“So the tariff is paid in this country by the importer, is that right?” — Eugene Robinson guides Scott Bessent into acknowledging that tariffs are in fact paid in the United States, not by foreign governments
https://v.redd.it/86yxhfxoilhf1
by Miserable-Lizard
32 comments
They know that importers and ultimately consumers are the ones that pay it, they just have to lie about it so their idiot fanbase will support them.
LOL. Embarrassing he had to walk the secretary through that.
I’m not from the US and I find it hard to believe that there are people in this country who don’t understand how tariffs work. Can we be honest and just recognize that there are people who will accept paying tremendously more themselves so that they can inflict harm on those who think differently politically, even if it makes them look economically challenged?
How many products come with a 50% profit margin, doofus?
How many products can the producer reduce by 50% and still make a profit?
A typical product comes with <20% profit margin so slackjaw here seriously expects the producer to sell to the US for a loss??
People keep on harping on who pays the tarrifs, but it doesn’t matter in the slightest. The effect is exactly the same if it’s the importer or exporter.
So they’re asking corporations to profit less? Doesn’t seem like that’s in the interest of shareholders and will never happen. What kind of rube does this guy think we are? They think you are this stupid.
I can’t fucking believe that we are still debating econ 101.
The most straightest kinda sort of answer so far.
Jesus Christ Eugene Robinson’s voice is annoying. Holy shit how do people listen to him.
“Not many things are produced just in Brazil, you could buy from all these other countries with the same Tariff rate”
Ignoring that that applies to the US too. We *can’t* buy domestic completely, we’re a global economy now. Even if something is assembled here, it likely has many of the raw materials imported.
A tariff is a tax. On the consumer. We literally started our independence because of this. How are we allowing these GOP rats to gaslight Americans into thinking it’s anything but a tax
I can’t actually believe Bessent doesn’t know that
Not only it’s a tax on the consumer but a greedy corporation will see people still buying goods at a higher price will raise their price as well. They seem to skip over that part.
Next question: you do realise this is in direct contradiction to the president’s understanding of how tariffs work, don’t you?
“But the exporter…”
Can charge whatever they want and doesn’t change the importer writes the check.
Serious question, do other countries impose tariffs on American goods?
Ole Scott Bessent tried every which way to avoid answering that question. What would his job be in the Government? United States Secretary of the Treasury.
I wonder if Eugene Robinson still has his job?
Bruh. Tariffs are easy to understand how they work but this administration, being slimy and gritty, have purposely confused (pretty much only) his base, MAGA. And I guess faux news. Which I find funny cause those idiots are supposedly educated. But a simple google search would tell people how tariffs work… MAGA would refuse to do a basic google search in fear that their shiteating leader could’ve let them down.
All these explanations still don’t deal with the mechanism on how the foreign countries exporting goods that have tariffs on them pay $ directly into the US treasury as Trump claims! What’s the explanation for that?
The worst part of the kind of politics that modern conservatives of the MAGA worshipping variety inflict upon us, lead by Trump who sets the example as the worst offender, is this constant war we must fight with them, to constantly keep debating with them over basic facts.
Not opinions. FACTS.
Import tariffs are paid by American importers.
That. Is. A. Fact.
That is not an opinion. That is not up for debate. It is a fact.
Tariffs are a tax paid by American importers bringing products into the US.
If Trump wanted to argue that tariffs, taxes on American companies importing from overseas, was ultimately a good thing in the long run despite the potential impact on the cost of living. That would be a position I could at least respect even if I don’t agree with it.
At least that would be a debate of different ideas, with opinions, and grounded in reality.
But instead we have this… Exhausting… Endless… Fight. To keep pushing back against lies and misinformation that he and his people spread where they try to make up shit like other countries paying the tariffs.
And if it was one lie, that’d be at least manageable. But this wave of cult like sheep who worship this movement, don’t tell just one lie. They tell thousands of them. They tell so many lies, make up so much misinformation, and constantly feed it to each other and to the public, they flood the political realm with too many lies to keep up with. They overwhelm those who would push back against it.
By the time you’ve fought one lie, and got someone from Trump’s crew to admit a simple basic fact of reality, a thousand other lies have been told and spread in that time. Including lies about the media lying about Trump lying! .. it’s too much. It’s exhausting.
What does it take to beat this. Or is there no other solution but to simply wait for Trump to pass of old age and hope that his movement dies with him? Will it though? Or is this just a brain rot that has set in like cancer and won’t be cured, and it’s just a question of how many civilisations it will ultimately bring down?
Why so we keep seeing this arguing on TV about who pays the tariffs? People can literally Google explanation to know exactly who pays what so why they try to convince us otherwise? Becouse just boomers who can’t search up real answer and only watch TV?
Only a spineless asshole could take such pains to try to divert the question’s simple answer
#TariffTaxes are NOT ADDITIVE on balance; they reduce economic activity – REDUCING REVENUES; so they will NOT somehow reduce the US deficit; that #ToothFairyMath is trump’s #VooDooEconomics.
Why is this a question or confusing at this point? It has been covered over and over to no end.
At this point, you either don’t care or you’re willfully ignorant.
We pay for it. The cosumer. The end. That’s just how it is going to go.
Except for Arizona Tea. They are steady and reliable. Unlike Trump.
Interesting counterexample of how you can really pay for government:
The pentagon recently did socialism and bought half the shares of a rare earth mining company and they are up 200% in the last three months.
A Soros protege definitely knows what tariffs are. Bessent just has a gun pointed to his head every time he goes out to speak publicly, as to not speak ill of the administration.
That’s a lot of assumptions he’s making there. But I did enjoy watching him flail.
So “Billions and billions pouring into our country” is misleading??? Say it ain’t so!
This is the best dude they can find to pedal their tariff bullshit? He sounds like a hostage with a gun against his head, except the gun is just the truth.
He tried squirming so bad to avoid the fact that the importer strokes the check, lol
Can someone explain to me who this is argument or even clip is for. Because as I understand it, this was explained forever ago, and it was clear that the importer, the American people, are paying the costs and not the other countries. So when Trumps representatives say this, I don’t understand if or how this can be a “gotcha” because his supporters would vote for him even if he shot their family in front of them on fifth avenue – and everyone else with a brain knew this information forever ago.
So I’m not sure who would be surprised or what good this does for swaying the opinion of anyone. Either you know he’s an idiot or believe him to be infallible.
There’s no confusion. These people are liars at best. Morons at worst.
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