Tag Archives: tariffs

The View From The Lair

Posted on by

Sweating Blood

A few weeks ago, I commented on the effects that PDJT’s tariffs would have on the world’s economy, especially China’s. Like most everyone, I underestimated our esteemed President Trump. Chairman Xi started out by putting up a strong face. That is very important to many cultures, especially in the orient. Keeping “face” is essential to maintain dignity, to present strength and composure, to display courage and conviction. To do less than this is to invite shame. In some instances, death is preferable to shame.

Shaming is a tool used by our Marxist enemies to generate a reaction to their taunts and abuses. It is effective only against those with a conscience and who can hold shame. Alas, they are invulnerable to the same tactics used against them because they have neither shame nor conscience.

I projected that the tariffs might take over 60 days to show some effect. The Chinese stated that they would “fight to the end” to oppose the US tariffs. Apparently, the end is nearer than they thought. Now, the Chinese are lowering their retaliatory tariffs on some microchips as well as other products. There are as many as 16 million Chinese factory jobs at risk of being lost due to the tariffs. Container ships are reportedly being turned around. Which means a LOT of already manufactured products will not be paid for. Note: there is no unemployment in China. No work, no pay. No pay, no food. Things go downhill from there. Think of 1932 USA but with over a billion people.

Chairman Xi is presently chairman for life. That position does not state how long the term actually is. With the economy beginning to collapse his term may not be as long as he had expected.

Sending out the military against factory workers in cities all across China will be…problematic. Tiananmen Square situations in multiple cities would certainly be bad optics. Mao had no problem with killing millions of his people, but they mostly succumbed to starvation, primarily due to ignorance and central planning. Bad central planning…which it almost always is.  There were no cell phones, no way to document the tragedy.  Seeing the army slaughter civilians because they are rioting for pay and food might be a different situation.

A government coup in China will likely be different from what the Marxists pulled off with Biden. Regardless of what they wished they could do, putting a bullet in Biden’s brain (not that he or anyone else would notice) would not be as acceptable to the news vultures as doing the same to PDJT.

It has been said that war is a result of poor diplomacy. But diplomacy takes different forms. Chairman Xi wants to take Tiawan. Tiawan isn’t interested. The Chinese have already embarked on a very aggressive program to build an enormous army, navy and air force. They have constructed new islands with military bases on them. The invasion of Tiawan wouldn’t require this…but to fight us as well certainly would. With his economy faltering and civilian unrest, how does he pay for the military buildup? Buy guns or butter? Can he afford both? His population growth has also stalled. Who will support both the economy and the military?

POTUS is using economic warfare to replace military warfare. He can starve the military buildup and prevent a shooting war. And in doing so, return basic manufacturing capacity to the US. He’s still playing 5D chess; everyone else is playing tiddlywinks.

ciao,

The Snark

Why Some Imported Products Are Cheaper

Posted on by

There are a lot of reasons for the decline of manufacturing in America. Many of those reasons are related to trade deficits and the desire for cheap goods, but some are related to the cost of doing business in America. For better or worse, corporations in America who choose to operate within the law are required to pay their employees a minimum wage. We can debate over what that wage should be, but the fact of the matter is that a minimum wage exists. Some other countries have no qualms about employing slave labor or paying people very low wages. The Chinese have used Muslims as slave labor for years. So why would a manufacturing company want to locate in America? There are a number of incentives (in addition to the lowering of the corporate tax rate). America has dependable energy and is moving toward lowering the cost of energy. America protects property rights–the state cannot come in and simply take your business away. Innovation is also protected by patent and copyright laws. America represents a stable environment in which to do business. Changing the structure of tariffs also has moral component.

On May 12, The Federalist reported:

…But Trump’s tariffs were not just economic, they were moral. Rather than relying on foreign countries, particularly China, that benefit from abusive labor practices, Trump put America first by deciding the U.S. must stop pretending inexpensive products come with no human cost. 

…During Trump’s first term, his administration repeatedly highlighted human rights abuses abroad, especially in regions like China’s Xinjiang province, where the Chinese Communist Party is running forced labor camps filled with Uyghur Muslims. More than a million Uyghurs and other Muslims have been detained by China and sent to reeducation camps in what is called the “Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Zone” for a range of reasons, including attending religious services, having more than three kids, or texting verses from the Quran. 

China forced many of its religiously and ethnically targeted workforce to toil away in factories, making products distributed and sold across the globe. Muslim slaves in China produce countless store shelves worth of goods, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, such as textiles, hair products, and aluminum, among many other things. They get extremely low pay, can’t contact or visit their families (unless, in some circumstances, they are heavily surveilled by the government), and they can’t leave. 

The article concludes:

Yes, U.S. prices may go up a bit in the short term. Maybe American girls will find two dolls under the Christmas tree instead of 30, as President Trump suggested Sunday on Meet the Press. Maybe U.S. students will sharpen five pencils instead of hoarding 250 like mini office supply tycoons. But maybe underpaid workers in China won’t have to literally slave away making those dolls or pencils for someone else’s kid in a distant Land of the Free. 

President Trump believes temporary price fluctuations are a trade-off worth making in the interim, and he is doing what no other president had the guts to do. There is short-lived pain before lasting progress, and Trump is willing to take the heat now to put human rights and American prosperity over easy profits. 

About Those Tarriffs

Posted on by

When President Trump announced his reciprocal tariff program on April 2, 2025, he held up a chart illustrating the tariffs being charged America at that time. The chart below came from Newsweek.

This is the chart:

As you can see, the majority of the suggested tariffs America would charge are significantly less than the tariffs currently being charged America. In fact, many of the suggested tariffs are half of what the country involved charges America. So why all this meltdown from the political left, the Washington establishment, and the RINO Republicans? Because when you institute tariffs, you decrease the importance of the federal income tax and thus decrease the power of those who write the tax code.

According to the tax foundation:

There’s the literal statutes that Congress has passed (Title 26 of the U.S. Code). The Government Printing Office sells it spread over two volumes, and according to them, book one is 1,404 pages and book two is 1,248 pages, for a total of 2,652 pages. At perhaps 450 words per page, that puts the tax code at well over 1 million words. (By way of comparison, the King James Bible has 788,280 words; War and Peace runs 560,000 words; and the Harry Potter series is just over 1 million words.)

