More Fun (?) With Tariffs

Yesterday, this blog addressed the gripping and scintillating subject of trade tariffs. It was such fun (and wasn’t it, kids?) that we’re gonna do it again! 

<Yay.>

 

Yesterday, Li’l Donnie Trump put on his big boy pants and pulled the trigger on tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. He did make temporary exceptions for Mexico (you know Li’l Donnie grimaced about that one) and Canada (which is mostly white people so they’re cool, right?) while NAFTA talks are going on (which Li’l Donnie still rails and pouts that he’s gonna take his toys and go home because NAFTA is a big ol’ stupid, mean trade deal).

 

But everybody else in the world, if you import steel and aluminum into the United States, well, here’s a big ol’ “fuck you” in the form of new tariffs. Among those countries is Brazil.

 

So whazzup with Brazil?

 

Brazil has a big honkin’ steel industry that employs about 100,000 people and a big chunk of them are worried about losing their jobs if their biggest customer, the United States, is no longer viable because of these tariffs.

 

Now remember Li’l Donnie Trump is all up in our faces with America First so he doesn’t give a shit about steel workers in Brazil.

 

But what about American coal miners?

 

Whoa! Where are you going with this, Dave-El?

 

Well, I’ll tell you.

 

Guess which country is among the biggest importers of American coal.

 

Go on, guess!!

 

Yes, it’s Brazil! You guessed correctly! Which means you are not a big dumb fuck like Li’l Donnie!

 

OK, let’s follow the bouncing ball.

 

(Metaphorically. I don’t have an actual bouncing ball graphic.) 

 

Brazil buys coal from the United States to power up their steel mills to make steel that Brazil sells to the United States to build cars in the United States for Toyota in Japan because Toyota in Japan decided its more cost efficient to build cars in the U.S. and the cars built in the U.S. that are not sold to Americans or to our trading partners in Mexico and Canada then get exported to Europe and even back to Japan.

 

So…...

 

Li’l Donnie Trump looks at a steel plant that sitting idle and thinks, “That’s sad. It’s Obama’s fault. I could use a cheeseburger. Let’s get that steel plant working again by making imported steel more expensive. #MAGA. Where’s my cheeseburger? Did Obama take my cheeseburger? America First!”   

 

So Li’l Donnie jeopardizes thousands of American jobs in the coal industry and in auto manufacturing and billions of dollars in trade with Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Europe and Japan in an effort to get that steel plant working. 

 

By the way, U.S. Steel said it’s prepared to ramp up domestic production as of result of these tariffs which will put approximately 500 people back to work.

 

So good for those 500 people.

 

Everybody else? Not so good.

 

The thing that Li’l Donnie and the nationalists in his ever shrinking circle keep burying their heads in the sand about is that we live and work in a global economy. The failure of Americans to accept that fact resulted in a mass exodus of jobs. Learning to work with that reality has brought jobs back into the American economy. 

 

OK. Can the next blog post NOT be about tariffs?

 

I’ll see what I can do.