Trump's protectionism

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Trump has promised to "make America great" by bringing back manufacturing jobs with import tariffs and ending free-trade pacts.

For example, Trump has proposed import tariffs of "35 percent on Ford vehicles from Mexico and 45 percent on Chinese goods". [source 1 & 2]

For example, Trump thinks this will force Apple Computer to make iphones in America.

So, Trump fans, a huge tax on import products will "make America great"?

sources:
1. http://www.cnbc.com/2016/03/10/trump-tr ... perts.html
2. http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-d ... e-exports/

I'm a free-trade guy myself.

But we have to really stop the destruction of jobs which is known as outsourcing.

I don't think Trump is the solution, though.

Free Trade is Economic Darwinism in action.

If you can't compete, then get outta the business.

Will it force Trump to start having his clothing line manufactured here in the U.S instead of mexico and china as well?

Probably not. Mr. trump is old-school "Do as I say, not as I do". He's even hired illegal immigrants instead of legal citizens.

It seems weird to see republicans embrace protectionism. Recent polls show a majority of republicans have a negative view of free trade. I think tariffs would start a trade war. I thought protectionism was one of the factors that lead to the great depression.

There is a precedent.

Mexican and Canadian drug prices are substantially lower, this was hurting the pharmaceutical industry, so the Republicans created the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act to help ensure high drug prices.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicare_ ... zation_Act

Everything is manufactured in China, so you can't trump Trump for it.

Maybe you cant blame Trump the business owner from doing different than Trump the hypothetical president.
He had to compete with everyone else who is doing X so I had to do X myself to stay in business even though I dont think its right to do X- he might argue.


But protectionism is a dangerous game. It assumes that other countries wont retaliate. Which is an absurd assumption.

And as pointed out above there was sudden trade war right after the stock market crash of 1929 of tariffs and counter tariffs. It caused the collapse in world trade that was the proximate cause of the great depression.

And Trump wants to wall off Mexican immigration at the same time that he wants to wreck the Mexican economy by taking manufacturing jobs out of Mexico. So it he is at cross purposes with himself.

I am solidly in the Free Trade camp. But we have to lower our trade deficit.

Outsourcing MUST be regulated. That, and the subprime mortgage crisis, was at the crux of our economic slide.

Now, people (including myself) have to update our skills; people who don't update their skills will be left behind.

I read china is trying to switch to a services based economy. Maybe some
Manufacturing will come back here. I remember during high school economics discussing how president george w bush put tariffs on steel imports and other countries threatened to put tariffs on u.s. goods. President obama has started a national manufacturing initiative. I think he wants to emulate germany's economy. I read germany has a national training program and 60 manufacturing
Institutes.the area i live in is experiencing a manufacturing boom.local governments offer companies subsidies and tax credits to locate operations here. The south is also undergoing a manufacturing boom .using the same strategy. I dont know what america could do about job training. We already have job corps.
A few people have been murdered attending job corps. I think companies relocate to different countries because there are less environmental ,safety and
Labor regulations. They also pay workers lower wages. I heard china's environment has been badly damaged.maybe we could lower taxes and simplify the tax code. We could try to find a way to hold buisnesses accountable but not burden them with too much regulation. I also like what obama is doing . We may have to subsidize manufacturing to some degree too keep it here.it is said countries with the most diverse economies tend to be the most sucessful.

what of us who are simply not bright enough and monied enough to get college degrees?

'Free trade' is horses**t because there is no such thing as free trade, we have these trade deals where we basically alow others countries to flood our markets with their subpar slave labor created crap while they they protect their own industries from ours. We tax the s**t out of our own citizen's meager and shrinking incomes while we create new econominc super powers with our former manufacturing base? What benefit has NAFTA given the United States? It's to our advantage, it might help these other countries out but it is time that the rest of the world starts paying their fair share. It's okay that we tax the s**t out of our own people, individuals, but the multinational corporations who flood our markets and steal our jobs are off limits? I don't want an humanitarian trade policy, I want a pro-American trade policy that makes us rich first and foremost and we should use all leverage necessary.

People don't need degrees to update their skills.

There are certificate programs for such things as medical coding.

It seems to me from a mathematical perspective that Americans would have the highest standard of living with absolute "free trade". It seems to me that the availability of super cheap Walmart products benefits Americans more than the loss of particular jobs.

but without the jobs one cannot afford the things, or much of anything else.