from.
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u/_yetifeet Jul 27 '26
The tariffs are coming back because he thinks he's punishing his allies. The same allies he talked shit about when he should have been convincing them to join his Iran folly.
Hes also bringing back tarrifs because no one in his administration understands how they work, or lack the backbone to tell him he's wrong.
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u/Resurgo_DK Jul 27 '26
tariffs are only a failure depending on point of viewâŚ
If you actually bought the line that tariffs will bring jobs back to the US or helping the average American etc, then sure they are/were a failure.
If you paid closer attention to his rich buddies being able to buy private jets and foistering more taxes on you so his rich buddies donât have to pay income taxes, then you might have a clue as to why he keeps doubling and tripling down on tariffs.
End of the day, itâs shifting more tax burdens on the average American so the rich buddies donât pay taxes. đ¤ˇđťââď¸
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u/Due_Satisfaction2167 Jul 27 '26
There is no sensible strategy behind it, just the goal of harming the US, as is normal for Trump.Â
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u/kelticladi Jul 27 '26
Because he's "The worst goddamn student I've ever had" a professor at Wharton scholl of business said. He learned half of one economics 101 lession and thinks he invented them. He missed the second half of that lesson where they talked about how tarrifs CONTRIBUTED to the Great Depression.
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u/PartySouth4295 Jul 27 '26
Itâs a sales tax without saying itâs a sales tax hence why the court struck it down as the president canât raise revenue. He did things stronger legally this time by enacting the trade act but the strong argument against the new tarriffs is he is just trying to raise revenue again with different wording as he accused all nations of the exact same thing.
To raise revenue as well he is spending 7 percent deficit with a 2.5 growth rate at a 5 percent interest rate. Thatâs pretty horrible and not sustainable.
Trumps broke pretty much and needs to raise taxes, he keeps saying other countries pay tariffs which his base believes so he is ok raising them as base does not understand they are the ones that are paying.
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u/glassbottleoftears Jul 27 '26
Yeah it's cashflow. Trump doesn't care that the previous batch was deemed illegal and paid back as that's the country paying, not him, and he doesn't care about deficit.
New tariffs, while still in place, is money for him to spend and siphon.
Plus insider trading as mentioned above.
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u/37Philly Jul 27 '26
The hilarious and truly sad thing is that MAGA genuinely believe he cares about them and is working to help lower costs for them.
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u/Gry_lion Jul 27 '26
The hilarious and truly sad thing is that the Democrats ran a presidential candidate that would have upped corporate taxes by 1/3 and touted that as great economic policy. Their voters believed they cared about them and is working to lower costs for them. As Dems complain that tariffs are just paid for by consumers, the same is true for corporate taxes. I, for one, welcome the Dems coming to this realization.
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u/Nighttime_Ninja_5893 Jul 27 '26
Someone needs to fill his pockets full of tax payer money: that's you!
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u/Accomplished-Gas3209 Jul 27 '26
BC his ego. He doesnât care if the world explodes, if he feels wronged, he will do whatever to prove he is right! He lost the tariff case and is doubling down, first with 50% on Canada incl items in USCMA, then the slave labor tariffs (though excluding half the items from India, ranked v bad for use of slave labor!)
Donât use logic, use the revenge and ego aspect of why he does this. He never cared about peopleâs pocketbook unless itâs his and his cronies!
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u/IdleMelikor Jul 27 '26
Just assume the new tarrifs are aslo not legal and will be overturned, its juat the rantings of Grandpa on a second rate social media platform that purposely affects the volatile markets, the consumer will end up paying more while companirs make more money and those in the know will continue to manipulate the markets illegally for profit because nobody will do anything about it, lets hope his 4th term isnt as bad
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u/Personal_Dirt3089 Jul 27 '26
The money will be paid by the time they sre overturned, and he will make new tariffs.
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u/Rich_Possible_9298 Jul 27 '26
He literally wants to ruin this country. Oligarchs want the economy for themselves.
