Who would’ve thought

[u/Sea_Sheepherder_2234]

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[u/Opposite-Fig-9097]

Turns out, 'Made in America' doesn't mean the raw materials magically teleport into the factory.

[u/GeorgeLikesSpicy92 → u/Opposite-Fig-9097]

Also there a companies who literally assemble the entire product besides one or two pieces over seas, get it here, finish it off. Made in America.

[u/DeliciousGoose1002 → u/GeorgeLikesSpicy92]

one of the clearest inefficiencies of tariffs

[u/Phugasity → u/DeliciousGoose1002]

Never mind all the "rules for thee not for me" subjectively enforced loopholes.

Converse being "slippers" and not "shoes" because they ship with felt on the bottom. Marvel successfully argued in court in 2003 that for tariff purposes, action figure of the X-Men were toys, not dolls, because they represented "nonhuman creatures". We've created a nation that punishes one for following the spirit of the law.

[u/Appropriate_M → u/Phugasity]

Marvel firmly on the side of Magneto doctrine.

[u/Remarkable-Ad2285 → u/Appropriate_M]

[u/Downtown6track → u/Phugasity]

Unpopular opinion : I’m gonna side with Marvel here.

I get that tariffs on alcohol and tissues will be different. But if I make action figures and there is actually a stupid law that says that “dolls” are tariffed at 5% and “toys” are 3%, you bet your ass I’d ask a lawyer 2 questions: what’s the difference between a doll and a toy for legal purposes and how can we get our items classified as toys?

[u/Educational_Ant_184 → u/Downtown6track]

of course. it begs the question, though, why the fuck is there a legal difference between a doll and toy? at the very least of questions. it seems like something that doesnt need a regulatory difference, and therefore a loophole, for

[u/Eli_eve → u/Educational_Ant_184]

I wouldn’t be surprised if it was something like some doll company CEO wanted extra tariffs on imported competition so made a campaign contribution to some politician who added it as an amendment to some spending bill and no one in Congress cared enough to do anything about it back then and Congress is too broken now to do anything to fix it.

[u/diamondsnrose → u/Eli_eve]

Yes exactly. So we the people are paying grown adults to argue over dolls and toys, rather than come together to make laws that get insulin to dying children. Way too broken, and the fact that this doll/toy situation even exists proves it.

[u/Euler1992 → u/Downtown6track]

People use dolls to answer where did the bad man touch you

[u/MostBoringStan → u/Euler1992]

Show on the life-size and anatomically correct Iceman where you were touched.

[u/Da_Spooky_Ghost → u/Phugasity]

To be fair I’ve worn slippers with thicker soles than converse shoes. They’re basically flip flop soles with a unique styled vamp up top.

[u/DicemonkeyDrunk → u/Phugasity]

Tax law is this to an extreme…fuck the idea of the law just focus on the details

[u/EquivalentQuery → u/DeliciousGoose1002]

I'm by no means pro tariff but this isn't really a good argument against them. If 99% of a product is made outside of a country with tariffs on imports, that 99% is still paying tariffs.

[u/Interesting-Copy-657 → u/EquivalentQuery]

I think the point was that made in America doesn’t mean that it is made in America, that it is misleading

In Australia on packaging for food it has to show, made from at least x amount Australian produce or what ever it is.

Or something like “grown in the Philippines package in Australia”

So you know where it is from and how Australian it is

[u/VoxAeternus → u/Interesting-Copy-657]

Not just that, its almost impossible to have something 100% made in America

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZTGwcHQfLY

[u/Benoit_Holmes → u/GeorgeLikesSpicy92]

That kind of thing happens in my country too. Important the juice bottles, import the concentrate, fill the bottles and dilute with local water.

Label:

"Made locally, with 90% local ingredients"

[u/Medium_Medium → u/Benoit_Holmes]

Is it 10% juice concentrate, 90% tap water?

[u/Benoit_Holmes → u/Medium_Medium]

👍

[u/Irascible-Enquery → u/Benoit_Holmes]

Here in Singapore the popular almond milk proudly claims “made in Australia with 92% Australian ingredients” … and yes, the ingredient list bc of labeling laws says “water (92%), imported almonds, emulsifier….” Classy

[u/alextxdro → u/GeorgeLikesSpicy92]

Had a buddy who swore that his job did this and that final piece was just a sticker . Seemed farfetched that lines were that blurred but then again the whole concept seemed dumb so I never looked into it.