So how was our tax code formulated? It is a tribute to lobbyists and Congressmen who want to be re-elected. One illustration of that was what happened when President Trump during his first term limited the SALT (state and local tax deduction) on federal income tax forms to $10,000. Congressmen from state with lower property taxes celebrated (because they were no longer subsidizing states with higher property taxes), and Congressmen from states with high property taxes complained because they knew their constituents would not like paying a higher federal income tax. There is talk of increasing or ending the limits on the SALT deduction in the budget currently being debated in Congress. 

The war on President Trump is based on a number of factors. If his presidency is successful, it will prove that America does not need to elect a politician to be President–a businessman who is NOT connected to the Washington swamp can probably do a better job. If President Trump’s policies are enacted, Americans in the middle and working classes will thrive. Wall Street and the political elites might not do as well. If President Trump’s policies are blocked, I think the economic outlook for America is bleak.

View From The Lair

Posted on by

SWAG Observations

The other day my compatriot, the esteemed Dr. Alan Harrop, provided an excellent analysis of the purpose and effect of the POTUS tariff strategy. As I have mentioned, Alan covers facts very concisely, rarely delving into conjecture.

I have no such compunction. There is another facet to the tariff strategy that is a bit of a SWAG (Scientific Wild Ass Guess), but I offer it with researched background.

Right now, the Federal Reserve is holding interest rates high to defeat inflation, which is a normally accepted practice during normal times. Times are not now normal. Inflation is coming down, but haven’t hit the goal yet. Meantime, the real estate market is stagnant. While 7% mortgage rates are not historically high (my first was a bargain at 9.5%), if anyone has a 2-3% mortgage, they aren’t budging from it. Who can blame them? But there are a lot of those mortgages out there. So those folks are sitting tight. And 7-7.5% can still be a stretch considering the beating that inflation has had on earning power and savings. And the housing demand is bursting.

Other credit demands are out there too. Businesses want to build, to expand, to hire. But money is tight.

Enter the tariffs. By using the tariffs, POTUS can bypass the Fed by using the tariffs to drop the bond market so that capital will then seek other sources of earnings.

POTUS nominated Powell during his first term, along with a number of other nominating mistakes. (Comey? Sessions?) The Fed is an independent agency, beholden to neither the President nor the Congress. But it is hardly non-political. Fed Chair Powell is a denizen of the swamp as much as any of them. So, Powell has done things his way, regardless of what the POTUS wants.  And POTUS does what he needs, regardless of what Powell wants. POTUS wants the dollar to remain the dominant trade currency, for the value of that dollar to slip compared to other countries, and to draw manufacturing resources – money, research, and talent – to the US.

The US is the 800-pound gorilla of the world’s economies. Without us, the rest of the world will grind to a trickle, especially China. Chairman Xi may try to save face, but 30 days of the new tariffs and he will be sweating. 60 Days and he’ll be sweating blood. But he can’t allow US products, especially durable goods like cars, to be imported. The quality differences are just too large. He’s caught between a rock and a hard spot. By squeezing the energy market, PDJT impacts Russia as well.

POTUS has signed the death certificate for globalization. The Swamp, especially the “elites” (I can’t describe Pelosi, Scheemer and company as “elite” with a straight face), are seeing their money train careen off the tracks. And the BullDOGER just keeps uncovering more of their theft.

Remember when President Barack O’Bozo was stumping for Her Majesty Hilarious Clinton, Queen of Chappaqua, and asked just how in the world that then candidate DJT was going to return all those manufacturing jobs? What was he going to do, “wave a magic wand”? It looks like 6-7 trillion dollars is already lined up to build new business in this country, plus many of the formerly domestic companies that fed offshore are coming back. POTUS didn’t need a magic wand. He needed a seriously large cudgel to persuade competing countries to play fair.

And the tariffs are that cudgel.

ciao,

The Snark

Tariffs:  Good or Bad?

Posted on by

Author:  R. Alan Harrop, Ph.D

Well, President Trump has done it again– kept his campaign promise about tariffs and putting America first.  This action, was the most dramatic and far-ranging impactful action by any president in quite some time.  Essentially, the whole world will be affected.  Before we can answer the question of whether these tariffs will be good or bad, we need to examine what they are intended to do.  While we cannot read President Trump’s mind as to his intentions, we can get a pretty good idea from his many comments about the problems facing this country.  Let’s check them out.

First, the national debt, currently at $ 36.8 trillion, which amounts to $93,500 for every man, woman, and child in this country, is clearly unsustainable and growing.  No country has ever survived that much debt without a total economic collapse.  How long do we have to address the debt crisis?  Based on their lack of action, according to most of our elected officials, there is no urgency.  Common sense, which is the guiding principle of the Trump administration, tells us otherwise.  Since the trade deficit with other countries is a major contributor to the national debt, the tariffs are a good place to start, since they directly attack the substantial trade deficit we have with other countries, which is now over $1.2 trillion per year.

Second is the loss of wealth creation.  Until recently, America offered the highest standard of living in the world.  How were we able to achieve this?  Through industrial manufacturing–that’s how.  From the mid- 1800s to the end of World War II, the manufacturing capacity of America was without equal.  A cursory examination of what we were able to produce during World War II shows that our label as the “Arsenal of Democracy” was based on our manufacturing capacity.  Not only did we arm ourselves in record fashion, but we were able to supply our allies, who would have been defeated without our arms supplies.  Converting raw materials into usable products using advanced manufacturing processes is the basis of wealth creation in the modern world.  Where are we now?  Over the past 50 years, we have been losing our manufacturing capacity at an alarming rate.  Hundreds of thousands of manufacturing plants have been closed in this country with the loss of millions of good paying jobs.  Looking back to the 1950s and 60s, it was typical that the man was the bread winner, and on his salary could support a family and own a home.  Now it takes two salaries and the cost of housing is beyond the reach of many.  This decline is primarily due to the globalization of the world economy and the policies that encouraged manufacturing to move to other countries where labor is much cheaper.

Third is national security.  In order to defend ourselves, it is necessary to maintain a strong military, which again relies on advanced technology and manufacturing.  For instance, we have 4 ship-building facilities in this country.  Our most immediate adversary, China, has 24 and leads the world in ship construction, both civilian and military.   Does China have the natural resources they need for their manufacturing?  Of course not–they get them from other countries, including us.  Many of the policies of the Left have contributed to the manufacturing demise–such things as excessive regulations, green energy mandates, DEI, etc. have complicated the operation of manufacturing plants, causing them to relocate to other countries to stay in business.  As we learned during Covid, obtaining medicines and essential medical supplies from other countries is potential social suicide especially in the case of war.