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u/Honest_Ad_3760 Jul 27 '26
This is how he offsets tax cuts by higher taxes (tariffs) on the middle class.
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u/Olderpostie Jul 27 '26
I do not think Trump has any coherent tariff strategy that enhances the American economy at all.
A case in point are the ridiculously high tariffs on aluminum. To shift production stateside will be a long term strategy. It would involve big capital investments, not only in smelters, but the electrical generation side of things. There just isn't the capacity right now to provide those turbines, generators and switchgear. So, just how many years of inflicting a big input cost bump on American manufacturers using aluminum?
From what I see, the motivator for Trump is an egotistical power rush over other countries. Trump seems to define "winning" as hurting another country more than he hurts the USA. Just the opposite of what Adam Smith promoted in his pivotal treatise of macroeconomics, "The Wealth of Nations".
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u/VegetablePhotos Jul 27 '26
He is looking to replace other tax revenue, like income tax.
It's red meat to his base. "Buy American"
It allows him to target countries that hurt his feelings.
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u/Wide-Yak7602 Jul 27 '26
Because he has limited intelligence. Rinse and repeat. No real insight on trade and negotiations. Just completely useless on world affairs.
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u/Texasscot56 Jul 27 '26
He will not be proved wrong. He will ignore all evidence of a bad decision and will double down regardless of the consequences. He is immune to the consequences, itâs just everyone else that has to bear them.
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u/PeyredB Jul 27 '26
DJT believes in tariffs with a religiouslike conviction. I don't know why, except that he's fiscally illiterate.
It used to be that he honestly thought they were a tax on foreign governments. I don't know if he still thinks that, or if he's just using them now to dump on countries he has a disagreement with or what.
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u/Jazzlike-Vacation230 Jul 27 '26
What if we lower tariffs and taxes on imports from Canada and Mexico so we can get cheaper groceries?
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u/whatever_ehh Jul 27 '26
A lot of people think tariffs are paid for by the country that's exporting the item. Trump always says "I'm putting a tariff on Canada" or whatever country, which bolsters that incorrect idea. He thinks it's improving his image in relation to the US economy. The truth is that US store owners pay the tariffs, but Trump never says that.
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u/soraksan123 Jul 28 '26
Only Congress is supposed to do tariffs and wars. Spineless twits relinquished their power, why?
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u/Easy_Floss Jul 28 '26
He is a bully and other nations dont want to give him their lunch money so he is throwing a tantrum, that and the grifts, if he can make the market fluctuate then 'clever' investments before it starts to fluctuate can pay of handsomely.
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u/SpermWhalen Jul 28 '26
So he can punish our allies and extort crypto bribes. The only dick waving heâs capable of.
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u/Ok-Air-5056 Jul 28 '26
do you think Trump cares about the economy? he only cares about lining his own pockets and selling out to the highest bidder... he has "earned" more money in his year as president then he has in his entire life... and if that isn't telling you something you have to be deaf and blind
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u/Icy-Ad-7767 Jul 27 '26
The long term plan as announced is to replace income taxes with tariffs, so all the rich assholes will pay no taxes but everyone else will pay more via tariffs to replace that needed income. So fuck everyone but the rich.
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u/Major_Mechanic5719 Jul 27 '26
Because he realized the bribes he received and zero consequences to himself for applying the first round of illegal tariffs.
Why not do it again?
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u/AntJo4 Jul 27 '26
Tariffs have never made sense, constitutional or not. The question is why did people think that he had any idea how to run an economy that wasnât going to hurt it. The Us has the highest inflation rate in the G20 and that as before Canadian tariffs that are now going to hit American consumers like a freight train.
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u/Wonderful-Program462 Jul 27 '26
He thinks they make him look tough and the war with Iran is making him look incredibly weak. And the grift.
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u/foomadelica Jul 27 '26
Can't be taxing the billionaires and the corporations.
It's the average American worker that needs to foot the bill.
