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Trump's proposal to slap a 60% tariff on all Chinese imports is insane. I wonder how many of his devout followers understand that tariffs are paid for by the importers, not China, and that those added costs are passed onto you and I and all American consumers.
I work p/t merchandising goods in supermarkets for a large vendor in supermarkets. Almost all of those goods are Chinese imports. If a 60% tariff were to be imposed, my company would have to raise its prices on those goods by the same amount (a $7 can opener would then cost over $11) which will reduce sales.
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New YorkCNN —
Former President Donald Trump wants to spend trillions of dollars on tax cuts. His plan to pay for that is alarming some mainstream economists.
Trump proposed sweeping tariffs on all $3 trillion worth of imports into the United States, including a 60% tariff on imports from China and a 10% across-the-board tariff on imports from other nations.
Recently, Trump doubled down on the threat, saying he is considering tariffs of up to 20% on most imports in a bid to protect working-class jobs and punish what he labels unfair trading practices.
In theory, the unprecedented tariff hikes could raise trillions of dollars, funds that would help cover the cost of the tax cuts. However, many economists warn that those tariffs could backfire – badly – by raising prices on American families, killing jobs and setting off a global trade war.
It’s part of the reason Goldman Sachs in an analyst note this week said Trump’s economic policies – particularly on trade – would cause America’s economy to shrink. By contrast, Vice President Kamala Harris’ economic policy proposals would grow the economy, Goldman Sachs predicted.
Goldman and other experts fear Trump’s tough proposed trade tactics could worsen the affordability crisis in America.
"It’s one of those magical economic proposals that can actually cause inflation and put you into a recession – at the same time,” David Kelly, chief global strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, told CNN in a phone interview.
Kelly warned that tariffs are a “perfect stagflation machine,” threaten to scramble supply chains and invite a punishing response from trading partners.
“It’s a two-year-old’s mentality: You punch someone in the nose and expect them not to punch you back,” he said....
Trump’s trade proposals could be equivalent to a $3 trillion tax hike, warned Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the center-right think tank the American Action Forum.
“It’s enormously protectionist and terrible economic policy,” said Holtz-Eakin, who served as an economic adviser to former President George H.W. Bush and an adviser to the 2008 presidential campaign of GOP Sen. John McCain.
