Today my repug neighbor said the dumbest thing ever about tariffs & coronavirus.

[KS Toronado]

Wayne said.....With the millions, even billions of dollars we're getting from China on account of
trump's tariffs.....that's easily providing the money we need to fight the China-virus....blab,blab

Me.....So the Chinese government is paying our government millions/billions of dollars because
of trump's tariffs?

Wayne.....Yea, ain't that great?

Me....Well didn't China put some tariffs on us? How much money is our government paying
China for their tariffs every month?

Wayne.....Silence, deer in the headlights look, turned & walked away from the truth. Stupid repugs.

[orwell]

1. Moron...

...in favor of tariffs while not understanding how they work.

China is paying us nothing. Consumers in the US ultimately pay the tariffs.

When you are being bullshitted 24/7 "reality" can be somewhat fluid...

[genxlib]

2. It's dumber than that

We consumers pay the tariffs. China doesn't pay anything.

[ProfessorGAC]

5. They Just Write The Check

But, those extra dollars came from us.

[genxlib]

9. Do they?

I would assume that the importers pay the tariff and pass it on to customers.

[ProfessorGAC]

12. Depends On Industry

But there was a Business Week article that detailed how much the Chinese banking system paid the US government for tariffs.
PINO crowed about it for a week until it was tamped down by commentary about where the $ really came from.
So yeah, a substantial portion of the money does come directly from China.

What you say is likely accurate in components. The importer pays it, the middle manufacturer pays a higher price, & the market price of assembled goods go up.
But, direct goods for consumption are paid government to government in many cases.

I know that the chemical industry had to petition for basic bulk chemical being sent from China to their own sites both there & in the US not be considered a component because the alternative was to import the finished goods. It was an argument that was successful.

[Amishman]

13. they do, everyone is wrong in that conversation

Tariffs are paid by the importing company.

If a US company imports Chinese goods to the US, the US company pays the tariff money to the US government and typically passes the cost on to consumers.

If a Chinese company imports US goods into China, the Chinese company pays the tariff to the Chinese government and passes on the cost.

So no government is paying any money to anyone (unless you count a chinese state owned company paying money to the chinese government)

Where the rightwinger was wrong is that we are talking about tens of billions in tariff revenue, and trillions in covid expenses. Its like trying to use the money from my couch cushions to pay my mortgage for the month.

[gratuitous]

3. Sounds like you stopped him

If he brings it up again, ask him if there's a tariff on Chinese goods being imported, wouldn't the Chinese pass that cost on to their customer - that is, the farmers and the businessmen importing goods from China? Who's really paying those tariffs, and doesn't that hurt the American farmer and businessman?

[ProfessorGAC]

4. Yeah, Pretty Close To Dumbest

Somehow he's fooled himself into believing that China and their government is paying those tariffs.
The american consumer is paying those dollars.
The Chinese just raised the prices.

[dawg]

6. He didn't fool himself.

There's a whole industry that exists with the sole purpose of fooling him and others like him.

T

[ProfessorGAC]

10. Doesn't That Constitute...

...willful ignorance?
Of a willingness to be fooled?
That industry wouldn't exist if not for the huge pool of suckers!

[dawg]

11. For some it's willful, for some it just a lack of sophistication.

They're being subjected to a massive propaganda campaign, on many different levels, and the so-called "referees" have mostly been shouted and bullied into something indistinguishable from submission.

[Yavin4]

7. China must be asking itself...

"It can't be this easy. Can it?"

[brush]

8. We, US consumers pay the tariffs.

[Initech]

14. Obviously not an econ major!

[WA-03 Democrat]

15. I am an importer from China

We get billed by DHL/UPS/FedEx 25% of the commercial invoice value because our components are housed in aluminum or zinc. The housing represents 15% of the total product cost but due to custom tariffs it becomes 100% because it’s not prorated upon value to the entire system. This bill is made by US Customs to my business and collected by the shipper. If we don’t pay it then we cannot import. US business pay for tariffs. In a simple world I could pass along 100% to the customer, but product pricing is complex. I pass 10% which is the max I believe the market supports. It kills my bottom line and many large and small business are in the same boat. It weakens US businesses, increases costs to consumers and does nothing to support restoring manufacturing in the US. It’s a racket or graft.

What does the customs department do with this money?