Only logged in members can reply and interact with the post.
Join SimilarWorlds for FREE »

What is a trade war? 101

Leaving politics right out of this, lets talk about how trade wars work. Then you be the judge of who wins and who loses. (Economics is kind of my thing)
If a country wants to protect an industry, say like steel or Aluminium, it has several options.. One, to place a tariff (a charge or tax) on any imported steel. Two, to set quota limits requiring a licence to import it. Three to subsidize the local people to allow them to sell their stuff cheaper. (Remember Farm subsidies)
Now if a nation does any one these, the oversea export country is likely to pick another product the US is selling them and do the same thing, So.. Who wins? Not the consumers.. Either way, they end up paying more for stuff made from Steel and Aluminium, and not the people trying to sell their other products, say food, which is already costing the consumers money in farm subsidies and now they still cant sell, against the other guys tariff..
So who wins?? The governments at either end, pocketing the tariff money...
That's why no sensible person WANTS a trade war.... There ARE NO WINNERS!!!
This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »
Ummm. I'm not an economist, but it seems like the actual winners will be the people bribing and taking bribes to get around the tarriffs or who can figure out how to profit from the losses somehow.
whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M
Yes.. There are ways to do it legally of course.. When a raw product like steel is restricted, sometimes the company will "manufacture" something with it to get around a restriction. There was a case many years ago where A certain Japanese care company who made unbreakable cars, got a major concession by manufacturing engine heads and shipping them to Japan, where they were rejected and melted down for re use.. And still cheaper than importing the raw material.. Trade is a funny beast.@MistyCee
This comment is hidden. Show Comment
@TotalMiss the same logic does kind of apply.

Btw, the Icahn thing was what I was trying to predict, however inarticulately.
This comment is hidden. Show Comment
@TotalMiss I [i]do[/i] rather like it when POTUS does stuff within his job description for a change.

I don't really trust his decision making, but focusing on trade beats the hell out of throwing fuel on fires at home.
This comment is hidden. Show Comment
whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M
So, you are on my side now?@TotalMiss
This comment is hidden. Show Comment
@TotalMiss Err, sort of.

International trade, for sure. I'm not willing to excuse anything this guy does because he says it's supposedly economically sound, and I really don't like the way this thing tax thing played, for example, but, no matter how wrong and unfit I think Trump is, and how much I distrust him, I like it when he plays at being President instead of bully to his own citizens, other branches of government, or his own subordinates.

I don't really know about tarriffs, but I feel better about paying for Mar a Lago time for that than I do for tweeting about Alec Baldwin or chewing out Sessions for doing his job.
This comment is hidden. Show Comment
@TotalMiss I hope your right about the tax cuts. I have my doubts, but I'd feel better if I trusted at least Trump's consistency more.

The guy looks like a con man to me, willing to lie about anything and everything, and even if he might be on the right side by chance, I don't trust him.

He's said stuff I like, and a lot of stuff I don't, but the stuff I don't worries me more, because some of it makes me think he's in waaaay over his head and is going to get us all in trouble.
This comment is hidden. Show Comment
@TotalMiss It's not his intentions that worry me, as much as the price we'll pay for his methods.
This comment is hidden. Show Comment