Tariffs Are Siphoning $35 Billion From Consumers And Corporations
Chuck Jones
Senior Contributor
President Trump likes to say that China and other countries are pouring money into the U.S. with the tariffs he has imposed. However, the countries that are sending goods to us aren’t paying the tariffs . The companies that import goods are paying them , which means U.S. companies need to raise prices (therefore a tax on consumers), lower their margins and have less profit (which also lowers the amount of taxes they pay to the government) or even go out of business ...
The $2.9 billion monthly increase in customs duties over a full year is $35 billion, which is either passed on to consumers in higher prices or eats into company profits. This can potentially drive a company out of business such as a South Carolina TV manufacturer laying off 126 employees or a Missouri nail manufacturer laying off 200 of its 500 employees ...
Trump’s view of trade is that if you run a deficit you are losing or a sucker. This isn’t correct. American’s have benefited by being able to buy lower priced goods or products that would not have been available if they weren’t built in China.
When Trump says Apple should build iPhones in the U.S. he either doesn’t understand or chooses to ignore that there aren’t hundreds of thousand of people who would be willing to do the tedious work that is required. Along with the U.S. not having the workforce, there is an entire supply chain for manufacturing and distributing not just iPhones but almost all the other products that are built in China for the U.S. And even if they could be built here, the iPhone’s price would be even higher than it is today ...
https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2019/01/12/trumps-tariffs-are-siphoning-35-billion-from-consumers-and-corporations/#6e7ed91a7afd
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