The question is: what should we be making in the US?
Tariffs can give domestic manufacturing a temporary reprieve from lower priced foreign suppliers, to build or improve domestic manufacturing.
They can also be used to try to punish other countries for unfair trading practices
For example
100% tariffs on Chinese manufactured EVs are claimed to be in retaliation on for unfair Chinese government subsidies
US government is offering incentives to domestic EV manufacturers and purchasers of domestically produced EVs, which could help build domestic production, in conjunction with temporary tariffs
I’m not convinced that they’ve put this much thought into it, nor that domestic manufacturers will use this window of opportunity
100% tariffs on Chinese manufactured EVs are claimed to be in retaliation on for unfair Chinese government subsidies
The Chinese government subsidies are the same set of public improvements and business incentives every industrial country provides to build up domestic infrastructure. They’re significantly less generous than the Big Three Bailouts that Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden all had to extend at least once in each of their terms.
US government is offering incentives to domestic EV manufacturers
But this is also an “unfair” subsidy, isn’t it?
I’m not convinced that they’ve put this much thought into it, nor that domestic manufacturers will use this window of opportunity
Foreign car companies - BYD being one, but Hyundai, Toyota, and Volkswagen certainly piling on the bandwagon - have invested far more money in small vehicle production than US contemporaries. Consequently, they tend to produce vehicles with better fuel economy at a much cheaper price point.
At the end of the day, that’s what this tariff is penalizing.
The question is: what should we be making in the US?
Tariffs can give domestic manufacturing a temporary reprieve from lower priced foreign suppliers, to build or improve domestic manufacturing.
They can also be used to try to punish other countries for unfair trading practices
For example
I’m not convinced that they’ve put this much thought into it, nor that domestic manufacturers will use this window of opportunity
The Chinese government subsidies are the same set of public improvements and business incentives every industrial country provides to build up domestic infrastructure. They’re significantly less generous than the Big Three Bailouts that Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden all had to extend at least once in each of their terms.
But this is also an “unfair” subsidy, isn’t it?
Foreign car companies - BYD being one, but Hyundai, Toyota, and Volkswagen certainly piling on the bandwagon - have invested far more money in small vehicle production than US contemporaries. Consequently, they tend to produce vehicles with better fuel economy at a much cheaper price point.
At the end of the day, that’s what this tariff is penalizing.