A bunch of bluster.
China has been taking advantage of us for decades now. The Chinese people are quite intelligent and hard-working, plus they have a sense of honor that
their government uses to its advantage. But perhaps their largest advantage over us economically is that the Chinese think in longer terms. Where we
make decisions based on this year's profit margin, China makes decisions based on how well it will benefit their overall position 20 years down the
road.
It has worked. China now has us in a very precarious position.
Our products are difficult to sell in China. They have already had a form of tariffs on us for some time: government restrictions on foreign trade.
Want to see your product in China? Fine... first you have to invest in China by moving your company there, then you have to partner with a Chinese
company so they get some of the profit, and finally, should you in any way not do whatever the Chinese want, they'll happily take your technology you
brought over and just start making it themselves. Screw your US patent; China won't recognize it. They only care about the Chinese patent, which they
gave to someone else who is Chinese.
Their workers are happy to have a job, and they consider doing that job an honor. What do we do? We march in the streets because we don't get $15 an
hour to flip hamburgers at McDonald's, and get all butt-hurt when we are expected to make good hamburgers instead of spending our day yakking about
American Idol.
strongfp had the most realistic post in this thread... we are our own worst enemy when it comes to trade.
The trade war so many are terrified of has been ongoing for quite some time; the only difference between then and now is that now we are the ones
firing back, finally. Does China intend to retaliate? Probably. But what can they retaliate on? Their workers do not have the income ours do, so we
have a larger economic base in terms of capital. China does not have the latest technology, save what they have taken from US companies. And right
now, China is in the midst of realizing their goal: a technological growth spurt to propel them into economic superiority... some would argue they are
already there. They need the US. Badly. Bigly.
We need them, too, and I want to see a fairer trade relationship with China. I'll admit it; I have parts I am working with right now that I ordered
from China. My PCB supplier is a Chinese company. I have no issue dealing with China, but I do have an issue when China uses unfair practices. In
other words, I may order something form China if it is going for 20 cents on the dollar what I would pay for it here, but I never depend on Chinese
goods until they are in-house and verified. China does not play by the same rules we do, and what I order may not be what I get, or there may be
delays getting it, or there may be extra charges that I am not aware of. I am very cautious when ordering form China, to the point that I will pay a
little extra, gladly, for a US importer to take some of that uncertainty out of the equation.
The tariffs are not a way to raise prices or to slow Chinese imports. That is simply not the purpose. The purpose is to force China into a decision:
either eat the extra cost, knowing that you are enriching the US by doing so, or negotiate in good faith. If they will negotiate in good faith...
acknowledge US patent rights, open up their own trade restrictions with us, stop pulling US companies away from our shores... then we don't need
tariffs.
I find it almost amusing, but also very sad, that people don't seem to understand the first thing about negotiation. In every negotiation, one must
deal from a position of strength. If I want to buy a car, my position of strength is that I have the money the dealer wants. You want my money, I
expect a good deal. They have a car I want. I want their car, I have to cough up some money. In a good deal, I pay little enough so I am satisfied
with the exchange and it benefits me, and yet enough that the dealer makes a profit as well. We both "win." If I go in determined that I can't live
without that car, the dealer is going to take me for every dollar he can. He'll win bigly, but I'll wind up a lot poorer than I needed to be for
agreeing to the deal. I tried to deal from a position of weakness.
The tariffs are our position of strength. Trump is a master negotiator. Let's see what he can do. Let the pro do what he does best, and then we'll
decide if he did a good job or not. Better than crying because the other side is complaining they're not able to take us to the cleaners any
more...
TheRedneck