Fourth is the demise of the middle class.  The discrepancy between the top earners and lower groups has widened considerably.  The American Dream of economic advancement through hard work is seriously ill and getting sicker.  Excessive wealth disparities can lead to resentment and disillusionment that is not good for the unity of the country.

Fifth is unfair treatment by other countries.  If you were able to watch President Trump’s presentation about tariffs, it was clear that we have allowed ourselves to be taken advantage of by many other countries.  The idea of free trade that many economists have been preaching assumes a level of fair play that currently does not exist with many of our trading partners.  The have value-added taxes, forbid the import of certain items, and manipulate the value of their currency in order to maintain a trading advantage..  They get richer; we get poorer!  Pretty dumb on our part, wouldn’t you say?

There are other problems that President Trump hopes to address through the implementation of this ambitious tariff plan.  Obviously, these problems have existed for many years and addressing them is long overdue and will take time to accomplish.  Will there be some pain involved?  Of course–an omelet cannot be made without cracking the egg.   As the Left attacks him for his plan, I have not seen any of them present their own plan to solve this economic crisis.  The Left is quick to criticize, but presenting effective solutions is not something the Leftists ever do.  That is part of the reason we are in this fix.  So, let’s give President Trump’s plan a chance to succeed and support his efforts.  Doing nothing is not acceptable, and thank God we have a President who is dedicated, courageous, and willing to fight for this country he loves.  Many of our other presidents were not.

 

The Impact Of The Tariffs

Posted on by

On Friday, Townhall reported that Vietnam, after talking with President Trump, has agreed to eliminate tariffs on all U.S. goods if the two parties can negotiate a deal. That’s a good place to start.

The article reports:

This could be some good news – especially on the tariff front. It might mean that American product could become more competitive in Vietnam, which will benefit U.S.-based corporations. Vietnam is seeing a growth of its middle class, which could open new doors for trade.

It would also mean lower prices for American consumers purchasing products manufactured in Vietnam. This would include apparel, furniture, electronics, and several others. Other major corporation have used Vietnam as a significant manufacturing hub, which suggests cheaper imports might. Lower production expenses while boosting profit margins.

A tariff reduction of this type could also strengthen the economic relationship between the U.S. and Vietnam. This might be especially critical if the U.S. seeks to diversify its supply chains away from China. Less reliance on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could bolster Washington’s negotiating position.

There is also the possibility that other nations might follow Vietnam’s lead – especially if the deal benefits the country over the long term.

Of course, there is no deal just yet. But it appears that Vietnam is willing to make some important concessions. Either way, this is a promising sign.

According to the Office of the United States Trade Representative:

U.S. goods trade with Vietnam totaled an estimated $149.6 billion in 2024. U.S. goods exports to Vietnam in 2024 were $13.1 billion, up 32.9 percent ($3.2 billion) from 2023. U.S. goods imports from Vietnam totaled $136.6 billion in 2024, up 19.3 percent ($22.1 billion) from 2023. The U.S. goods trade deficit with Vietnam was $123.5 billion in 2024, an 18.1 percent increase ($18.9 billion) over 2023.

Since the amount of trade we are doing with Vietnam is increasing, a tariff agreement between the two countries would be a good deal for everyone involved.

 

Leveling The Playing Field

Posted on by

On Wednesday, Townhall posted an article about one result of President Trump’s tariffs.

The article reports:

Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Wednesday suggested that Canada would drop its tariffs on U.S. goods if President Donald Trump eased up on his tariffs on Canadian goods.

During an appearance with CNBC’s Ross Sorkin, he stated that the impending tariff war is “just going to hurt American jobs” and that Trump “said he was going to create jobs, create wealth, reduce inflation.”

Sorkin asked whether Ford believed it was fair that Canada has “tariffs on a whole number of products.”

Ford replied, “And we’d be willing to take those off tomorrow if he took all the tariffs off” and suggested that “China is the problem.”

The host asked why Canada wouldn’t have these negotiations before Trump imposed his tariffs.

The premier responded:

Well, we’ve had this conversation for over the last month. We don’t want tariffs. We have another $65 billion dollars with a tariff to launch today. That’s the last thing we want to do because it’s just, again, it’s going to hurt both countries. It’s going to hurt American workers. That’s the last thing I want.

That statement is a very diplomatic way of saying nothing.

America has been paying tariffs on its exports to other countries for years. It is not unreasonable to expect that at some point the playing field would be made more level. It is not up to us to bankroll the rest of the world by letting other countries impose tariffs on us without imposing tariffs on them. I suspect that President Trump’s tariffs are not yet set in stone and are still in the negotiating stage. We do need to put tariffs on other countries, but the final details may be different from what we are currently hearing.

Walmart and Tariffs

Posted on by

President Trump announced his tariff plan yesterday. Generally speaking, liberals are crying, “The sky is falling.” The stock market is down today, but will probably be back up in a week or so after the impact of the tariffs is calculated. One indication of how things might go is what is happening with Walmart.

A friend of mine summed it up:

“U.S. retailing giant Walmart,” Reuters reported, “is continuing to push Chinese suppliers to cut prices to offset President Donald Trump’s tariffs.” In other words, to stay competitive, foreign governments must cut their prices, to stay competitive. They must cut prices to precisely offset the tariffs. That is why foreign suppliers actually pay for tariffs, and not Americans.

To put it differently, it is true the tariff is charged at the port of entry. But if Chinese factories want to keep selling here, they must lower their prices to absorb the hit, because consumers won’t pay. Foreign producers indirectly pay the tariff through lowered prices, or they lose market share.

It’s that simple.

Here’s how it works in real life: If a Chinese plasma TV costs $1,000 and there’s a 10% tariff, the U.S. government collects $100. Walmart tells the Chinese supplier, “We’re not eating that cost. Cut your price to $900 or we’ll stop buying.” So the Chinese factory promptly cuts its price to stay in business.

The result is that the U.S. Treasury gets paid, Chinese exporters take the loss, and American consumers barely notice.

On Wednesday, Yahoo Finance reported:

Walmart is reportedly standing firm in its demands that Chinese suppliers absorb the costs of U.S. tariffs.

Bloomberg, citing sources with knowledge of the situation, said Walmart (WMT) is asking suppliers to reduce prices by up to 10% for every new round of tariffs, effectively shifting the financial burden onto manufacturers. Last month, Chinese officials met with Walmart executives to discuss the request, calling it irresponsible and unfair. Despite this, Walmart appears unfazed and has doubled down on its demands.

