Posted on 12/05/2016 12:48:47 PM PST by Pinkbell
WASHINGTON; If President-elect Donald Trump thinks he’s going to impose a 35 percent tariff on companies importing goods, he might want to check with Republicans in Congress.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) suggested Monday that Republicans would not be in favor of imposing the 35 percent tariff on foreign goods that Trump proposed Sunday in a series of tweets.
Trump may not understand how tariffs really work; it would be very difficult for the United States to impose them on specific companies that move jobs to a foreign country; or that Congress, not the president, sets them. But he also might be trying to use trade complexities to end run around Congress.
The president’s administration could declare a given country in violation of certain trade acts, and then impose a retaliatory tariff. It would then be up to the other nation to lodge protest with the appropriate authority.
If Trump wanted to push the issue, he probably could impose a tariff and wait for Congress, the courts or a trade organization to do something about it. And if he truly wants to do it, Republicans could be the ones going after Trump.
“I don’t want to get into some sort of trade war,” McCarthy said, still downplaying the policy differences between Trump and congressional Republicans.
There is some debate about how much power the president has to enact tariffs and “rip up” trade deals. The president could declare the United States in violation of certain trade acts, and then try to impose a tariff based on those old laws, but there would be significant pushback from Congress.
Regardless, the majority leader said Republicans were intent on overhauling the corporate tax code so businesses would stay in the United States. “That’s the best way to solve this problem,” McCarthy said.
(Excerpt) Read more at huffingtonpost.com ...
Tariffs should be at least as high as the combined cost of taxes and unnecessary regulations are to businesses that stay in the US.
set corporate tax rate to 0% for businesses that employ only American workers. 35% for ones that don’t.
Don’t try to confuse us with facts. We prefer outdated theories.
Jim, I agree. I also support both in rare instances.
We have 45 million people sitting on their ass today, due in no small part to illegal immigration and destructive trade.
That does not change the fact that there is ALWAYS a place for tariffs, even in otherwise normal times.
So tariffs are not inherently evil, and in situations like we have today, they are a tool that can be used to bring things back into line fast.
I’m all for it.
Agree. We should put tariff’s on products made by foreign workers for US companies that moved their plants out of the USA. This costs both US jobs and taxes. I and many recall when we laughed at cheap Jap products. We can recall the best men’s shirts were made in SC along with other cotton clothing. Stanley tools and Sear’s tools were made in the USA. We made nearly everything here. I want to see us get back on track.
Same here.
R&D follows manufacturing.
We simply handed off a strategic resource. Very dumb move...
Isn’t McCarthy the congressman that played Doctor with former congresswoman Renee Ellmers?
People hear tariffs and translate that to “consumer imports,” so adding defense to the equation will then lead to “why are we importing defense components?”
There is not always a place for protectionist tariffs. I think I’ve explained why. Not hearing a convincing argument why forced higher prices on American consumers is always a good idea.
Yes we did. We gave the farm away plus our R&D went later. China has been drilling off Florida and California for years. Look at the idiot who gave away the Panama canal.
China runs the canal that US men died of malaria making.
Then crooks like the Clintons sell our uranium to Russia. They are traitors. Obama sells citizenship for a 500K investment by a Chinese or Muslim in a town/city. Trump has a damn mess to clean up. These kids are taught common core BS. US history is revisionist. Look up the Gettysburg address and common core. The lesson plan will piss you off.
45,000,000 jobless people is probably a pretty good reason.
You expected a better one?
You fail to identify the root cause WHY there are 45,000,000 jobless people which is the federal government. Unbelievable. I know I’m not talking to a Leftist but I could be. The Leftist answer for government failure is ALWAYS more government.
Thanks for the comments, and I’ll check out the address and Common Core’s focus.
I may not get back to comment on it. I am interested in it.
Jim, we’re talking about Trade here.
I need to spell it out for you?
No amount of government intervention is going to bring jobs back if another nation’s workers are paid $0.10 cents an hour vs $15.00 dollars an hour here.
There are going to have to be some tariffs. There is going to have to be some government reductions in regulation too.
Are you aware we are losing $6.75 to $13.50 trillion dollars in economic activity yearly inside our nation right now due to idle workers?
Again, I needed to tell you this?
Been doing it domestically for years!
Dang man, the point of this whole discussion and this stupid tariff thing is dealing with businesses fleeing the country.
You don’t solve a problem if you don’t ID the root cause of the problem. The root cause businesses are fleeing the country is the federal government.
Attacking the root cause involves what I have already laid out:
- Abolish the unconstitutional federal minimum wage
- Abolish unconstitutional federal regulations
- Abolish unconstitutional federal union protection
- Abolish federal corporate taxes which is a hidden form of higher individual taxes
The babies on our midst cry “it’s all their fault”. That is b/s. Our greatest enemy in many ways including our economic problems is our rogue and mostly unconstitutional federal government. Tariffs fail to address the root causes of why business are leaving the U.S. Doing the above directly attacks the REAL problem.
Again, that doesn’t make any sense to the average American. Tariffs are immediately associated with imports.
Jim, if you wish to think $0.10 cent an hour wages in the U.S. is the road to a great future, go ahead. I don’t share your view.
I’m not a big fan of the minimum wage. I just don’t think you get where you want to go realistically by addressing that. I wouldn’t even bring it up here. Silly.
As for regulations? Sure
As for unions, I’d need to see what you have in mind. I don’t think you can arbitrarily do away with unions. The membership of most of them want the union. If you think the teachers are going to revolt and kick out the union, I think you’re kidding yourself.
Corporate tax rates need to fall. I agree there. Not only will it contribute to jobs coming back, but it will help to repatriate dollars to the U.S.
Corporations are not faultless in all this. That’s as absurd as saying it’s all their fault. I don’t have any sympathy for a corporation moving everything overseas. None!
People aren’t the only ones that can commit treason. Loral giving space technology to China was such an act IMO.
Tariffs do attack the wages end of it.
Denying that tells me you’re not serious about looking at all issues.
You want to blame this all on the government. While I do think it contributed, the corporations are not faultless.
They gladly gave away patent and technical information to a potential strategic enemy of the United States.
All U.S. tariffs do is artificially raise prices to the American consumer forcing a lower standard of living which government is very good at doing.
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