As President Trump raised tariffs on Chinese goods in the wake of failed trade talks, IPI president Tom Giovanetti launched a series of tweets warning of the harm that will come to American consumers.
The #tariffs are directly paid by Americans. They aren't bringing ANY wealth to America. They are transferring wealth from Americans to the federal government. Like any other tax. https://t.co/8uJZZopoUt
— Tom Giovanetti 🗽 (@tgiovanetti) May 10, 2019
These are facts. You may think they are worth it for some geo strategy, but they are facts:
— Tom Giovanetti 🗽 (@tgiovanetti) May 10, 2019
1. Through #tariffs the Trump admin has imposed an additional $72 billion in taxes on the American economy.
2. These new taxes erase and undo about 1/4 of the power of the Trump tax cut.
Giovanetti has said the United States should aggressively pursue trade liberalization, which includes a willingness to lower our own trade barriers even when other countries do not respond reciprocally. Ideally, those efforts include multilateral agreements, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but bilateral agreements can also promote freer trade.
American consumers bear the brunt of the protectionist impulse through higher prices on consumer goods, and American workers are best served when liberalized trade policies facilitate the export of American products throughout the world. At a time when protectionist sentiments are growing, it is important to assert that the U.S. and its workers have nothing to fear from trade, and everything to gain.
Countries don't trade.
— Tom Giovanetti 🗽 (@tgiovanetti) May 9, 2019
People trade.