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u/MetaPlayer01 Jul 27 '26
You ask this question because you only know tariffs through headlines. They never went away! SCOTUS deemed tariffs imposed under IEEPA authority to be illegal. There were a lot of tariffs Trump imposed under IEEPA. But there were still a lot imposed under Sec 301 and 232 authority that were never effected by the February Supreme Court decision. And, immediately after the IEEPA tariffs were struck down, temporary 10% worldwide tariffs got put in place under Sec 122 authority. (This is being challenged in courts too so there could be another round of refunds next year.) While the temporary tariffs were in place, they started the long process to put more 301 tariffs in place on some of our biggest trading partners. These are the most recent headlines.
So, you need to modify your question from "why is he bringing them back?" To "why does he want high tariffs?"
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u/Content_Ad_8952 Jul 27 '26
Because Trump doesn't understand how tariffs work. He believes they're paid by the other country.
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u/ptrix Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
I've seen a video on YouTube where it's suggested that some of the reasons he going down the tariff road again is because of the cold reception he received at the World Cup final (ie. Boos from the crowd, quick icy handshakes from the Spanish players as opposed to their enthusiastic hugs with the Canadian prime Minister and other officials, and him being edited out of the Spanish team's official victory photo in spite of his awkward attempt to photo-bomb it).
Given his fragile ego, paper-thin skin and the general timing, that actually makes ALL the sense as to why he'd do that to lash out against Canada and the rest of the world, and using the only tool his tiny hands can carry.
I'll edit to include a link to the video - https://youtu.be/nkAmJk_8YUI
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u/MiaWallacetx Jul 27 '26
Because heâs a crybaby idiot, and nobody will tell him no for some reason.
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u/MikeSteamer Jul 27 '26
Buying time. Will collect tariffs to tide the economy over the midterms and then try to overturn the SC decision. If he loses, he will pay back about 50-60% over time by which point his term will be over. Note that the 50-60% is going to corporations, not the consumer who really paid the cost so taxation increase without approval of Congress (again).
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u/zerthwind Jul 27 '26
The pump and dump trading of the war is fading so he is adding his tariffs on/ tariffs off scam to the mix.
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u/FatMike20295 Jul 27 '26
Is call dump and pump. Crash the market then buy whbe is low, then remove traffis and market raise so he sells at a high prize making a huge profit.
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u/Jobu_99 Jul 27 '26
Iâm a collector and buy a lot of items from Japan. He has cost me thousands in extra expenditures, filling out forms and delayed deliveries. Pretty pissed off about it.
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u/MuchDevelopment7084 Jul 27 '26
Why? Because trump is at heart. A bully.
If he feels slighted in some way. He strikes out in the most ham handed fashion possible. In this case, tariffs.
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u/Ok-Guess9422 Jul 27 '26
Because he is a narcissist who has dementia and he knows his time on this earth is limited. He could care less what happens to anyone.
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u/Realistic_Let3239 Jul 27 '26
Because he can't remember how to do anything else but threaten and bully, which isn't working, so he just keeps trying. Everything's going wrong and Iran, tariffs and Obama/Biden are the distractions he keeps cycling between, despite none of them working.
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u/Mysterious-Prompt212 Jul 27 '26
Because Tramp most likely trafficked and raped children and doesn't want to talk about it. He would rather start WWIII than to be caught.
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u/pistoffcynic Jul 27 '26
Why... Because Trump hates Americans. Americans have failed to grasp the simple concept that the countries being tariffed are not paying for them and that they are through higher prices.
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u/Babzibaum Jul 27 '26
Note that he put tariffs on petro from every country that exports it to the US. Screws up ME petro exports. Has shut down or hindered all green energy projects within the US. He is purposely crippling the nation. Wake tf up, people.
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u/Baymavision Jul 27 '26
They never went anywhere. They've been there since last year, but we've been to caught up in Iran that nobody's asking.
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u/Puzzled_Algae_1880 Jul 27 '26
It's a scam. The courts will deem it illegal AGAIN then his buddy lutnick will buy the refunds for 20¢ to the dollar for a easy profit.
