4 ms·

We levy plenty of tariffs on goods from other countries to protect local industries - on average ours are very slightly lower than places like the EU, but it’s

We levy plenty of tariffs on goods from other countries to protect local industries - on average ours are very slightly lower than places like the EU, but it’s like ~2.5% vs 3%, not 0% vs 30%, which seems to be your claim.

zaroth 8y ago
“America’s taxes on imports are much lower than those of almost every other country.” — The NY Times China’s weight average tariffs are 3x higher than the United States, approximately 10% vs 3.5%.
- morsch 8y ago
  ... when you nonsensically pretend that VAT is an import tax. "Once value-added taxes and sales taxes are included in an international comparison, America’s taxes on imports are much lower than those of almost every other country."[1] The point still stands when not considering VAT, but the difference is far less pronounced. Though I am hesitant to trust the authors' research given the above. [1] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/business/trade-china-protectionism.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/business/trade-chin..., also https://tradediversion.net/2017/03/08/on-the-nyts-building-trade-walls/ https://tradediversion.net/2017/03/08/on-the-nyts-building-t...
- teh_klev 8y ago
  Depends on how you define "much lower", especially with a major trading partner such as the EU: U.S. exports to the European Union enjoy an average tariff of just three percent. Source: https://www.export.gov/article?id=European-union-Import-Tariffs https://www.export.gov/article?id=European-union-Import-Tari... In 2016, according to the World Bank, the average applied U.S. tariff across all products was 1.61%; that was about the same as the average rate of 1.6% for the 28-nation EU Source: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/03/22/u-s-tariffs-are-among-the-lowest-in-the-world-and-in-the-nations-history/ http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/03/22/u-s-tariffs-... US to EU average import tariffs differ only by ~1.4%, sure the US tariff is (slightly) lower but it's hardly a huge imbalance. Edit: just picking up from morsch's comment, these are international trade tariff figures which is what Trump is imposing. What countries do internally when it comes to sales or Value Added Tax is a whole different thing; these types of taxes apply to all goods and services sold within that country, regardless of origin (i.e. regardless of whether a pencil is manufactured in the UK or the US, it will still attract a domestic sales/VAT of 17.5% if sold in the UK).

zaroth 8y ago

“America’s taxes on imports are much lower than those of almost every other country.” — The NY Times China’s weight average tariffs are 3x higher than the United States, approximately 10% vs 3.5%.

morsch 8y ago
... when you nonsensically pretend that VAT is an import tax. "Once value-added taxes and sales taxes are included in an international comparison, America’s taxes on imports are much lower than those of almost every other country."[1] The point still stands when not considering VAT, but the difference is far less pronounced. Though I am hesitant to trust the authors' research given the above. [1] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/business/trade-china-protectionism.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/business/trade-chin..., also https://tradediversion.net/2017/03/08/on-the-nyts-building-trade-walls/ https://tradediversion.net/2017/03/08/on-the-nyts-building-t...
teh_klev 8y ago
Depends on how you define "much lower", especially with a major trading partner such as the EU: U.S. exports to the European Union enjoy an average tariff of just three percent. Source: https://www.export.gov/article?id=European-union-Import-Tariffs https://www.export.gov/article?id=European-union-Import-Tari... In 2016, according to the World Bank, the average applied U.S. tariff across all products was 1.61%; that was about the same as the average rate of 1.6% for the 28-nation EU Source: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/03/22/u-s-tariffs-are-among-the-lowest-in-the-world-and-in-the-nations-history/ http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/03/22/u-s-tariffs-... US to EU average import tariffs differ only by ~1.4%, sure the US tariff is (slightly) lower but it's hardly a huge imbalance. Edit: just picking up from morsch's comment, these are international trade tariff figures which is what Trump is imposing. What countries do internally when it comes to sales or Value Added Tax is a whole different thing; these types of taxes apply to all goods and services sold within that country, regardless of origin (i.e. regardless of whether a pencil is manufactured in the UK or the US, it will still attract a domestic sales/VAT of 17.5% if sold in the UK).