"...I am a Tariff Man"

[violetpastille]

Link to tweet

When our small business gets a tariff invoice that invoice is generated by the Department of Homeland Security.

Where is the tariff money going?

[HAB911]

1. TIMBEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!

Look out below!

[underpants]

2. Still hasn't been briefed on who PAYS tariffs?

[Gothmog]

3. Trump is an idiot

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. The tariff money is a tax paid to the government.

But the effects of tariffs are complicated, a fact Tiny doesn't understand. Although the government acquires revenue, consumers end up paying the tax, and some domestic industries can be significantly harmed while others might gain.

A pretty good explanation of how they work is here: xhttps://theconversation.com/what-is-a-tariff-an-economist-explains-93392?gclid=Cj0KCQiA6JjgBRDbARIsANfu58Ga6yN63q0G875T_fRuPyFe3HVZ4yIrBaIvqqx9P6ibiZ82S02LgSYaAivZEALw_wcB

The fact that a large country can, in some cases, be better off with a tariff has led some to suggest that such nations ought to, when necessary, levy “optimal tariffs” against their trade partners.

An optimal tariff maximizes the difference between the terms of trade gain and the efficiency loss and hence is essentially a “beggar-thy-neighbor” trade policy.

In other words, the problem with such strategic tariffs is that in addition to frequently being illegal, they are not implemented in a vacuum. Aggrieved trade partners are likely to respond with appropriate tariffs or other trade policy instruments of their own.

These kind of sequential “tit-for-tat” actions can easily degenerate into a trade war. This is in part why trade economists are typically against restricted trade and for free trade.

[violetpastille]

6. I understand.

But am curious specifically..

As I make out the check to the DHS, "Is this money staying within the DHS? Or?"

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. AFAIK it goes to the U.S. treasury and is part of the general budget.

[MiniMe]

5. "I am the eggman, I am the Walrus"

Coo coo ka choo

[Arkansas Granny]

8. He needs a refresher course: China Trade War: What Is A Tariff And Who Pays It?

Earlier this month, President Trump escalated his trade war with China by announcing 10 percent tariffs on an additional $200 billion in Chinese imports—which took effect yesterday. But he showed a troubling lack of understanding about how the levies work. Pointing to earlier import duties he imposed, Trump bragged that “China is paying us billions of dollars in tariffs.” Treasury, he added, is collecting “tremendous amounts of money, which is great for our country.”

Where to begin?

What is a tariff?

A tariff is a tax on imported goods. Despite what the president says, it is almost always paid directly by the importer (usually a domestic firm), and never by the exporting country. Thus, if the U.S. imposes a tariff on Chinese televisions, the duty is paid to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Service at the border by a U.S. broker representing a U.S. importer, say, Costco.


The Chinese government pays nothing, just as the U.S. government pays no tax to Canada for that nation’s tariffs on imported dairy products. Rather, an importer or supplier for a Canadian supermarket pays the duty on Wisconsin cheese that lands in the grocer’s dairy counter (though I suspect few Canadian retailers are selling much U.S. cheese these days, given the recent unpleasantness between the two countries).

https://www.forbes.com/sites/howardgleckman/2018/09/25/what-is-a-tariff-and-who-pays-it/#1af2437e137b

[matt819]

9. What a fucking moron

Who’s paying those tariffs? As an importer, I am. And, in turn, my customers are. The exporter isn’t paying those tariffs. The exporting country isn’t paying those tariffs. And in my case, it doesn’t even protect the domestic producers because there are almost none, and certainly none who can manufacture to my suppliers’ standards.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

10. From the shittiest "human being" to the lamest not so-super hero. nt

[violetpastille]

11. Hahaha.

[0rganism]

12. "the truth is... I AM TARIFF MAN"

[Gothmog]

13. The Dow is down 700+ points due to this idiot

[Gothmog]

14. From Robert Reich

Link to tweet

[violetpastille]

15. +1

I don't agree with everything Robert Reich says, but he is masterful at distilling economic concepts for the uninitiated.

I wish we could get "Inequality for All" into every classroom.

[Maeve]

16. A bit of Gilbert & Sullivan, I think

For my economic knowledge, though I'm plucky and adventury
Has only been brought up unto the 18th century
But still, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral
I am the very model of a Tariff Man in general!