…Walmart isn’t alone in pushing suppliers to absorb some of the tariff costs. Other major retailers, including Target and Costco, are following suit. Target (TGT), for instance, asked a supplier of hairpins and claw clips to take on “half the costs of the tariffs.” The supplier said the failed negotiation led to delayed orders, eventually losing the business. Target has not responded to Quartz’s multiple requests for comment.

Tariffs are a very efficient way to deal with uneven trade practices and with import/export imbalances.

 

The Impact Of Proposed Tariffs

Posted on by

On Monday, The Daily Caller reported that Honda will be moving some of its manufacturing from Mexico to Indiana as a result of President Trump’s tariff plans for Mexico,

The article reports:

Honda intends to move production of one of its best-selling car models to the U.S. from Mexico in an attempt to avoid potential tariffs, Reuters reported on Monday.

The major automaker decided to shift production of its next-generation Civic hybrid car to Indiana, three anonymous sources told Reuters. The news comes after President Donald Trump on Feb. 1 imposed 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico alongside 10% tariffs on imported goods from China in an attempt to stop deadly drugs and illegal migrants coming into the U.S. from the countries.

The article concludes:

Ahead of Trump’s recent return to the White House, there were a growing number of reports of U.S.-based companies gearing up to shift their production out of foreign countries such as China in anticipation of the incoming Trump administration implementing new tariffs. Notably, Trump signaled on Feb. 19 that reaching a trade deal with Beijing was “possible.”

A spokesperson for Honda did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

There are other reasons for moving manufacturing back to the U.S. under the Trump Presidency. President Trump has shown in the past that he wants to reduce regulations and increase energy production. Less regulation and cheaper (and stable) energy attract manufacturing. Also, the corporate tax under President Trump (if Congress cooperates) will remain low. In the last Trump administration, many corporations brought their manufacturing back to America. If the Trump administration policies are put in place, that will happen again.

When Is A Tariff Not A Tariff?

Posted on by

Yesterday various news sources reported that President Biden would be placing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and some other products coming into America from China.

MSN reported:

President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced new tariffs on $18 billion worth of Chinese imports, including a sharp tax hike on electric vehicles, to help protect his administration’s investments in key sectors in the United States.

The targets of the tariffs include EVs, solar cells, steel, aluminum, semiconductors, advanced batteries, critical minerals, solar and medical products.

“American workers can outwork and outcompete anyone, as long as the competition is fair,” President Biden said in remarks delivered from the White House Rose Garden. “But for too long it hasn’t been fair.”

Hitting China’s trade policies, Biden said “it’s not competition, it’s cheating.”

“China heavily subsidized all these products, pushing Chinese companies to produce far more than the rest of the world can absorb and then dumping excess products onto the market at unfairly low prices, driving other manufacturers around the world out of business,” he said.

It all sounds very good, but what does it do?

The Conservative Treehouse reports:

Biden might as well be announcing tariffs on Chinese swimming pools flown into the USA via hot air balloon.  There will be more Chinese swimming pools delivered from China than Chinese EVs.  The Chinese EVs come from Mexico.  The tariff is fake.

WHITE HOUSE […] To further encourage China to eliminate the acts, policies, and practices at issue – and to counteract the burden or restriction of these acts, policies, and practices – the Trade Representative shall modify the two actions to increase section 301 ad valorem rates of duty for the following products from China:

    • Battery parts (non-lithium-ion batteries):  Increase rate to 25 percent in 2024
    • Electric vehicles:  Increase rate to 100 percent in 2024
    • Lithium-ion electrical vehicle batteries:  Increase rate to 25 percent in 2024
    • Lithium-ion non-electrical vehicle batteries:  Increase rate to 25 percent in 2026
    • Natural graphite:  Increase rate to 25 percent in 2026
    • Other critical minerals:  Increase rate to 25 percent in 2024 (read more)

None of this stuff is coming from China. It is all coming from Mexico via transnational shipping and Chinese manufacturing in Mexico.

The article notes:

On the EV issue, this tariff approach is politically duplicitous by Biden against the backdrop of massive investment in Mexico by the three largest Chinese EV automakers. Last December, the three Chinese auto manufacturers, MG, BYD, and Chery, announced they were going to spend billions building new EV manufacturing plants in Mexico.  Each Chinese auto manufacturer was going to spend between $1.5 to $2.0 billion.

Those Mexican built Chinese EVs would pass into the USA market under current USMCA trade rules and regulations, as long as they technically meet the material origination rules.  This can make tariffs against the Chinese imported EVs a moot point, because China will be making them in Mexico (North American trade agreement).

One of the reasons President Trump said the U.S. auto industry would suffer a “bloodbath,” is specifically because the current Chinese auto companies are targeting these EVs in the $10,000 or less range.  If you want to see what it looks like when cheap Chinese EVs start to flood a consumer market, visit Russia – the Western sanctions have only increased this flow.  I can see it clear as day.

This is political sleight of hand to encourage voters to vote for Joe Biden. I don’t know if the American voters are really that dumb.

Where Do The Parts For Green Energy Come From?

Posted on by

On Sunday, Breitbart reported that Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives want to reverse President Biden’s tariff waivers for suspected Chinese companies that are reportedly funneling their solar panels through other countries to evade United States trade rules.

The article notes:

In June 2022, Biden announced a 24-month tariff moratorium on solar panel imports from Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia. Commerce Department officials suspect that the solar panels are actually made in China or by Chinese companies but have been routed through the four southeast Asian nations to evade tariffs.

The tariff moratorium came even as Biden’s Commerce Department found that BYD Hong Kong rerouted its production through Cambodia, Canadian Solar and Trina through Thailand, and Vina Solar through Vietnam to specifically evade U.S. tariffs on China-made solar panels.

Already, about 80 percent of solar panels installed in the U.S. are made in China or by Chinese companies.

The article concludes:

Those massive job losses have coincided with a booming U.S.-China trade deficit. In 1985, before China entered the WTO, the U.S. trade deficit with China totaled $6 billion. In 2019, the U.S. trade deficit with China totaled more than $345 billion.

While skyrocketing U.S. trade deficits have led to devastation across America’s working and middle-class communities over the last two decades, tariffs would be a boon for reshoring jobs and boosting wages, studies show.

A recent study from economists at the Coalition for a Prosperous America, for instance, finds that tariffs on nearly all foreign imports would create about 10 million American jobs while boosting domestic output.

