New tariffs? We already have tariffs on 12,000 products

If we think the the US does not impose tariffs, think again. Before we get our knickers in a knot, let’s take a look back.

The Truth. We already impose over 12,000 tariffs on imports. In a story that appeared in Business Insider back in October of 2010, during the reign of Obama and Clinton, we learned that as far as tariffs are concerned, we are already knee-deep in applying tariffs to our favorite swamp benefactor businesses. Surprised? So when Congress gets on its high horse and tells us that we will have a trade war, ask them about the imposed tariffs on American products that happen to have great lobbyists, and are surviving. “Free Trade?”

Donald Trump is the first president since Hoover to impose a tariff on imported products you would think.

Obama’s economic adviser Austan Goolsbee told CNBC a tariff “destroys more jobs than it creates.”

If so, then Obama was a prolific jobs destroyer. There was a 31% tariff on Chinese solar panels. There was a 35% tariff on Chinese tires.

That last one destroyed 100,000 jobs. In China.

“Obama’s decision may affect the employment of 100,000 tire workers in China and may bring an aggregated loss of $1 billion to China’s tire exporters,” Fan Rende, chairman of China Rubber Industry Association, said at the time.

We give presidents the power to impose tariffs.

They use it.

And they help the United States in the continuous trade wars. H/T:  Don Surber

25 American Products That Rely On Huge Protective Tariffs To Survive is the title of the Business Insider article. The usual suspects are the benefactors. So when the media tells you that applying tariffs to Steel and aluminum will start a trade war, and that we are sacrificing agriculture for steel and will be hit the hardest, perhaps it is because they have enjoyed and benefitted the most from the tariffs the swamp has imposed on imports. Here are a few of them:

Most vegetables — 20% tariff

Asparagus and sweet corn — 21.3% tariff

Apricot, cantaloupe, and dates — 29.8% tariff

Canned tuna — 35% tariff

Shelled peanuts — 131.8% tariff

Garlic or onion powder — 29.8% tariff

Tobacco — 350% tariff

European meats, truffles, and Roquefort cheese — 100% tariff

French jam, chocolate, and ham — 100% tariff

Most auto parts — 25% tariff

Miscellaneous ship parts — 50% tariff

Chinese tires — 35% tariff

Sneakers — 48% tariff

Brooms — 32% tariff

Here is a portion of the article written in 2010:

Congress is preparing assail China  for protectionist policies, like a 105.4% tariff on US poultry.

But anyone who thinks America is a perfect practitioner of free trade needs to wake up.

The International Trade Commission lists over 12,000 specific tariffs on imports to America. Hundreds of agricultural, textile, and manufacturing items are highly protected. So are obscure items like live foxes. (The above link of the ITC is dead) Clunky  website is  https://www.usitc.gov is  the new website.

Complete story with pics at  Business Insider

A follow-up story by Business Insider that is well worth the read, written back in 2010:

19 Facts About The Deindustrialization Of America That Will Make You Weep