Trego's Mountain Ear

I’m noticing comments on the evils of tariffs from folks who wanted forgiveness on their student loans back when Biden was a president.  I’m not an economist (neither are they) so I don’t know all the international implications – but I suspect that some tariffs will be good and others will suck.  Of course that’s the way I look at the government, regardless of which party dominates.

My little baler is Chinese made – so I suspect a tariff there would increase my cost of producing hay.  I’ll live with it – but these cute little round balers may wind up with a limited population.  My other Chinese product is the occasional harmonica purchase.  Hohner is listed as an American manufacturer – but most of their product line comes from the people’s republic.  China is pretty much the source of harmonicas for all of us – and I usually play a tremolo harp.  Most tremolo harps are Asian – so, I suspect tariffs on Chinese goods will impact my harmonica purchases.  It’s not like I have any shortage of harmonicas, so I can survive the tariffs on them.  Tariffs on Chinese bailer parts might be a different story.

I guess I look at a tariff as kind of a sales tax, based on where the product comes from.  I recall one of my Japanese students explaining that Japan had a very high tariff on rice, to keep the price up and the profitability of small farms high enough that the country could be agriculturally self-sufficient.  Judging from the little white pickups I see on the road, I doubt if GM would sell a whole lot of full-size pickups in Japan even if the tariff was at zero.

But I’m not an economist – I’m kind of ignorant about how tariffs affect trade.  Still, I’m pretty sure that a bunch of the folks writing on the topic are probably as ignorant as I am.