Ah the Trump tariffs. A wedge issue that is currently dividing patriots across the our great nation.
We’ve been told for decades by the intellectuals & elites that ‘free trade is good!’.
The Trump tariffs on imported aluminum and steel are an antithetical slap in the face to that narrative.
Do these tariffs in fact serve as proof that Trump really doesn’t know what the heck he’s doing?
Before you make a decision on the Trump tariffs I encourage you to take this quiz to see what you know about the current world trade situation our great America is in.
How the rest of the world treats us
NAFTA cost net one million American jobs. Okay maybe you knew that but did you know that the jobs lost were good paying manufacturing jobs that came complete with health and benefit packages.
The pro-NAFTA crowd will say that trade created jobs in America. While that’s true the lion’s share of those are service jobs which on average pay 20% less than American jobs and most of the time don’t include the same benefit packages that manufacturing jobs did.
Indonesia & India
Indonesia taxes American motorcycles at 400%.
Why is that significant? Because Indonesia is one of the world’s largest motorcycle markets nearly 8 million motorcycles were sold in Indonesia in 2014.
Therefore to limit competition from American companies the Indonesian government taxes American motorcycles at 400%. India levies a 100% duty on American motorcycles as well.
The Philippines
We allow foreigners to buy land here and drive up prices but other countries don’t give American immigrants the same privilege. It is illegal for an American to buy land in the Philippines; an American can’t even own a condo that’s on the first floor in the Philippines.
This is significant because the Philippines is a major retirement destination for Americans; especially retired veterans. As a result American man are forced to put their property in their girlfriend’s or wife’s name which is very risky for obvious reasons.
Canada
Canada taxes American dairy products at 270%. Canada has made it abundantly clear that it intends to protect its dairy industry no matter what the Americans say. That being said Canada may sell its milk here with little tax.
American emigrants
Other countries don’t treat American immigrants the same as we treat theirs either. All immigrants illegal or legal are entitled to due process prior to being deported from the United States.
However, other countries don’t see it that way for American immigrants. For example did you know in the Philippines an American can be deported for something as trivial as ‘disrespecting a Filipino’?
Yes its true. If you cross the wrong Filipino and he files a complaint against you as an immigrant you are eligible to be deemed an ‘undesirable alien’ and deported. You have no right to due process either.
There are no ‘dreamers’ in the Philippines…
The American experience then & now
Currently 2.5 million Americans are addicted to opioid drugs. The epicenters of this crises are in the rest belt where massive job loss has impacted so-called ‘privileged’ white men the most.
The very jobs lost were the ones killed by free trade agreements such as (but not only) NAFTA. This has helped to stagnate wages for the last 50 years.
I was watching a documentary on Geroge Wallace and on it they said something very interesting.
They said Arthur Bremer (the man that shot him) lived in his own apartment and was a bus boy and part time janitor.
It took me aback that in 1972 a bus boy could afford to have his own apartment. I can’t think of anybody in a job like that who could afford their own place in 2018.
So-called Free trade has hurt more than just manufacturing workers. Think because you’re not a blue collar worker that free trade won’t hurt you?
Think again…
Just between 2001-2003 over 250,000 call center jobs were outsourced to India and the Philippines. University of California-San Francisco fired 49 IT workers and replaced them with cheap labor from India. Disney and Southern California Edison both did the same thing.
Which leads me to my next point…
Who’s really benefiting from free trade?
The main beneficiaries of ‘free trade’ are large multinational corporations. Minimal labor and environmental standards abroad have benefited the bottom line of the multinational corporations.
Many people rightfully pointed out the in the TPP a corporation could decide it didn’t like one of our laws and take us to a court of un-elected international judges and the law would be overturned.
What many don’t mention is that NAFTA has similar provisions.
President Trump has said over and over again that he’s not against trade.
He simply wants fair trade!
The President has said it’s not fair that other countries get to put their needs first but for some reason we can’t do the same.
We finally have a president that is willing to stand up to special interests and elites of both parties and do whats best for the working man the average American.
In short President Trump simply wants to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
Trump is the best president we’ve ever had and by the way I love my Trump coin!