Reader rebuts letter on tariffs

Tom Slade

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The following is my response to Mr. Richard’s letter concerning tariffs. Prior to the imposition of personal income tax, the federal government funded itself primarily through excise taxes, tariffs and public land sales.

Tariffs exist today to protect American jobs from unfair economic tactics. Some foreign companies “dump” goods subsidized by their respective governments into the USA to boost employment and GDP in their countries, which is economically unjust. The fastest and fairest way to combat these unfair practices is to levy tariffs on goods from these countries, thus assuring that American industries can compete fairly in world markets.

There have been announcements from countries throughout the world for trillions of dollars of new manufacturing and production facilities being brought into the USA to avoid tariffs.

This will accomplish: 1.) Immediate increase in construction jobs as well as supporting positions in finance, accounting, manufacturing of fixtures, equipment, transportation, installation, etc. 2.) Less reliance on hostile foreign countries for goods critical to our national security. 3.) Significant increase in our GDP and government revenues, reducing the burden of both budget deficits and the national debt. The USA had a budget surplus in June predominately due to revenue from tariffs. 4.) Economic opportunity for current and future generations to realize the American dream of home, family and economic security.  It is difficult to fulfill this promise with hamburger restaurants and jobs that rely on distribution of goods predominately manufactured by other countries.

Tarriffs will have a net positive impact on the USA in both the short and long term. Maybe someday the world will be cooperative enough economically to trade without tariffs. Until then, we must play by the existing rules.

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