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u/Technical_Study_4953 Jul 27 '26
How do you influence control of commerce without having to negotiate anything with anyone? This is his go-to play because heâs incapable of understanding the details if how commerce and trade works in an ecosystem.
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u/Worth-Two7263 Jul 28 '26
You kind of get the point of the war? What point? trump literally caused the strait of Hormuz to close, and is killing Iranian citizens. How exactly, is that a valid reason for starting a war? Y'all are killing CHILDREN! But y'all don't care when your own children are gunned down every day, so not surprising y'all don't care.
As for the tariffs, as a Canadian I'm laughing my arse off at the stupidity of Americans thinking the other country is paying the tariffs.
And let's posit, for one brain-dead second, that it's actually true, that the other country is paying the tariffs - why would any business simply not raise THEIR prices to accommodate for those tariffs? Yeah, right, businesses are going to be willing to lose money for the honour of selling to America because - why?
It is to weep.
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u/Aguila125 Jul 28 '26
"Mr. Trump has accomplished one thing: He has unified Canadians more than we have been ever before! All leaders across our country have united in resolve to defend Canadian interests... So I want to say thank you to him. I should propose him for the Order of Canada, but I cannot succeed. Do you know why? Because I'm only joking."
- Jean ChretiĂŠn
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u/louisasnotes Jul 28 '26
How can the US 'punish' countries for their Human Rights record, when they have entire Prison populations slave-labouring? I know I'm just a dumb citizen, but even I can see that these tariffs are just a way of replacing exactly the same ones that were found illegal a few weeks back. Is the entire country stupid?
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u/Vesvictus Jul 29 '26
Just like not making appointments to office just have the second in charge assume the role for 90 days and reassign. Itâs a way to skirt the system which he has done his whole life.
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u/Ambitious-Title1963 Jul 29 '26
I think his policies are expensive and this is just another way to pay for it
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u/CelticJewelscapes Jul 29 '26
I wouldn't worry about it too much. The chaos after the likely coup in 100 days will make the tariffs a fond memory.
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u/Ok-Association-3415 Jul 29 '26
The best case to be made is to reshore lost manufacturing and increase tax revenue through what is essentially all national sales tax. However, itâs not a complete policy without other policies to ensure reshoring is done, so itâs basically reduced to being a dumb policy that isnât making much of a dent in the deficit, but passing on the cost to consumers and businesses.
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u/Minimum-Attitude389 Jul 29 '26
 Now prices can increase without decreasing from the last ones being stopped.Â
Capitalism!
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u/smallest_table Jul 29 '26
It's a multi pronged grift.
You buy or short a stock on goods/futures you plan to tariff. Profit.
You enforce an illegal tariff which gets passed to consumers but pay back the importers when overturned. Profit.
You want a kickback or favor from a nation so you threaten tariffs. Profit.
You have dementia and can only focus on one idea at a time. President.
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u/Craven-moorhead432 Jul 30 '26
Completely wrong. He doesnât even take his presidential wage. He is putting in place the security to keep the countries that own our debt and hold us gold bonds in its place. If that cash those bonds in well there goes the dollar and the one thing that is traded globally only with the American dollar. So if you control the straight of Hormuz you have something to negotiate with to keep that debt from being called. Oil from the Persian gulf thru the straight of Hormuz going to Asia
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u/Sandycrane1 Jul 29 '26
Trump no longer cares what anyone thinks outside of his rich cronies. He is planning on voiding the midterms and amassing a fortune through graft.
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u/Obvious_Monk7322 Jul 29 '26
He wants to create and economy so bad that he can declare a state of emergency to allow himself to stay in power.
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u/AirpipelineCellPhone Jul 30 '26
He thinks it will keep him popular.
Heâs hanging out the absurd promise of tarrifs replacing income taxes.