I have very mixed emotions on tariffs. I will concede that tariffs are probably needed on the large amount of Chinese goods that make their way into America. However, looking at history, we can’t ignore the impact of The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which raised the United States’s already high tariff rates. That tariff contributed to the early loss of confidence on Wall Street and signaled U.S. isolationism. By raising the average tariff by some 20 percent, it also prompted retaliation from foreign governments, and many overseas banks began to fail. It planted the seeds for the Great Depression. The world’s economy is not in a really good place right now, and we need to consider carefully the impact of any tariff we pass.

How To Restore The American Economy

Posted on by

On Friday, The Daily Signal posted an article listing three basic ways to restore the American economy.

The article reports:

1) Make the 2017 tax cuts permanent: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has been one of the most successful pieces of legislation in recent years. Despite that, many of its critical provisions are set to expire in 2025 if Congress does not act soon.

For most Americans, the most important aspect of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that is set to retire is the individual income-tax cuts. That provision cut taxes for 80% of Americans, saving individuals an estimated $1,400 annually, with lower- and middle-income Americans benefiting the most.

If Congress lets this provision of the act expire, middle-class families are likely to pay over $1,000 more in taxes annually.

…2) Eliminate special tariffs: Politicians continually peddle the falsehood that tariffs help working-class Americans, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Tariffs are an inherently regressive form of tax that places an undue burden on lower- and middle-income families.

Since 2018, Americans have paid more than $280 million in extra taxes to buy washing machines and washing machine parts from abroad. That has directly contributed to the steep rise in prices of laundry equipment, which was up 7.9% year-over-year in January.

Unfortunately, that was not the only sector negatively affected by tariffs. Americans have paid more than $12 billion in tariffs on imports of aluminum and steel since 2018.

Steel and aluminum are crucial inputs for countless manufactured goods, but the automotive industry has been one of the hardest hit. The price of new vehicles rose more than 12% year-over-year in January.

…3) End the war on conventional fuels: The damaging effects of bad policy might not be more obvious in any other area of the economy than in the energy sector.

Energy prices rose nearly 27% year-over-year in January, based on the Consumer Price Index, with gasoline and natural gas rising 40% and 23.9%, respectively.

Washington’s war on conventional fuels is clearly contributing to the rapid increase in prices of basic sources of energy that Americans use every day to heat their homes and get to work.

Not only has Washington made it harder to transport fuel (for example, by canceling or slow-walking new pipeline construction), but it has also made it more difficult and expensive to produce natural gas, coal, and oil here in the United States, creating an avoidable reliance on foreign imports.

The administration has proposed or issued new regulations burdening nearly every aspect of conventional energy markets, from financing to consumer use.

Other holdover policies—some decades or even a century old—are increasing costs and inefficiency in energy markets. For example, unnecessary regulations and mandates have increased the costs of gasoline and have put economic pressure on refineries, some of which have had to close or downsize.

Please follow the link to the article for further information.

Where Did The Jobs Go?

Posted on by

Today Fox Business posted an article that included some comments White House trade adviser Peter Navarro made on “Sunday Morning Futures.”

The article reports:

“We lost over 70,000 factories, over 5 million manufacturing jobs, and it was because Joe Biden likes made in China,” Navarro said. “Donald Trump came along. … He said, ‘Hey, that’s not good. That’s not right. I’m going to fix that.’ And so what President Trump has been carefully doing is putting in place a wide range of policies, whether it’s lowering the corporate income tax to bring investment on-shore, steel and aluminum tariffs, or buy American.”

The U.S. lost 5 million manufacturing jobs between January 2000 and December 2014 because of “growing trade deficits in manufacturing products prior to the Great Recession and then the massive output collapse during the Great Recession,” according to a 2015 report from the Economic Policy Institute.

The article notes:

China’s state-run tabloid Global Times deemed Biden “smoother to deal with” than President Trump in August.

I don’t doubt that!

The article concludes:

“Economic security is national security. That’s one of the principles of the Trump Administration and what we learned from this China virus pandemic,” Navarro said. “If we bring those jobs back onshore as we have been doing, we will create great jobs at great wages but also protect the American people from the Chinese communist party.”

Navarro touted Trump’s stance on U.S. manufacturing, but the president has repeatedly taken criticism for manufacturing his branded products in other countries, including China.

The goal should be to make it cheaper and more practical to manufacture things in America. That goal can be achieved through lower corporate taxes, tariffs on foreign goods, and reliable and inexpensive energy. President Trump has worked in all three of these areas to bring manufacturing back to America. Because of Hunter Biden’s continuing investments in China, it is unlikely that Joe Biden would continue policies that would move jobs away from China.

Do You Think They Knew Something?

Posted on by

The American Thinker posted an article today about the recent trade agreement with China and the impact the coronavirus might have on that agreement.

The article notes:

Yet another indication that China knew it was about to release a deadly and destructive pandemic on the world is seen in its last minute insertion into the Phase 1 trade deal of a clause releasing it from its obligations under the deal in the event of a natural disaster. It is another reason why China pushes the wet markets story about the origin of the Wuhan virus and dismisses a leak from or accident at the Wuhan Institute of Virology as some tinfoil-hat conspiracy theory. If the lab origin for the Wuhan virus is officially confirmed, China’s economy is fatally screwed. 

The article quotes  K.T. McFarland, who served as Deputy National Security Advisor under Michael Flynn for the first four months of the Trump administration:

One of the reasons that they keep insisting, despite mounting evidence that it came from a lab in Wuhan, they keep insisting, no, no, it came from a wet market, or maybe it was America who did it.  They cannot admit culpability for the following reason, if they do, then there’s a clause that they put into the Phase 1 US-China Trade Deal, where in essence in this trade deal it said we would lift sanctions, we would lift the tariffs on them and then they would buy a lot of agriculture and other goods from us.

But there’s a clause that’s in there, a get out of jail free clause, which says, however, if there is a natural occurring disaster, the two parties will renegotiate.  In other words, China doesn’t necessarily want to keep the terms of the deal.  And so it’s very important for everybody, for them, to say, well, it’s a naturally occurring disaster coming out of the wet lab.  It wasn’t China who did that.

So not only do they give themselves an out for the trade deal, that they were pressured into signing, but they also will give themselves an out if companies and countries and individuals, all come to the International Courts and try to sue China.

The article notes that tariffs may be one way to force China to pay for its negligence in misinforming the world about the virus. I think that is a good idea.

