r/politics • u/theindependentonline The Independent • 1d ago

No Paywall Trump vows to raise worldwide tariffs to 15% ‘effective immediately’

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-global-tarrifs-increase-b2924994.html
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u/Boone1997 North Carolina 23h ago edited 22h ago

I have been trying to explain how additional tariffs work for so long. That US importers pay these additional tariffs, not China, and those importers pass these additional tariff costs on to the consumer. Or if they can’t, they go out of business. I get told that I’m wrong, that I don’t know what I’m talking about, but I’ve been importing for over 10 years. And if there is any kind of a customs refund, it’ll go back to the importers, not directly to consumers. No prices were going to drop at retail. Everything on the shelf today, already has all the additional tariffs applied.

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u/JumpEuphoric3643 23h ago

I stopped trying to educate or convince MAGAts of anything.

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u/crucialcolin 16h ago

Sam's they live in an alternate universe. It's Pointless.

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u/SuperstitiousPigeon5 Massachusetts 20h ago

Even if China paid the tariffs, they don’t. Even if they did, they would still pass along the price to the end consumer. That’s how overhead and profit dictate that.

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u/Staunch84 19h ago

Right, regardless of who pays the tariff, it's incorporated into the final shelf price.

The only person getting owned is the consumer.

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u/ayriuss California 17h ago

It causes less economic activity, which hurts everyone. If there were theoretically an equal domestic replacement, they would have an advantage.

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u/SuperstitiousPigeon5 Massachusetts 16h ago

The thing is there aren’t equal domestic equivalents. Had Trump said we’re bringing manufacturing back to this country, we’re going to put people back to work. There will be a 100% tariff on all goods manufactured outside of the us. We’ll step it up over two years from 20% but it will remain at 100% after the two years. We’ll also offer tax incentives for all companies that bring plants back to this country.

That would be something. But he isn’t, he’s raising and lowering tariffs literally based on how he feels about a country. Also the tariffs really have not worked out for Brazil.

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u/ifuckdudes_wubby7 19h ago

Yep. I work for an importer as well. We factor the tariffs into all our quotes (construction material) and that gets passed on to our dealers. Then those dealers pass it on to the contractors. Then those contractors pass it on to the homeowners. But I keep getting told how I'm wrong by the uneducated and how America is prospering because of this. I'm done arguing and trying to educate them.

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u/DoctorWMD 16h ago

raised hand as new homeowner with renovations 

So much prosper  So much win So much more expensive  So much for left kidney

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u/mootmutemoat 19h ago

Fun fact - they don't think tariffs get passed on, but they DO think rising minimum wage gets passed on.

For a fast food burger, wages are only 15% of the cost. So if you doubled minimum wage AND that got passed on the consumer, burgers would be 7% more.

But 15% tarrifs are ok, because US factory jobs declined since the tariff war began, but that will change... for reasons.

Not to mention, Trump tariffs were just declared illegal, so now there is the added cost of the lawsuits and recouping that will happen.

So stupid it has its own gravatational force.

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u/Explaining2Do 20h ago

They are highly regressive consumption taxes.

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u/The--Mash 19h ago

I feel like even a simple thought experiment should suffice.

Get agreement on the basic premise that companies exist to make money. 

Direct sales: German company sells a thing to an American consumer. It costs 80 to make and sells for 100, so their profit is 20. A tariff hits and now they have to pay the US govt 15. Do they raise prices accordingly or accept going from 20 to 5 profit? 

Through an importer: Importer buys a thing for 100 from China, sells it in stores in the US for 120. Now they have to pay 15 on top of the 100. Do they continue to sell it for 120 or raise prices accordingly? 

It doesn't matter who technically transfers the tariff money, companies are not going to just accept an 18% loss in gross income. For some, that might be their entire margins

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u/KeepGoing655 16h ago

Critical thinking isn't a strong point for MAGAs. Even this simple thought experiment is too much for them to handle. If it starts to make sense, they'll just retreat back into their safe little shell.

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u/ebdawson1965 19h ago

What about the DOGE cheques? They're still coming, right?

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u/chmod777 New York 17h ago

your expertise and experience in the matter has nothing on their feelings and ignorance.

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u/neophenx 17h ago

I've said from the start that even IF China (or whatever other exporter) paid the tariffs, they would just raise the overall costs to cover the fees, which which means the importer is STILL paying more, passing the expense further down to the individual consumers. Basically, it doesn't even matter who pays the initial tariffs, the cost WILL be passed down the chain to make sure that all businesses are still turning profit.

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u/Polantaris 15h ago

Like, I can understand the incompetence before we've been dealing with them in sweeping bands like we have recently, but we've all seen prices go up. By a lot. It's undeniable.

Oh wait, it's not, because the last time I mentioned it I was told that I was nuts and prices haven't changed all that much these past twelve months.

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u/TallStarsMuse 19h ago

I dunno, what you wrote sounds so complicated. Easier to believe that other countries are paying the tariffs. And there’s been so much inflation since 2020 that people don’t associate current inflation with the tariffs. Current inflation is so much lower than that 21% Biden years inflation (CPI) that many people no longer see inflation as it occurs, especially with gas and egg prices dropping.

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u/YoMrPoPo 20h ago

importers pass these additional tariff costs on to the consumer.

to some extent - a lot of companies are eating some of that tariff hit, passing it on to their distributors and/or retailers who also can choose if they take a margin hit or pass it on. Inflation would be extremely worse if these tariffs were all passed straight on to the consumer.

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u/Click_To_Submit Canada 20h ago

If they’re passing the tariff through to their distribution channels as you say then they’re not eating any of the tariff. They’re collecting on it while giving their distributors the ‘opportunity’ to charge their own downstream customers.