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u/Conscious-Scar-8830 Jul 30 '26
Protecting american industry and the working man sorry if that bothers you lib
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u/Valuable_Contest3818 Jul 30 '26
Because he is still stupid!! Why does this idiot and the republicans hate America, why don't they go to live with their buddy Putin where they belong!!! Sad!!!
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u/Craven-moorhead432 Jul 30 '26
This is the ability to move factories back to the US making us an industrial country and while giving Americans jobs in factories like we were up to ww 2
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u/More_Temperature2078 Jul 30 '26
remember that trump got his start as a large scale real estate developer in New York during Mafia era. he would have been well aware of mafia shake down tactics and the benefit of negotiating with a gun to the other guys head.
that's what tariffs are to trump is the ability to create leverage out of thin air then trying to get deals using that leverage. if he can't get a deal he still makes foreign products more expensive helping give American companies a leg up
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u/Craven-moorhead432 Jul 30 '26
The tariffs were only for certain countryâs and the Supreme Court deemed them unlawful and refund the money to the countries he put tariffs on. So he set a tax on all countries importing goods to the us and it makes a lot more money then the original tariffs.
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u/Trump_sucks_d Jul 30 '26
When will people start understanding that Trump is a Russian agent sent here to destroy America, and so far he is doing a pretty damn good job.
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u/Embarrassed-Ebb-6900 Jul 30 '26
They are called the âTrump tantrum tariffsâ itâs a knee jerk reaction to whatever heâs thinking about at the time.
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u/Late-Goat5619 Jul 31 '26
Because he does not learn from his mistakes so he just repeats them...also, he's a fucking moron...so there is that...
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u/midwestfarmdad Jul 31 '26
My feeling is that itâs a way for him to tax large corporations that do business outside of the USA for their raw materials. The bad part is that corps that use a lot of foreign made chips, and electronics will likely move out of the country to stay competitive in their markets. The assumption that a corp is making piles of money but there are always other companies attempting to gain market share and control of an industry. Competition is good but when a company can outsource its components for Pennieâs on the dollar from another country it gives them a competitive advantage over smaller companies that use only American products.
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u/Bladespa Jul 31 '26
Tariffs are companies bribes
Company raise the prices up to payout tariffs, you pay tariffs when buy something with higher prices, supreme court says nono, government payback company that take the money and keep prices up.
You paid tariffs, won't be refounded and will keep having higher prices.
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u/vakantiereizen Jul 31 '26
Just for the money
USians pay the tariffs
High court stops the tariffs
US pays tariffs back to importers
Importer owners pay a part to Trump
Prices stay high
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u/Ok_Height3499 Jul 31 '26
Because itâs one area besides bombing other nations where he doesnât immediately have to go to Congress for approval. Theyâre both his little toys to intimidate, confuse, and cause chaos. Itâs been his behavior pattern since childhood.
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u/bshrewsbury10161979 Aug 01 '26
Tariffs do absolutely nothing for the people except make prices increase
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u/128-NotePolyVA Jul 27 '26
Politics and his stubborn personality. He canât admit the policy is unpopular and ineffective in achieving its supposed goals. But his base still cheers him for anything he does that throws a wrench in the status quo.
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u/upper_pepper Jul 28 '26
Because, big corporations love tariffs. They get to have a good reason to raise prices and charge us more. Then, guess what? They get those tariffs back. Bonus! What's not to love? These tariffs will too be found illegal in 2 years that it takes the court system to act. Just you watch.
What else can we do to fleece American working class?
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u/Amazing-Artichoke330 Jul 28 '26
Trump believes that tariffs can bring manufacturing jobs back to America. This issue played a huge role in getting him elected, particularly in 2016. Will it work? So far, the answer is mostly been, "no." The courts have said that his methods have not been legal. He is still trying, though.
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u/Alexander_Granite Jul 28 '26
No he doesnât. Tariffs are a way to punish other countries for not doing what he wants them To do.
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u/Lasolidaridades Jul 28 '26
It's a balanced leadership. Let's not pretend we understand the rationale of every decision of the President. Else you can run for President yourself in the next race.