When Personal Interests Overrule Good Legislation

Posted on by

Yesterday The Gateway Pundit reported that two House of Representatives Democrats have proposed lifting tariffs on imported Chinese goods. The two Democrats are Florida Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy and Democrat Joe Cunningham of South Carolina. Oddly enough, Representative Murphy’s husband manufactures sportswear in Chinese factories. She also owns a patent on one of the products manufactured by her husband. What an amazing coincidence.

The article reports:

Murphy and Cunningham’s plan does not provide any insight or plans on how they would make sure said imports, which include everything from food to construction supplies, would be properly tested to make sure they are not carrying the Wuhan Virus. Furthermore, the individuals involved in loading, shipping, and unloading said imports have no requirements to be tested by American officials to determine if they are also carrying the Wuhan Virus. To say that this is reckless would be an understatement.

…Jamison Johnson, who is a graduate of the The Citadel in South Carolina, also served three tours of duty as a marine in the Middle East. He is running for the GOP nomination in South Carolina’s 1st District to take on incumbent Congressman Joe Cunningham, the co-sponsor of Murphy’s pro-China legislation.

“The Wuhan Virus came from China. If they would’ve been open and honest with us from the beginning, far less people would’ve gotten sick and far less people would have died. As a marine with three combat tours, I understand all too well how to deal with bullies like China. You have to show resolve and not back down,  just like how President Trump is remaining firm and steadfast in handling them. At the end of the day, it is quite clear that “Smoking Joe Cunningham” simply lacks the moral compass or courage to unite and lead us in any capacity,” Johnson told TGP in an exclusive statement Wednesday afternoon.

It is unclear how much support this effort has, but Murphy and Cunningham are pushing to have this placed in the Coronavirus aid package being considered and developed by President Trump. This is a breaking news story and we will update you as more happens.

I suspect that the obvious conflict of interest Congresswomen Murphy has between the interests of her husband’s business and the well being of America is only one example of something that is rampant in Washington. It is time to look at the business interests of both our Congressmen and their spouses. Some of their business interests may be in conflict with the interests of America. When that is the case, they need to be removed from office.

President Trump And His Trade Policies

Posted on by

Yesterday Fox News reported that the US trade deficit has dropped for first time in 6 years because of the taxes President Trump has placed on China.

The article reports:

The U.S. trade deficit fell for the first time in six years in 2019 as President Donald Trump hammered China with import taxes.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that the gap between what the United States sells and what it buys abroad fell 1.7 percent last year to $616.8 billion. U.S. exports fell 0.1 percent to $2.5 trillion. But imports fell more, slipping 0.4 percent to $3.1 trillion. Imports of crude oil plunged 19.3% to $126.6 billion.

The deficit in the trade of goods with China narrowed last year by 17.6 percent to $345.6 billion. Trump has imposed tariffs on $360 billion worth of Chinese imports in a battle over Beijing’s aggressive drive to challenge American technological dominance. The world’s two biggest economies reached an interim trade deal last month, and Trump dropped plans to extend the tariffs to another $160 billion in Chinese goods.

The article notes:

Overall, the United States posted a $866 billion deficit in the trade of goods such as cars and appliances, down from $887.3 billion in 2018. But it ran a $249.2 billion surplus in the trade of services such as tourism and banking, down from $260 billion in 2018.

America is a nation of consumers, so I suspect trade deficits are something that will always be with us, but as the manufacturing base in America expands and our trade policies become more balanced, I believe we will see lower trade deficits.

Good Economic News Created By Good Leadership

Posted on by

Trading Economics reported the following:

The US trade deficit narrowed to $43.1 billion in November 2019 from a downwardly revised $46.9 billion gap in the previous month. It compares with market expectations of a $43.8 billion shortfall. The trade gap shrank for the third straight month to the lowest since October 2016. Imports slumped 1% to the lowest value in 2 years due to falling purchases of aircraft, computers and cell phones. Exports increased 0.7% to $209 billion, boosted by sales of drilling and oilfield equipment, jewellery, autos, diamonds and aircraft engines. The goods trade deficit with China narrowed 15.7% to $26.4 billion, with imports dropping 9.2% and exports jumping 13.7%. Year-to-date, the total deficit decreased $3.9 billion. The trade war with China seems to be the main cause behind the lowest trade gap. Although a lower trade deficit is likely to impact positively on GDP growth, concerns remain over the impact of falling imports in consumer spending, the largest component of GDP. Balance of Trade in the United States averaged -15090.59 USD Million from 1950 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 1946 USD Million in June of 1975 and a record low of -67823 USD Million in August of 2006.

This is the result of the tariffs and trade negotiations of President Trump.

Beginning To Level The Playing Field In Trade

Posted on by

CNBC reported yesterday that China will lower tariffs on products ranging from frozen pork and avocado to some types of semiconductors next year.  The Chinese economy is slowing down, and lowering tariffs is seen as a way to bring back previous growth.

The article also notes:

 

  • Next year, China will implement temporary import tariffs, which are lower than the most-favored-nation tariffs, on more than 850 products, the finance ministry said on Monday.
  • That compared with 706 products that were taxed at temporary rates in 2019.

The article cites a few significant tariff cuts:

The finance ministry said the tariff rate for frozen pork will be cut to 8% from the most-favored-nation duty of 12%, as China copes to plug a huge supply gap after a severe pig disease decimated its hog herd.

…China will also lower temporary import tariffs for ferroniobium — used as an additive to high strength low alloy steel and stainless steel for oil and gas pipelines, cars and trucks — from 1% to zero in 2020 to support its high-tech development.

…The tariff rate for frozen avocado was cut to 7% from the most-favored-nation duty of 30%, the ministry said.

…Tariffs for some asthma and diabetes medications will be set at zero, the ministry said, while duties on some wood and paper products will be lowered too.

Import tariffs on multi-component semiconductors will be cut to zero.

China will also further lower most-favored-nation import tariffs on some information technology products from July 1, the ministry said.

China has long been an unfair trading partner–manipulating their currency, disregarding intellectual property, and generally behaving badly. Hopefully President Trump’s ‘trade war’ will bring some balance into our trade relationship with China.

 

Tariffs Work

Posted on by

No one likes trade wars, but we continue to see evidence that tariffs (combined with economic strength) work. Bloomberg posted an article on Thursday (updated Friday) about the recent trade agreement reached between the United States and China.The article notes that the tentative agreement was reached just as more tariffs were due to go into effect against China on December 15th. Because of the tentative agreement, the tariffs are postponed.

The article reports:

President Donald Trump signed off on a phase-one trade deal with China, averting the Dec. 15 introduction of a new wave of U.S. tariffs on about $160 billion of consumer goods from the Asian nation, according to people familiar with the matter.

