Trump’s Tariffs

By Ron Hargrove

Here is (or will be) the result of Trump’s tariffs.

1. The US slaps tariffs on foreign goods coming into our country so this additional cost gets passed on to US consumers, so Americans end up paying more for many goods.

2. Foreign companies retaliate by putting tariffs on goods that the US exports to them. Since the cost of goods we export will go up, we won’t be able to sell as much of them.

3. If we can’t sell as much, we won’t produce as much. If we don’t produce as much, we don’t need as many workers. If we don’t need as many workers, workers will lose their jobs.

4. Since Trump can’t afford to lose his voters in our agriculture states that have been hit by retaliatory tariffs, he now says he’ll provide $12 BILLION in subsidies to our ag industry. So what were previously self-sufficient businesses will now be welfare recipients.

5. This $12 BILLION bailout will be funded by the rest of us, or, more likely, passed on to our children and grand-children for them to pay off.

6. Foreign buyers of our now more expensive goods will find other suppliers in other countries who don’t pay tariffs on their goods. Some of them will establish permanent trading partners to replace suppliers in the US, hurting some American companies for a long time.