We have for many years pointed out how un-free DC’s “free trade” has been.
Now-President Donald Trump has done the same – for decades.
DC’s warped definition of “free trade” – has nigh every other nation on the planet imposing all sorts of tariffs and import limits on our stuff.
It has nigh every other nation subsidizing the daylight out of the products they bring to global market – which allows them to anti-competitively, artificially charge much less for their stuff than we charge for our stuff.
All the while – we have imposed comparatively tiny tariffs and comparatively generous import limits on anyone else’s stuff. And we have subsidized the things we bring to global market – hardly at all.
So our stuff enters a global market – beset by a vast array of policies from just about every nation…all designed to minimize our access to the global market.
All the while – we’re flooded by nigh unlimited dumps of every other nation’s stuff.
Combine that with decades’ worth of our government’s terrible tax rates, byzantine tax code and hundreds of thousands of pages of regulations – and we have a decades-long loss of millions of jobs.
Now that Trump is in a position to do something about this one-sided, America Last nightmare mess – he is taking maximum advantage.
Trump immediately started slashing regulations – and hasn’t stopped.
Trump signed Congress’ markedly improved tax rate-tax code reformation bill.
And now Trump is addressing the third leg of the American economy stool – DC’s heinous, phony “free trade.”
Trump began his negotiations – by threatening and then imposing steel and aluminum tariffs.
And everyone – who didn’t get what Trump was doing – freaked the heck out. Thankfully, that included just about every nation that has spent the last several decades robbing us blind.
China Threatens to Retaliate against Trump’s Tariff Plan
E.U. Leader Threatens to Retaliate With Tariffs
Canada Threatens Retaliation on Trump Tariffs
What do multiple members of the European Union (EU) – Germany, France, Italy and The United Kingdom – and Canada all have in common? They are all members of the G-7 global trade group.
Which, interestingly enough, just convened a meeting. At which Trump played his next card.
Having gotten every nation on the record as vociferously opposing the tariffs he was threatening to add to the global heap of tariffs – until now just about all piled up against US…:
Trump Makes Stunning Reversal, Says There Should Be ‘No Tariffs, No Barriers’ at G7 Summit: “Trump brought up the idea of totally free trade during a meeting with the other G7 leaders which include the heads of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and representative for the EU.
“‘Ultimately that’s what you want, you want tariff free, no barriers, and you want no subsides because you have some countries subsidizing industries and that’s not fair,’ Trump said. ‘So you go tariff free, you go barrier free, you go subsidy free.…’”
Absolutely that’s what we in the US want. And all these big talking anti-tariff nations – should want it too.
Because up until now – the global market has been anything but “tariff free,…barrier free…(and) subsidy free….”
Want a tariff example? Canada imposes a TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY PERCENT (270%) tax on US dairy imports. That isn’t at all obnoxious. Think we do anything remotely similar to their dairy? Ummm…no. Think that severely cripples our domestic producers? Ummm…yes.
The global market is riddled with these sorts of anti-America tariff imbalances.
Want a subsidy example? We’ll give you two.
There are more than 100 countries that sell sugar on the global market. Brazil controls 41% of that entire market. Thailand controls almost 10%.
Two countries – control half of a market of over one hundred participating countries.
By the way: The U.S….isn’t in the top fifteen. “Climate” you say? We’re too chilly to produce enough sugar? Ummm…The Netherlands is #10. Yet another example of global government impediments to our exports.
So how do Brazil and Thailand dominate the market? Government subsidies.
Brazil’s government subsidizes its sugar…to the tune of more than $4 billion per year. Thailand’s government subsidizes its sugar…to the tune of nearly $2 billion per year.
So Brazil can charge $4 billion per year less on the global market – and Thailand $2 billion per year less.
And they dominate the market. Shocker.
So…Trump is correct. On tariffs – and on subsidies. Every country on the planet should “go tariff free,…barrier free,…subsidy free….”
Oh: And until we get there – Congress should stop trying to have our side unilaterally disarm. And get rid of the speck in our eye – while the rest of the world rolls logs and us. Because it will only further hurt our producers.
On sugar – that means the Farm Bill under current consideration. To which some are attempting to affix The Sugar Policy Modernization Act (H.R. 4265).
A bill that will strip-mine our producers – by leaving them even more fully exposed to the massively-subsidizing likes of Brazil and Thailand. And ensure we will be even more not-Top-Fifteen in the global market race – than we already are.
Let’s have everyone do as Trump suggests – and get to zero government impediments of any kind to free trade.
And let’s have the world’s worst offenders – go first.
And then work our way all the way down the world’s least offenders – which includes US.
This first appeared in Red State.