Trump's newest tariff targets are:
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Trump's newest tariff targets are:
*Big trucks
*Furniture
*Cabinets and Bathroom vanities
*Name Brand DrugsAnd... I don't hate it? I'm very concerned about the drug tariffs, but the other items are actually good targets for protectionist trade policy in the US.
We have domestic cabinet manufacturers in TN and VT and they are struggling. There *is* an issue with "too cheap to ignore" imports. And also these aren't things poor people buy very often.
1/
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Trump's newest tariff targets are:
*Big trucks
*Furniture
*Cabinets and Bathroom vanities
*Name Brand DrugsAnd... I don't hate it? I'm very concerned about the drug tariffs, but the other items are actually good targets for protectionist trade policy in the US.
We have domestic cabinet manufacturers in TN and VT and they are struggling. There *is* an issue with "too cheap to ignore" imports. And also these aren't things poor people buy very often.
1/
Could someone who understands how this kind of thing is supposed to work have gotten through to the guy?
Seems unlikely. But, I'm a little disipointed that these are being panned like the other tariffs that made no sense. You can make a case for these. Is it a good case? The Free Trade fans will say no way.
Personally I think shipping cabinets halfway across the world is kind of inefficient.
And the drug thing could be bad.
Hm. 2/2
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Trump's newest tariff targets are:
*Big trucks
*Furniture
*Cabinets and Bathroom vanities
*Name Brand DrugsAnd... I don't hate it? I'm very concerned about the drug tariffs, but the other items are actually good targets for protectionist trade policy in the US.
We have domestic cabinet manufacturers in TN and VT and they are struggling. There *is* an issue with "too cheap to ignore" imports. And also these aren't things poor people buy very often.
1/
@futurebird I especially agree about the big trucks, given that I live near a big truck manufacturer. Hard disagree about the Name Brand Drugs.
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Trump's newest tariff targets are:
*Big trucks
*Furniture
*Cabinets and Bathroom vanities
*Name Brand DrugsAnd... I don't hate it? I'm very concerned about the drug tariffs, but the other items are actually good targets for protectionist trade policy in the US.
We have domestic cabinet manufacturers in TN and VT and they are struggling. There *is* an issue with "too cheap to ignore" imports. And also these aren't things poor people buy very often.
1/
@futurebird Tariffs can't be both a bargaining chip for negotiation & a spur to investment. Who builds a factory when a tariff may be gone next week? It is the worst of both worlds - higher prices & no increase in factories.
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@futurebird I especially agree about the big trucks, given that I live near a big truck manufacturer. Hard disagree about the Name Brand Drugs.
The perfect tariff target has a struggling domestic industry, employs a lot of people, isn't something like food, clothing, or medicine that people have no choice but to buy.
So, more luxury and differ-able goods. Bonus if it's big and bulky and shipping is eating up a lot of the value with the imported goods.
This could be... fine?
Will it be around long enough to do anything?
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@futurebird Tariffs can't be both a bargaining chip for negotiation & a spur to investment. Who builds a factory when a tariff may be gone next week? It is the worst of both worlds - higher prices & no increase in factories.
His initial moves have set a BAD tone. I'm not running to invest in US furniture makers, and I doubt they will start hiring because of this. Unless it proves to be different from the other chaos.
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Trump's newest tariff targets are:
*Big trucks
*Furniture
*Cabinets and Bathroom vanities
*Name Brand DrugsAnd... I don't hate it? I'm very concerned about the drug tariffs, but the other items are actually good targets for protectionist trade policy in the US.
We have domestic cabinet manufacturers in TN and VT and they are struggling. There *is* an issue with "too cheap to ignore" imports. And also these aren't things poor people buy very often.
1/
@futurebird Yeah, I have to admit I also think the furniture and cabinets are less wrong than his other "tariffs" in that they actually are protectionist.
All this actually makes me think is that there's some hidden wrong thing about them that I don't know about, though. I am no longer capable of believing the Trump administration *can* do something that would benefit America.
And the money taken in is still just disappearing into a Trumpcoin bucket as far as I can tell.
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@futurebird Yeah, I have to admit I also think the furniture and cabinets are less wrong than his other "tariffs" in that they actually are protectionist.
All this actually makes me think is that there's some hidden wrong thing about them that I don't know about, though. I am no longer capable of believing the Trump administration *can* do something that would benefit America.
And the money taken in is still just disappearing into a Trumpcoin bucket as far as I can tell.
Some TN cabinet guys gave him big donations. This might be their ask. An ask that has been perhaps wrongly ignored for decades by free-trade-drunk liberal and right wing admins.
The answer for all tariffs has been NO for everything and maybe it went too far IMHO.
So he could have stumbled into this through corruption.
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Could someone who understands how this kind of thing is supposed to work have gotten through to the guy?
Seems unlikely. But, I'm a little disipointed that these are being panned like the other tariffs that made no sense. You can make a case for these. Is it a good case? The Free Trade fans will say no way.
Personally I think shipping cabinets halfway across the world is kind of inefficient.
And the drug thing could be bad.
