A trade deficit is never exploitation. Lets pretend it is!
All of the stats Trump put up weren’t tariffs, they were a percentage of much less they would have to import in Goods from a certain country to make for the trade deficit with said country in Goods.
Not a single stat on that sheet looked at the trade in services. America always had a service trade surplus.
If we combine the two, a lot of countries that seem to “”““exploit””" the US are suddenly exploited by the US.
But lets go even further: The countries receiving the highest tariffs are Vietnam and Lesotho, becuase the US has the highest deficit in Goods with these countries. Because both countries are too fucking poor to buy american products. A worker in Lesotho, providing diamonds for the US market, would have to invest about 20 years of wagest to buy the cheapest american import car. How the fuck should these countries reduce their deficit?
Okay, but still, we assume that a deficit is somehow exploitation. Trump has said that the tariffs are going to do two things, namely bringing back American Industry and forcing trade partner to drop “barriers and tariffs” (i.e. safety regulations).
For a tariff to do the former, it has to stay until the relevant factories have been built in America and have also paid themselves off. For a tariff to the latter, the possibility of it being removed once the partner comploes has to be on the table. A tariff can’t do both.
But hey, don’t believe me. Read the paper the White House cited in their Announcement of the Tariffs.
She will never engage with any other this.