> On the one hand, china is taking advantage of us and is in part rotting our our middle class and blue collar workers. On the other hand, this could spark econ

> On the one hand, china is taking advantage of us and is in part rotting our our middle class and blue collar workers. On the other hand, this could spark economic turmoil. Actually, this is much more complicated than getting taken advantage of. Let us walk through an example: When you're posting a message online on HN, we post using many chinese components going into your China-assembled HP laptop. Cost: $800. A tiny tariff of 10% will just make the cost of that laptop go up. For the sake of argument, lets say it passes through to customers and that same laptop now costs you $880. We're already eliminating any benefits of tax cuts passed earlier this year. At 25% tariffs, some components might start getting manufactured here. But the price of those components will be more than current Chinese imported price. Say, the price of that same laptop will go up to $1000. So now you will be a proud owner of a laptop made in USA by shelling out $200 more. And you might be fine with that cost for American patriotism. But here is the kicker. HP laptops now cost $1000 in global market whereas other laptop manufacturers outside the US can still manufacture the same laptop for $800. Maybe HP (an American company) was able to sell laptops to Europe and India before. But not anymore. Because Lenovo can still make it for $800. Lenovo just gained market (and revenue) from HP simply because of tariffs. Trade is much more complicated than what we're giving credit for.