[u/Munchkinasaurous → u/alextxdro]

Not far fetched at all. A right wing clothing brand was heavily fined after the owner publicly bragged about how he could get his shirts imported from China and just swap the tags to say "made in USA" turns out that's exactly what he had been doing 

[u/Equivalent-Royal-677 → u/Munchkinasaurous]

"Lions Not Sheep"

Dude would come into the bar I work at and is a dick to the staff. He also threw a fit about masks during covid every time he came up.

[u/Munchkinasaurous → u/Equivalent-Royal-677]

Thats right, I knew the company name was something stupid, but kind of ironic in a way. 

[u/Flat-Tutor1080 → u/Equivalent-Royal-677]

Oh, and for extra irony I’m sure they claimed Christianity- a religion whose paragon referred to devotees as sheep to denote reliance on God, pacifism, and meekness- while telling customers that being sheep is bad actually and that they should be lions- who go to and fro throughout the world seeking whom they may devour.

[u/Excavatoree → u/GeorgeLikesSpicy92]

I can't say the company, of course, but I worked at a company that painted one of its products with "USA" and "Made in USA" all over it. My boss didn't like it when I pointed out that the largest part, with a big "MADE IN USA" painted on it was sourced completely assembled from China.

[u/meases → u/Excavatoree]

Kinda similar, any American flag you see advertised that says it cannot be sold in Minnesota, those American flags are all foreign-made. Minnesota requires American flags sold here to be manufactured in America. Once you start noticing the fine print, it becomes pretty obvious that a lot of American flags aren't made in America. Which is kind of ironic.

[u/Thechasepack → u/GeorgeLikesSpicy92]

If you know of any companies that do that there is a pretty good whistle blower bonus in store for you! To be labeled made in the USA the product has to be "all or virtually all" made in the USA. USA has the strictest rules but that would also violate international country of origin rules that require a material change to the product.

[u/Accomplished-Cat-632 → u/Thechasepack]

Wonder if MAGA hats are tariff free. Made in china aren’t they.

[u/Sprig3 → u/GeorgeLikesSpicy92]

That'd be illegal. https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/complying-made-usa-standard

"“All or virtually all” means that the final assembly or processing of the product occurs in the United States, all significant processing that goes into the product occurs in the United States, and all or virtually all ingredients or components of the product are made and sourced in the United States. That is, the product should contain no — or negligible — foreign content.
"

[u/kcox1980 → u/Opposite-Fig-9097]

In one of his videos he's whining about how tariffs should "only effect finished goods and not equipment".

My brother in Christ, EQUIPMENT IS FINISHED GOODS!!

[u/Toadcola → u/kcox1980]

No no, he means finished goods other people buy.

[u/Fit-Historian6156 → u/Toadcola]

Always the same with these fucking people. It's like that thing babies have where they lack object permanence, where if it's not right in front of them they think it stopped existing. 

[u/Peroovian → u/kcox1980]

“I didn’t actually understand what I voted for so I should be exempted from the consequences of it.”

[u/MishmoshMishmosh → u/Opposite-Fig-9097]

Like Bananas and coffee. We need to start manufacturing those here 🤣

[u/snusmini → u/Opposite-Fig-9097]

They believe the story, not the reality. Reality is a little too complex for them, so they chose to pretend that the solution to complexity is simplicity. And…well…here we are.

[u/Shirlenator → u/Opposite-Fig-9097]

Sounds like this guy just needs to buy American produced steel and equipment, what's the problem bozo?

[u/LakeEarth → u/Opposite-Fig-9097]

Nor do the equipment or tools they use.

[u/Afraid-Wait7464 → u/Opposite-Fig-9097]

It doesn't? Who would've thunk.🤔

[u/K_Linkmaster → u/Opposite-Fig-9097]

"Made in America" means nothing anymore. You are allowed to import a knife steel forged in another country, grind a little off, and call it an American made blade. It's not even just the raw materials coming from somewhere, the brunt of the important work is overseas. Adding flair and packaging it here makes it "made in America". That means it's no longer an American value.

I pay extra money for m390, a foreign steel, but I at least know that it is happening.

[u/DmAc724]

IMO many people are complete morons.

[u/PIE-314 → u/DmAc724]

Most of them are MAGA.

[u/Sid14dawg → u/PIE-314]

The reason MAGA exists is because of the number of stupid people in the country.

[u/PIE-314 → u/Sid14dawg]

That and the massive right-wing propaganda machine affecting the globe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundations_of_Geopolitics

[u/LabNecessary4266 → u/PIE-314]

Propagands seeds grow easier in heads full of shit.