The deal presented to Trump by trade advisers Thursday included a promise by the Chinese to buy more U.S. agricultural goods, according to the people. Officials also discussed possible reductions of existing duties on Chinese products, they said. The terms have been agreed but the legal text has not yet been finalized, the people said. A White House spokesperson declined to comment.

While there was no official confirmation from the government in Beijing on Friday, an announcement is expected in Washington as early as today, according to people familiar with the Americans’ plans. One possible option is for U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to sign the agreement with Chinese Ambassador Cui Tiankai, according to people briefed on the matter.

When the agreement was announced, global stocks soared to record highs.

The article concludes:

In addition to a significant increase in Chinese agricultural purchases in exchange for tariff relief, officials have also said a phase-one pact would include Chinese commitments to do more to stop intellectual-property theft and an agreement by both sides not to manipulate their currencies.

Put off for later discussions are knotty issues such as longstanding U.S. complaints over the vast web of subsidies ranging from cheap electricity to low-cost loans that China has used to build its industrial might.

Nothing is at yet cast in stone. Stay tuned.

Playing Chess With World Trade

Posted on by

America has been on the wrong end of bad trade deals for a long time. We watched our manufacturing jobs leave America after NAFTA. We watched the steel industry disappear after being undercut by Chinese steel held up by subsidies by the Chinese government. President Trump is a businessman. As a businessman, he is trying to level the trade playing field. In some areas he is getting cooperation at home and abroad; in some areas he is not. China has been a difficult country to deal with regarding trade. The uneven playing field they have enjoyed for years has been very profitable for them. Because their economy is based on an uneven playing field, they are reluctant to make changes. Their economy is currently struggling, and if President Trump stands his ground, the Chinese economy could face serious challenges. That’s where we are. There is, however, some positive news about where we might be headed.

Ed Morrissey at Hot Air posted an article today about a possible breakthrough in the talks with China.

The article reports:

Did China finally blink in Donald Trump’s trade war? Trump himself seems to think so. At the G-7 summit, Trump told reporters that a statement earlier in the day from a top official in Beijing showed that China had finally expressed a real interest in redefining the trade relationship between the world’s top two economies. It’s “the first time” that Trump sees China acting in good faith, he said

The article continues:

After rapid-fire escalations in tariffs by both sides, China’s vice premiere called for “calm.” Liu He also declared Beijing’s willingness to conclude a trade agreement and called for talks to begin immediately:

“We are willing to resolve the issue through consultations and cooperation in a calm attitude and resolutely oppose the escalation of the trade war,” Liu, who is President Xi Jinping’s top economic adviser, said, according to a government transcript.

“We believe that the escalation of the trade war is not beneficial for China, the United States, nor to the interests of the people of the world,” he added.

U.S. companies are especially welcome in China, and will be treated well, Liu said.

“We welcome enterprises from all over the world, including the United States, to invest and operate in China,” he added.

“We will continue to create a good investment environment, protect intellectual property rights, promote the development of smart intelligent industries with our market open, resolutely oppose technological blockades and protectionism, and strive to protect the completeness of the supply chain.”

The last time we thought we had a deal, the person who made the deal was executed when he returned home. Hopefully this time will turn out better for everyone.

Trying To Level The Playing Field Has Its Challenges

Posted on by

Fox Business posted an article today about the devaluing of the Chinese yuan. The devaluing of the Chinese currency (currency manipulation) has been used by China for decades to grow their economy at the expense of America. It has been used to lure manufacturing away from America, impact our trade balance, and generally work against the American economy. We have needed to combat this practice for decades, but no President had the courage.

The article reports:

The onshore Chinese yuan weakened to worse than seven per U.S. dollar, hitting its lowest level since 2008, as Beijing looks to cushion the blow from Trump’s tariffs. A weaker yuan makes Chinese goods cheaper for overseas buyers, which may be necessary as China just lost its spot as the US’s biggest trading partner.

Trade data released Friday by the Department of Commerce showed U.S. imports from China fell by 12% in the first six months of the year, allowing Mexico to supplant it as the U.S.’s biggest trade partner.

“China dropped the price of their currency to an almost a historic low,” Trump tweeted Opens a New Window. on Monday. “It’s called “currency manipulation.” Are you listening Federal Reserve? This is a major violation which will greatly weaken China over time!”

Last week, Trump said beginning Sept. 1 the U.S. would place a 10% tariff on the remaining $300 billion of Chinese goods. He went ahead with the announcement despite objections from his advisers.

The president warned he could “always do much more” with respect to tariffs, adding the 10 percent tax could go “well beyond 25 percent” if necessary. Earlier this year, the administration placed a 25% tariff on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods.

Weakening the yuan isn’t the only form of retaliation Beijing took on Monday. It also ordered state-owned enterprises to stop purchases of U.S. agricultural products, according to a Bloomberg report, citing people familiar with the situation.

That is a reversal from just last week, when Beijing said it had purchased several tons of U.S. soybeans Opens a New Window. as a gesture of a goodwill amid trade negotitations. Before the trade war began, China was the largest buyer of U.S. soybeans, accounting for 70% of all purchases, but their imports have fallen by 97% since the trade war began.

The article notes:

Over the weekened, The Trump administration pushed back against the idea the trade war was hitting the wallets of U.S. consumers.

“China has strategically gamed the tariffs by slashing their prices and by devaluing their currency,” White House trade advisor Peter Navarro told “Fox News Sunday.”

This trade dust-up with China may get ugly, but it is something that has to be done.

The Coming Election Impacts Foreign Policy

Posted on by

Yesterday The Washington Free Beacon posted an article about China’s plans to influence the 2020 presidential election.

The article reports:

In his conversation with Levin, Gertz (Washington Free Beacon senior writer Bill Gertz) reflected on his interview with Guo, who told Gertz earlier this week that the Chinese government has been deploying a prolonged campaign to defeat President Donald Trump in 2020. Gertz asserted the Chinese government may try to wait out Trump’s time in office so it can negotiate trade deals with a new Democratic president if Trump loses in 2020.

Trump announced Thursday he would impose an additional 10-percent tariff on certain Chinese exports as a trade agreement between the United States and China has yet to materialize.

“The China threat to me is the most serious threat facing the country,” Gertz told Levin.

He pointed to the economic integration between the U.S and China and how those relationships make it difficult for lawmakers and military officials to address Chinese aggression head-on, which he referred to as “an existential threat.”