Hm. 2/2
@futurebird A major problem is that they don't represent a cohesive economic plan with political support. I'm sure in part he's doing these as exec. orders due to ego, but is also because, even with a GOP double majority, he couldn't get support for this as US economic policy. So they tariffs are vulnerable to legal challenges and to the Ds succeeding in the midterms. They're also rushed. US production can't just materialize in a week, so it's all just a surprise sales tax.1/2
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@futurebird A major problem is that they don't represent a cohesive economic plan with political support. I'm sure in part he's doing these as exec. orders due to ego, but is also because, even with a GOP double majority, he couldn't get support for this as US economic policy. So they tariffs are vulnerable to legal challenges and to the Ds succeeding in the midterms. They're also rushed. US production can't just materialize in a week, so it's all just a surprise sales tax.1/2
@futurebird Giving him credit here assumes a rational decision process I just don't see evidence for. Like everything else is just an idea placed in his head by the latest person who got access to him and said something that fit in with his weird world view, or a program he watched on Fox. 2/2
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@futurebird Giving him credit here assumes a rational decision process I just don't see evidence for. Like everything else is just an idea placed in his head by the latest person who got access to him and said something that fit in with his weird world view, or a program he watched on Fox. 2/2
True. I just wish we could talk about trade policy without all of the free trade absolutism. First of all because I don't think it works, but also when big news channels act like no tariff could ever be good they loose a lot of credibility with people who have seen how things have gone for the losers under these policies.
Things have gone badly.
One can point to a higher GDP, but there are towns that have never recovered from free trade. People hate it.
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Some TN cabinet guys gave him big donations. This might be their ask. An ask that has been perhaps wrongly ignored for decades by free-trade-drunk liberal and right wing admins.
The answer for all tariffs has been NO for everything and maybe it went too far IMHO.
So he could have stumbled into this through corruption.
@futurebird @vivtek Tariffs are generally destructive.
For them to be NOT destructive, they have to be assisting import replacement (=making something you currently import), time-limited, and not result in retaliatory tariffs from trading partners. There isn't any framework for that, and it takes really stable trade policy to make it work. (You need a stable five to ten years minimum.)
It may help to think of tariffs as taxes that could be collected in pre-modern times.
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@futurebird Giving him credit here assumes a rational decision process I just don't see evidence for. Like everything else is just an idea placed in his head by the latest person who got access to him and said something that fit in with his weird world view, or a program he watched on Fox. 2/2
@btuftin
In fact, until recently there was cabinet manufacturing in the Bronx, tile floors too. But over the past two decades Home Depot has become the only place you can buy cabinets unless you want a luxury job done by the tiny firms in the village. (Think 20k remodel vs. 50k remodel)Home depot has very limited selection of mostly low quality imported cabinets.
The Bronx manufactures hung on by doing high end custom luxury work but they are gone now.
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True. I just wish we could talk about trade policy without all of the free trade absolutism. First of all because I don't think it works, but also when big news channels act like no tariff could ever be good they loose a lot of credibility with people who have seen how things have gone for the losers under these policies.
Things have gone badly.
One can point to a higher GDP, but there are towns that have never recovered from free trade. People hate it.
@futurebird @btuftin There are furniture chains entirely built on Chinese furniture imports, IIRC. And the furniture tariff probably hurts IKEA. Small manufacturers can’t realistically scale up to serve the big stores, or match IKEA pricing. But it is always worth asking why it’s happening. My best guess is that he’s angry at some owner of a private company that imports a lot of furniture.
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@futurebird @btuftin There are furniture chains entirely built on Chinese furniture imports, IIRC. And the furniture tariff probably hurts IKEA. Small manufacturers can’t realistically scale up to serve the big stores, or match IKEA pricing. But it is always worth asking why it’s happening. My best guess is that he’s angry at some owner of a private company that imports a lot of furniture.
They can't scale up fast, but furniture isn't the kind of thing that people can't just wait and buy later. It's not like food or something.
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@futurebird @vivtek Tariffs are generally destructive.
For them to be NOT destructive, they have to be assisting import replacement (=making something you currently import), time-limited, and not result in retaliatory tariffs from trading partners. There isn't any framework for that, and it takes really stable trade policy to make it work. (You need a stable five to ten years minimum.)
It may help to think of tariffs as taxes that could be collected in pre-modern times.
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@btuftin
In fact, until recently there was cabinet manufacturing in the Bronx, tile floors too. But over the past two decades Home Depot has become the only place you can buy cabinets unless you want a luxury job done by the tiny firms in the village. (Think 20k remodel vs. 50k remodel)Home depot has very limited selection of mostly low quality imported cabinets.
The Bronx manufactures hung on by doing high end custom luxury work but they are gone now.
Home Depot's monopoly on kitchens and bathrooms in the greater NY region is kind of disgusting.
Not that I expect to see anyone care about monopolies any time soon. I will be over in the corner singing old US Steel Union songs sadly if anyone needs me.
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Home Depot's monopoly on kitchens and bathrooms in the greater NY region is kind of disgusting.
Not that I expect to see anyone care about monopolies any time soon. I will be over in the corner singing old US Steel Union songs sadly if anyone needs me.
@futurebird @btuftin I'm do contract work. I despise Home Depot. And I'm forced to use their shitty products daily. There is no choice. I can't even get my clients to go to the LOCAL hardware store (which has as much stuff and better lumber than HD) let alone a specialty trade manufacturer, because even on a $5000 job the pennies add up fast.
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@futurebird @btuftin I'm do contract work. I despise Home Depot. And I'm forced to use their shitty products daily. There is no choice. I can't even get my clients to go to the LOCAL hardware store (which has as much stuff and better lumber than HD) let alone a specialty trade manufacturer, because even on a $5000 job the pennies add up fast.
I used to go to anyplace else but now all the hardware shops are closed, all the locksmiths and keymakers too. It's just home depot who claims they have a locksmith but they guy they sent knew nothing and was trying to follow a wikihow to article.
