Biden to propose tariffs on Chinese steel

It's called hypocrisy when you don't like it when Trump was in office but it's okay to you and the Liberal now that Biden is doing it. THAT'S THE POINT. But thank you for you opinion on why we need tariffs in the first place.

Now do you think the Chips Act will ever get going under Biden? I hope so, but the chatter is that the DEI language built into the contracts are a NO go for the Taiwanese. We'll see if the Dems are fix that or not.

 

Yes, I do. A 60% tariff against all goods from China would be about the fastest way to both cause massive inflation and a recession. But I do not agree with the notion of steel as "national security" to the point that we need to hurt consumers. If the federal government wants to pay extra for domestic steel, that is okay, but I don't want to hurt other industries, who are just as much (or potentially more) tied to "national security" as steel.

 

He's whiffing on life... a grifter.

 

I agree. To me, this is the proper use of tariffs to equalize costs so that our domestic producers can fairly compete.

 

Again, I am going to wait to a deeper read to judge. I follow numerous Substack economists and NatSec experts. But there are two general points that can be made now:

First, in the current political environment, Biden is far less tariff friendly than his opponent. Matt Yglesias has been writing obsessively about the fact that Trumps' 10% across the board tariff is getting almost no coverage in terms of the incredible inflationary impact:
But let’s be clear: Tariffs, which Trump is proposing to raise across the board, are taxes. They are taxes on imported goods.

If you buy a banana, that banana is going to be more expensive. If you buy a t-shirt, that t-shirt is going to be more expensive. If you buy an iPhone, that iPhone is going to be more expensive. In exchange, the government will get more revenue. That’s how taxes work, and there’s no magic in using the word “tariff” as jargon for “tax on imported stuff.” I am not, personally, an anti-tax ideologue, and I think that broadly raising the price of private consumer goods in order to finance a stronger social safety net is a reasonable idea. But I also acknowledge that this is a very unpopular idea with very few people willing to personally pay higher taxes, so I think it’s totally reasonable that Biden only wants to raise my taxes.

Trump's middle class tax hike

Second, it is important to note that the Biden administration has been extraordinarily anti-free trade principles with respect to China specifically, not for the ignorant reasons Trump tries to articulate, but for NatSec reasons. The primary "victims" of this policy have been the Europeans. They are pissed at US policies across the board in this area, as they believe they pay the greatest price. That doesn't mean those policies are unquestionably wise, but that is indispensable context.

Any analysis of this issue which talks only about politics and inflation is tremendously unserious and unhelpful.

 

There is not really hypocrisy from “the left” because tariffs in general are leftist policy, and I’m pretty sure an easy majority of dems support some degree of protection for steel and may have even supported that back in ‘17.

The issue with Trump is he doesn’t just look at cases where it’s strategic or national security related, he wants “across the board” tariffs, and he doesn’t limit to China (although with China his rhetoric would stop nearly all trade at 60% tariff), he constantly talks about tariffs against allies and trading partners as well. Not even the farthest left among the leftists in the dem party wants to restrict trade to the same degree as Comrade Trump.

 

So being America first and wanting this country to excel and more concerned with the economic conditions of this country over any other is xenophobic/racist?

 

Wait, so now higher prices for consumers is a sign of success and a country that is excelling?

 

So buy the cheapest you can anywhere in the world is what you want?
Better back off any climate or friendly environmental concerns you have.

 

Hypocrisy... Their guy imposes tariffs, you don't like it, your guy imposes them and it's okay. That is regardless of the need or the effectiveness.

Having said that, I like the need to put tariffs on countries that cheat or dump in trade.

 

Yeah, like the market sorted out cccp drywall.

 

You were mentioning puting this economy first instead of others. I was wondering how making customers (including every business that serves as a customer in a market) pay more for a good does that.

Is your argument that stricter environmental standards are good for the economy?

 

In a perfect world it doesn't. Since we don't live in a perfect world, placing tariffs on bad actor countries makes sense for certain vital industries. It's debatable whether or not steel is one of those industries. I think it is. And we've been burned so many times on crap products from China -- drywall, dog food, toothpaste, baby formula...

 

Trump enacted tarrifs - bad
Biden wants to enact tariffs - bad

 

Should have. I've imported millions of dollars worth of building products from China. They are reputable suppliers but I would still randomly send samples for testing to verify my specs.
Why would a US importer not test the product he is liable for?

 

Should have, but it didn't.

 

I wonder if the importers were held to account or do you know? Having an efficient capital market doesn't mean nothing bad will ever happen.

 

Gatoragman has obviously never read the Wealth of Nations. Surprise surprise.

 

It actually is, though not because of tariffs.

 

I had a pool built in 2010. The company used steel rebar from China. In the middle of the job (about 3 weeks+) they ordered rebar made in America. The installers found out when they went to bend the new order and had to use a bender. The Chinese steel was a lot softer and bent with little effort. The installer was pissed off because it took longer and added effort to bend the US steel. I have no idea if it was better or worse to have soft steel reinforcing my pool. Only mentioning because of the stiffness of Chinese vs US steel. It was 1/4” rebar.