By Greg Holt

So Trump’s tariffs may start a trade war, big deal.  Ever hear of no pain no gain?  It’s not that I’m insensitive to the problems caused by possible high tariffs, it’s more like people simply do not understand what is going on here.

So what are tariffs?

Tariffs are like taxes paid by those selling their goods in other countries.  We, the companies in the United States that are selling products in other countries have for a long time now been paying tariffs, in fact, the tariffs U.S. companies pay are far higher than the tariffs we (The United States) charge other countries’ businesses that sell their products here in the U.S.

The Politicrats (Democrats and RINOs) have done nothing about this and are just fine with American companies getting screwed over.

Take the new automobile tariffs for example, Trump set the tariff rate (For some countries) at 25%.  The rate before this was 2.5%.  Over 30 countries were/are charging the U.S. 15% – up to a whopping 40% (Some are even higher than that). 

Let’s say that a particular car from Europe sells for $20,000 in the U.S., add on the 2.5% tariff, and the price is now $20,500.00.  A U.S. company sells a car for 20,000 in a European country, and a 20% tariff is tacked on.  Market price with tariff is $24,000.00.  How are American companies supposed to compete with that????

When companies from other countries can sell their products here in the U.S. for THOUSANDS of dollars less then we can sell comparative products overseas in their countries, how are American companies supposed to compete against such an unfair advantage?  What did the Democrats do about this?  NOTHING.

Why Higher Tariffs?

The idea behind raising our tariff rates is to level the playing field.  Even our supposed “allies” have been screwing us over for YEARS on trade and tariffs.  Trump simply has the gumption to do something about it.

Other countries are going to charge us 20% tariffs?  No problem, we will do likewise.  Why should we give Chinese companies (And other nations as well) a HUGE advantage in selling their goods here, while at the same time handicapping our own businesses?  There is a reason why everything is “made in China.”  Does that make any sense at all?  There is a reason that most electronics are NOT made in America anymore.  There is a reason that so many American companies have moved production facilities overseas, and their “customer service” as well.  Plain and simple, it’s CHEAPER to do business overseas!  Add to this the fact that there are far fewer regulations (Typically) than there are for companies in the U.S.  Trump is working to change this as well.

Taking away the advantage of high tariffs against U.S. companies, along with lowering taxes will cause more manufacturing to be done in the U.S.  Will there be some pain at first?  Yes.  But the end result is worth it.

Trump is looking at the long game, not short-term goals.  Yes, higher prices in the U.S. are not good, but continuing to let other nations constantly take advantage of us while we lay down in the corner with our tail between our legs isn’t good either, in fact, that is worse.  Think of other nation’s high tariffs against the U.S. as a form of bullying.  They raise tariffs to a high percentage on our goods, while we just smile, do nothing, and take the beating.  Trump is one of the few with enough gumption to actually do something about this.

I believe Trump’s goal has nothing to do with actually charging high percentage tariffs.  Yes, there are and will be some increases, and there should be in order to level the playing field.  Trump has our best interests at heart I believe, and letting China continue to dominate us while thoroughly screwing us over, AND stealing tech and other things from us is NOT the way to go.  You don’t placate the bully and take their mistreatment, because if you do, the bully will only be encouraged to bully you even more.  Trump is standing up to the bullies.  It’s about time someone does.

Why Pause High Tariffs?

Donald Trump is often ahead of most other people by two or three moves.  While the media and many people are focused on what he recently said that has them all up-in-arms, Trump is off doing something else.  Trump states that much higher tariffs are or will be in effect soon, and then turns around and says that he has paused them for 90 days?  Why did he do this?  Far too many people think Trump is bonkers.  There IS a reason for this however.

Other countries are now looking to make trade deals with the U.S.  Could this be the reason why Trump did what he did?  China may well be indirectly backing down on their threats to fight to the end.  Their economy isn’t doing that well, and losing the business of the United States would hurt them financially in a big way.  I very much so believe that China needs us way more then we need them, and Trump understands this.

People seem to forget that Trump is a business man, and is VERY good at making deals.  Now, he’s making deals for the benefit of We the People.

The Art of the Deal

Trump raised tariffs in his first term as president also, and the same whining and crying happened then too.  It’s rather funny to me that the Politicrats cried crocodile tears over Trump’s high tariffs during his first term as president, but then Joe Biden took office, and actually EXPANDED and RAISED some of the Trump tariffs even more!  No one cried about that for some reason.  The media cried long and loud that Trump was going to cause the stock market to implode, he was going to destroy the U.S. economy, and on, and on, and on.  Never happened.  And don’t forget, Trump was going to cause World War Three, THAT never happened.  Won’t happen this time either.  The markets will recover, the economy will rebound and will grow.

While many are screaming bloody murder about high tariffs, Trump is forcing other nations to come to us looking for new trade deals.  There is also the fact that members of other countries need to make threats and look tough before they “make a deal” with us, it’s called saving face, and everyone does it, it’s all part of the game.

Economies run in part on the laws of supply and demand.  If Trump’s actions cause there to be an increase, or a “demand” for more American goods, then that translates to more jobs, more overtime, more tax income, more companies willing to pay their workforces’ higher wages and better benefits, companies moving their off-shore business back to the U.S. etc.  This all happened during Trump’s first term, and it will happen again in this term.

The Way It Is

It’s not at all good that so many things are no longer “made in America.”  This is yet another way that China kills us in the marketplace.  China uses slave labor, and if you are actually a paid worker in China, you get paid what they say you get paid, too bad if you don’t like it.  The Chinese people have very few rights, and they for sure do not have labor unions.

I personally feel that too many American companies have sold us out for profit.  At the same time however, when these companies can make far more money (Think millions and billions of dollars) doing their work overseas, and have far less regulations to deal with – why wouldn’t they leave?

We are supposed to be a free market economy, not a market enslaved to the U.S. government, yet that is EXACTLY what the Politicrats have done for us.  Trump is trying to reverse this idiocy.

Unfortunately, the times they are again a changing, the back-stabbing is again beginning to happen, Republicans are turning their backs on Trump and going over to the Democrats (Politicrats), parting ways with their recently (Fake) newfound optimism. 

The real problem here is that precious few people actually WANT there to be changes, many offer up lip service only, while in practice turning their backs on positive change.  Why you might ask?  It’s actually very simple, money.  The old way of doing things, as in the back-breaking regulations and red-tape, the corruption, high tax rates, the practice of padding Congressional bills with enough pork to run a small nation etc., these things make a lot of people a LOT of money.

The U.S. was intended to be a nation for a God-fearing people.  George Washington would roll over in his grave if he could see what the U.S. has become.  The U.S. was never intended to be a haven for unscrupulous money and power-hungry people, but yet, that is exactly what it has become.  Most members of Congress, if they are not already rich when they attain office, by the time they leave office, almost every single one of them are multi-millionaires, and it’s NOT because of their paycheck. 

Why have the Democrats and the RINOs allowed SO MANY things that harm this country as a whole to happen, even actively helping these things along?  You can draw your own conclusions.