Summary: US Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross, recommended that Trump impose tariffs against foreign metal suppliers for “national security” reasons. Wang Hejun, a senior official at China's Commerce Ministry, responded that "If the United States' final decision affects China's interests, we will take necessary measures to defend our rights". Trump has already imposed tariffs on solar panels and washing machines, affecting business in China and other countries, and prompting them to file cases with the World Trade Organization. Some Americans fear that more U.S. trade actions, will cause Beijing to respond with their own tariffs on U.S. companies that rely on its market.
Analysis/Opinion: While the tariffs against foreign suppliers would probably help U.S. metal businesses, I think they have too much potential to hurt other American businesses. If China responds with their own tariffs, many U.S. companies could lose their biggest trading partner. Moreover, I don’t really see how imported steel is a risk to our national security, so I don’t think that Trump should impose any tariffs. However, it’s probably not likely that China will respond too drastically, as they rely on American businesses pretty heavily.
Questions:
Do you think Trump should impose tariffs against foreign metal suppliers?
What do you think will happen if Trump does impose the tariffs?
Link:
http://money.cnn.com/2018/02/17/news/economy/china-steel-aluminum-tariffs/index.html
Link:
http://money.cnn.com/2018/02/17/news/economy/china-steel-aluminum-tariffs/index.html
3 comments:
Imposing tariffs on foreign metal suppliers would only cause more conflict for the U.S. If this issue keeps elevating, it could cause problems for major companies such as Apple and Intel which are important to the technology industry. In addition, in 2016, the soybean industry accumulated $14 billion making it less likely for China to do anything since the U.S. exports soybeans. Also, China takes advantage of global commerce and will most likely not do anything to the U.S., its biggest trading partner. I believe that if Trump does end up imposing tariffs on foreign metal suppliers, it can lead to detrimental outcomes for our economy as well as China’s.
Kalena is correct when stating that honestly, this will do more harm than good. Trump is staying true to his idea of keeping work in the U.S., but as a country that relies on foreign trade, I don't think actions should be done without considering the other side. Will this really help us or will prices just increase? Should a job be given over cheaper goods? Of course there are trade-offs, but there are many negatives here. We shouldn't challenge our relationship with another big important country just so that we can create more jobs here. I'm sure there are other alternatives that don't involve as much hostility between the two countries.
From a liberal perspective, I agree that imposing tariffs on Chinese metal suppliers is a poor economic decision. However, Trump's campaign promises included keeping work in the United States, especially in the manufacturing sector. It will look bad on him if he doesn't follow up, or at least try to, on his promises. Additionally, I am not sure how threatening the World Trade Organization is, but it sounds concerning that other countries are filing cases against the U.S. I hope that Trump doesn't make too many enemies in other countries, as those relationships may be hard to repair in the future.
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