General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: "Free Trade" is a SCAM. It always has been. [View all]pampango
(24,692 posts)So a $20,000 car made in Sweden costs a Swedish consumer $24,000 with a 20% VAT. A $20,000 Japanese car costs the Swedish consumer $24,000 with the same VAT. If Sweden had not VAT, the Swedish-made car would cost their consumer $20,000 and the Japanese import would cost $20,000. The VAT does not harm imports.
The VAT does provide much funding to the Swedish government which it uses to fund an effective safety net so it may well be a great policy (though somewhat regressive in who pays for the VAT), but it does nothing to penalize imports or shift consumers to domestic products.
US imports from China are 2.52% of our economy. Sweden's imports from China are 1.48% of their economy. (Germany's imports from China are 2.48% of their economy.) Our imports from Vietnam are 0.2% of our economy. Don't know how much Sweden imports from Vietnam. Sweden imports less from China than the US (neither import much from Vietnam) does but I doubt that a 1.04% difference in Chinese imports explains why Sweden's unions and middle class are strong while ours are weak.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Sweden
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_United_States
Trade is not the cause of our problems; not will limiting it be the solution to our problems; though for Donald it provides a nice scapegoat and a handy distraction from real solutions.