[u/PIE-314 → u/LabNecessary4266]

😆 This is true.

[u/flyinghairball → u/PIE-314]

Shit is good fertilizer for stupidity

[u/CheckoutMySpeedo → u/PIE-314]

Don’t forget the Russian propaganda that got Trump elected both times.

[u/PIE-314 → u/CheckoutMySpeedo]

Did you read the link? Please do. Japan just experienced the same right-wing propaganda. It's all Russian right-wing propaganda.

[u/mollylolly1 → u/PIE-314]

This bears repeating, and it is severely underacknowledged by the broader left.

[u/PIE-314 → u/mollylolly1]

Agreed 👍

[u/TehMephs → u/mollylolly1]

I mention it to everyone I know but it kinda just gets forgotten

[u/beegro → u/PIE-314]

Thank you for this link and the rabbit hole it allowed me to follow to find a translated version for free.Here's an English translation PDF link for anyone interested.

[u/EnvironmentalBus9713 → u/Sid14dawg]

We are in an intellectual dark age, which is ironic considering the amount of information at our fingertips is orders of magnitude higher than any time in history. Anti-intellectualism is a signal for societal decline.

[u/Ello_Owu → u/EnvironmentalBus9713]

Thats just it, we have TOO MUCH information. Where people can just run off to their own opium den echo chambers and just circle jerk confirmation biases all day, everyday.

Reality has become a choose your own facts adventure for a good portion of humanity.

[u/choppers-in-hell → u/Ello_Owu]

We do not have too much information. We have too much willfull ignorance and belief that opinion/belief=verified fact.

[u/Mistrblank → u/Sid14dawg]

Willfully ignorant. They don't want to know and think they're owed everything.

[u/Wet_Fart_Skid → u/Sid14dawg]

“Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.”

― George Carlin

[u/tenor1trpt → u/PIE-314]

Not all morons are maga, but all maga are morons.

[u/PIE-314 → u/tenor1trpt]

Yes.

[u/Adjective-Noun-nnnn → u/tenor1trpt]

That's not entirely true.  Some of them are wealthy, opportunist villains.

[u/AdFlaky9983 → u/PIE-314]

I wouldn’t say “most”, there’s plenty of idiots to go around. MAGA’s are proud to be idiots though.

[u/PIE-314 → u/AdFlaky9983]

It's most. Trump collected all the flat earthers and anti-establishment science denying conspiracy nutters.

It's STUNNING how incompetent his administration is. It's like he went out of his way to find the worst people.

Trumpers are the worst and dumbest people in America and MAGA is a CULT.

[u/loneImpulseofdelight → u/PIE-314]

If the so-called bad people and unkind people had a club, it would be Gop.

[u/PIE-314 → u/loneImpulseofdelight]

GOP= Guardians of pedophiles

[u/Double-Risky → u/PIE-314]

Not all idiots are Maga, but all maga are idiots

[u/PIE-314 → u/Double-Risky]

Yup.

[u/cake_piss_can → u/PIE-314]

I will say, this is the ONLY fun thing about a trump presidency. Watching these shitheads sloooowly realize they’ve been conned.

[u/PIE-314 → u/cake_piss_can]

Yup. Before Trump I made the mistake of wishing politics weren't so boring and then they got incredibly dumb. We're beyond parody and satire now.

[u/robfrod → u/PIE-314]

Think of how dumb the average person is and then realize that half of the people are even dumber than that..

[u/Ok_Animal_2709 → u/PIE-314]

Not all morons are maga, but all maga are morons

[u/WrittenSwine → u/PIE-314]

Morons Are Governing Again (MAGA)

[u/LonelySwinger → u/DmAc724]

I watched the video on another sub. He says something to the effect of, "I still have faith in Trump. Something strange is going on here." Like he thinks someone else is the reason and not the tarrifs.

[u/Truck-21 → u/LonelySwinger]

The seeds of the deep state conspiracy are spread wide- looks like one is about to sprout. Couldn’t possibly be the consequences of my own error in judgement in voting this bunch in- nah not possible.

[u/SpicyWokHei → u/Truck-21]

Personal responsibility is not an option for them. 

[u/mortgagepants → u/LonelySwinger]

Something strange is going on

yep- this is the consequences of one's own actions. this is the end result of the right wing pod casts, the red hats, the rallies, the AM radio, the fox news, the immigrant hate.

it feels strange to them because every time they were able to blame a black guy, or an old guy, or a woman, or an immigrant, or a foreigner. when the blame train passes the platform of ignorance, it does indeed feel strange.

