Republicans, can you please explain to me how a bill cutting taxes for the rich and increasing taxes for the poor is going to help matters?

@MrSmooTh Tariffs are taxes. The poor buy imported goods and pay tariffs that add up to far more than their tax cuts. And the bill assumes income from tariffs.

@ElwoodBlues Tariffs are being used as bargaining chips to make deals with other countries and they have already brought in revenue. You may pay in tariffs but the dollar is worth more.

@MrSmooTh and what countries have made deals?
In fact the rest of the world is now forming new (and hopefully better) trading partnerships without america. China is positioning itself as a stable, reliable, and mature trading nation - coincidentally three things that trump is not 😀
Incidentally, do you realise that trump’s constant and inappropriate use of the word 'deal' is only to bolster the myth that he is some sort of competent businessman?
Trading agreements take a long time to negotiate - often across years of effort - but trump knows he can rely on the gullible to assume it’s done on a lunch meeting and a handshake.
Infantile nonsense to calm those who will be paying the tariff tax - americans.

@ElwoodBlues In the long run, tariffs bring manufacturing back to this country, jobs created , economy improved!

@fanuc2013 says Do they really?? Have US tariffs ever done that before, or is that an untested dream of a rosy scenario???

@MrSmooTh They cannot be a bargaining chip and bring in more revenue. That is just nonsense. Trump has backed down from most of the major confontations. The only tangible impact to date has been to damage consumer confidence and the trading certainty that businesses rely upon.

@MrSmooTh Other countries charge you? You're going to have to explain that one!

@MrSmooTh Most countries levy tariffs, including the USA pre-Trump. This thread is about Trump's contradictory use of tariffs as a diplomatic tool while asserting that the revenue can be used as a substitute for income taxes.

@MrSmooTh You don't have the facts on your side, so you toss insults instead, SAD!!

Most nations have one or two domestic industries that they protect with tariffs, but the overall average rate is low. Prior to tRump's trade war, the average US tariff rate on imports from the EU was 1.47 percent, while on EU imports from the US it was 1.35 percent. Thus the US imposed negligibly higher tariffs: 0.12%.

You may have been fed a few cherry-picked examples, but the overall rates between the US and EU were very very low, and there was NOTHING to retaliate for. Now that tRump has started a trade war, the EU has reason to retaliate. You, dude, are the one who doesn't understand how tariffs work.

https://www.bruegel.org/analysis/economic-impact-trumps-tariffs-europe-initial-assessment