The article concludes:

“There’s a major push right now to try and build up of American courses in Asia so we won’t have to go to war with China,” Gertz said of the government’s efforts to deter a war hypothetical war with China.

Looking towards the presidential race, Gertz warned the Chinese government would prefer to have a Democrat in the White House.

“It’s going to be a huge problem if the Democrats retake the administration,” Gertz said, pointing to former Vice President Joe Biden’s recent downplaying of threat China poses to the United States.

Gertz pointed out that during the Obama presidency the Chinese government expanded their presence in Asian waterways, in addition to ramping up their theft of intellectual property from American companies and entrepreneurs.

This may be the reason the negotiations with China have become so difficult–China is waiting for a President who will cave into their demands. It is obvious that President Trump is not that person.

By undermining President Trump since he was elected, the Democrat party has made international trade negotiations much more difficult. Creating an even playing field in trade with China would result in continued growth of the United States economy. It is time to repair the damage bad trade deals have done in the past.

Yes, The President’s Border Policies Have Changed Things

Posted on by

One America News posted an article today with the following title, “Border apprehensions nosedive after President Trump’s Mexico deal.”

The article reports:

Apprehensions on the southern border have plummeted, following President Trump’s historic deal with Mexico. According to leaked Department of Homeland Security data, apprehensions at the southern border dropped by 25-percent between May and June.

This drop was corroborated by acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan on Friday, who attributed the change to President Trump’s deal with Mexico in June. The deal called on Mexican officials to do more to stop the flow of illegal migration to the U.S. southern border.

“It’s become clear that over the past three weeks, since the administration reached a new agreement with Mexico, that we’ve seen a substantial increase in the number of interdictions on the Mexican southern border and a sincere effort to address the transportation networks coming through Mexico,” stated McAleenan.

While the month of June typically sees a decline in border apprehensions, a 25-percent decrease is unprecedented compared to previous years.

The article concludes:

“While it’s been many weeks coming, I think we should pause to note the significance of the strong bipartisan votes to respond the administrations request and provide the over $4.5 billion in total to support these humanitarian missions,” said the DHS secretary. “Although we did not get everything we asked for, including — importantly — additional ICE beds for single adults, the bill substantially addresses our request.”

Despite the decline, McAleenan admited there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done to stop the flow of migrants from central America. He also said he believes we should wait to see if the drop in apprehensions continues in the coming months to assess just how much more work needs to be done to combat the migrant crisis.

One of the advantages of having a businessman as President, is that President Trump understands that money (tariffs) can be used as leverage. The change in the situation at our southern border is an example of that. Hopefully, the decrease in illegal immigrants attempting to enter America illegally will continue.

Wrong Again

Posted on by

Remember when the talking heads on television told us that because of the tariffs President Trump had placed on China, the cost of imports would go up. Well, they misread the tea leaves again.

The Gateway Pundit posted the following from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

Prices for U.S. imports declined 0.3 percent in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, following an increase of 0.1 percent the previous month. Lower fuel and nonfuel prices contributed to the May decline in import prices. U.S. export prices fell 0.2 percent in May, after advancing 0.1 percent in April, 0.8 percent in March, and 0.6 percent in February.

Imports

U.S. Import prices fell 0.3 percent in May, the first monthly decline since a 1.4-percent drop in December. Import prices advanced 1.8 percent from December to April before the downturn in May. The price index for overall imports decreased 1.5 percent over the past 12 months, matching the drop in January. These were the largest over-the-year declines since the index fell 2.2 percent in August 2016.

Fuel Imports: Import fuel prices declined 1.0 percent in May, after rising 25.4 percent over the previous 4 months. Lower prices for both petroleum and natural gas contributed to the May decline. Petroleum prices fell 0.9 percent in May, after a 4.7-percent advance in April. The May decrease was the first monthly decline since a 15.3-percent drop in December. Natural gas prices fell 6.8 percent in May following a 51.1-percent decline the previous month. Overall fuel prices decreased 1.1 percent over the past year. The decline was driven by a 1.9-percent drop in petroleum prices which more than offset a 2.5-percent rise in natural gas prices.

The Gateway Pundit article concludes:

The lower costs on fuel allowed the overall import costs to go down for the month.  This is in the face of tariffs the Trump Administration put on China as a result of inaction from the Chinese in coming together on a trade agreement with the US.

Despite what all the liberal naysayers said about increasing tariffs costing Americans millions, the costs of imports are actually down.

Overall the US economy is in very solid shape –

The experts seem to be having a very difficult time getting things right under the Trump administration.

An Obvious Conflict Of Interest

Posted on by

Senator Mitch McConnell does not like tariffs. He does not like them on China where they are levied in an attempt to level the playing field on trade, and he does not like them on Mexico where they are being levied in an attempt to stop the flow of illegals and drugs over our southern border.

Unfortunately, the meme below is not a joke:

An article posted at Breitbart today explains the problem. Senator McConnell is married to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.

In the article, Peter Schweizer explains why that is important:

Schweizer highlighted Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, who is married to McConnell, as illustrative of what he described as widespread political conflicts of interest between sitting American officials and foreign governments.

“The Chao family are deeply embedded commercially and financially with the Chinese government,” explained McConnell. “The Chinese government essentially set them up in the shipping business. Their ships — these are large cargo ships that transport a large amount of goods around the Pacific.”

Schweizer added, “The Chinese government is financing the building of these ships for the Chao family business. They provide crews for these chips, and they provide contracts to ship steel and other products around the Pacific.”

The Foremost Group is a shipping business founded by James Chao, Elaine Chao’s father. The Chao family business primarily revolves around China, necessitating “deep ties to the economic and political elite in China,” according to a Sunday-published New York Times report.

“[The Chao family’s shipping business] started out in the early 1990s with just a couple of vessels, a couple of large cargo ships,” said Schweizer. “They now have, by some estimates, 35 or 36, many of those built by the Chinese government. The estimates are that hundreds of millions of dollars in financing is done by the Chinese to build these ships, and that they give them preferential treatment.”

Schweizer explained, “Business in China is done with a political purpose. The China State Shipbuilding Corporation is controlled by the government, by the Communist Party, and they do business deals with people in the West with the expectation that they will get things in return.”

That is called a conflict of interest. So what is Senator McConnell’s problem with the Mexican tariffs? Many Republicans have aligned themselves with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce which supports our porous southern border as a source of cheap labor. There has never been a border wall because Republican business men who contribute to political campaigns want cheap labor and Democrats want future voters.