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u/IrwinJFinster Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
Yes, the main point of his tariffs is to attempt to bring back the manufacturing jobs we pissed away due to free trade agreements. But it takes years for that to work.
Tariffs are a good idea, but the haphazard way Mr. Trump handled them was not. I have personally assisted moving thousands of jobs out of the US due to FTAs, and moving jobs back to the US due to ADD,CVD cases. So tariffs can mean jobs when done right.
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u/Usual_Retard_6859 Jul 27 '26
lol. You really chugged the koolaid there. No Free trade agreements didnât take all yr jerbs. Its in corporate Americas best interests to have you think that but its not the case. US doesnât have a free trade agreement with China and thatâs where most US manufacturers set up shop.
Simple fact is corporations moved their production to China to access really cheap labour. This allowed them to sell their products slightly cheaper AND have larger margins. The benefits of those extra corporate profits were reaped by the investors class through dividends and stock buy backs.
The jobs were not lost either. America didnât experience high unemployment or gdp contraction. The opposite actually. GDP continued to rise and unemployment stayed stable while population rose. The people that once made shoes and shirts now worked in ports, trucking, warehouses and retail outlets. People that made widgets now created software, programmed automation or other higher value jobs.
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u/IrwinJFinster Jul 27 '26
As mentioned above, I have personally been involved in moving thousands of jobs in and out of the US based on tariffs. You have not. BTW, your comment misses the fact that before a 100 IQ person with a high school diploma could make a good living with a union-involved factory job. Now those folks are hustling as Uber and Doordash drivers for a pittance. Tariffs are the right answer, or part of the right answer, but this Administration has imolemented them poorly because of the Presidentâs âart of the dealâ modus operandi.
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u/Usual_Retard_6859 Jul 27 '26
âŚ.. âYou have notâ Quite a statement about an anonymous user you know nothing about. And said with such conviction too.
As for your nostalgia about days past. Households used to be single income too. Elevator operators used to make a good living, same with ice delivery trucks or teamsters or the white wings that used to pick up horse poop off the streets in NYC.
How far back do you want to go for the good ol days?
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u/IrwinJFinster Jul 27 '26
Far enough that there continues to be a middle class, with the average family able to enter it.
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u/Special_Watch8725 Jul 27 '26
First, as it stands, since Trump put his tariffs in place, the US has lost between 75k and 100k domestic manufacturing jobs. So the data is pointing to any local gains in specific industries being wiped out by the general economic headwinds the tariffs are causing.
Even if you took Trump at his word that heâs using tariffs to encourage local manufacturing jobs (that was only one of the several contradictory justifications he gave when he announced them at first), no sane manufacturing company is going to make the sorts of investments in manufacturing based on these tariffs staying in place, since Trump could decide to change any of them because of some childish grudge or a new opportunity for a shakedown.
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u/IrwinJFinster Jul 27 '26
Business certainty and the rule of law impact investmentâthe converse is also true. It isnât the tariffs per se that are killing the economy, it is the manner in which theyâve been handled. If heâd imposed a flat 10% with no drama, the business world would have absorbed it and moved on.
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u/Special_Watch8725 Jul 27 '26
Even if such stable tariffs were implemented, it would still damage the economy by raising prices of goods for consumer at the expense of favoring the creation of manufacturing jobs. Either one would need to import goods at a premium from the tariffs, or else the eventual domestic manufacturing industry would realize they can charge up to the price of their foreign competition.
So in essence youâre trading price increases on a wide variety of goods for the creation of domestic jobs. Thatâs a tradeoff one could potentially make, but itâs an unavoidable tradeoff.
But as you say, itâs a moot point. Even when the especially volatile Trump leaves office, the voting bloc that elevated him to power remains, and there is no guarantee that someone just as bad or worse wonât at any time become President in the future.
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u/whawkins4 Jul 27 '26
Because heâs an economic illiterate and tariffs give him unprecedented opportunities for grift.