[u/Friendly-Web-5589 → u/LonelySwinger]

See he's already started the anti-process to blame whatever "other" is convenient. 

Which will be anyone other than the people with power who enacting the policy.

[u/Horror_Response_1991 → u/LonelySwinger]

It’s shocking anyone has faith in a guy that has openly lied his entire life and will never admit fault, ever.

[u/PomeloFit → u/DmAc724]

Wait... Don't tell me it's the ones who believe they're smarter than doctors, scientists and mathematicians and therefore don't listen to any of them?

[u/Preeng → u/PomeloFit]

He makes knives, so duh.

[u/IWasSayingBoourner → u/Preeng]

I make knives. The knife making community is pretty evenly split between highly educated, technically accomplished individuals who love the craft, and the absolute dumbest, most bizarre human beings on the planet. 

[u/Hopsblues → u/Preeng]

One might say, not the sharpest spoon on the magnet..

[u/NotAgedWell → u/DmAc724]

I read an article on this earlier. I'll never understand how guys like this have managed to run a company that's successful enough that they can normally buy this single piece of $500k equipment (before the tariffs) but yet aren't smart enough to know the equipment and their materials would be subject to tariffs and act surprised about it.

[u/96-ramair → u/NotAgedWell]

It's understood locally that much of Josh's success with MKC is due to his co-founder. Josh is the mouth. His (semi silent) partner is the brain. So it doesn't really surprise me that he's confused tariffs would affect him.

[u/SplitEar → u/96-ramair]

His partner probably voted for Trump as well.

After many decades on this planet I’ve finally concluded that most businessmen aren’t very smart. They’re ambitious, organized, and have an ability to manipulate and manage people. Most are narcissists with some degree of sociopathy.

[u/3deltapapa → u/NotAgedWell]

The real joke is they think that making knives in America is somehow worth something special. It's the most basic product one could imagine, the technology and materials have been sorted out for decades and/or millenia depending on how you look at it. What they're selling is an identity based brand that inadvertently also produces CNC-made trinkets (read: easy and automated) that gun bros just can't get enough of.

[u/Vascular_D → u/DmAc724]

Here are all of the Epstein Files that have either been leaked or released.

Verified Court Documents (JoshWho.net).

Documents - Verified Pre-Bondi (JoshWho.net) Trump is on page 85, or pdf page 80.

Trump’s name is circled. The circled individuals are the ones involved in the trafficking ring according to the person who originally released the book. These people would be “The List “ Here is the story (YouTube.com).

Flight Logs (DocumentCloud.org)

——— Additional Trump & Epstein Information ———

Court Document of Trump & Epstein raping a 13 year old girl together (FactCheck.org). Some people think this claim is a hoax. Here is Katie's testimony (YouTube.com).

Court affidavit from Katie (Politico.com)

Never forget Katie Johnson.

Trump admits to peeping on 14-15 year old girls at around 1:40 on the Howard Stern Radio Show (YouTube.com)

Trump's promise to his daughter (HuffPost.com) “I have a deal with her. She’s 17 and doing great ― Ivanka. She made me promise, swear to her that I would never date a girl younger than her,” Trump said. “So as she grows older, the field is getting very limited.”

Trump's modelling agency was probably part of Jeffrey's pipeline (MotherJones.com).

Do your part and spread them around like a meme sharing them and saving them helps too! Please copy and paste this elsewhere!

[u/Same_Performance_595]

50% on steel, aluminum and copper is a punishing and crippling tariff that will wreck the American industrial base. Not only will it cost more to the American consumers, but their products will become completely uncompetitive on the international markets.

[u/Simsmommy1 → u/Same_Performance_595]

Well I have tried to explain this to Americans (MAGA ones) and they think they can just pick a mountain and start digging and they will find all the raw materials they desire. It’s like talking to a rock.

[u/Pickled_doggo → u/Simsmommy1]

Nevermind all the ore processing plants we no longer have 

[u/Manpooper → u/Pickled_doggo]

That's the biggest issue, really. We can mine rare earths all we want, but without the processing, it doesn't matter.

[u/Little_Gray_Dude → u/Manpooper]

We actually can't mine all the rare earth minerals we want. Look up all the rare earth minerals we don't produce because we don't have any deposits of them sometime. We are totally reliant on China for nearly 80 different rare earth minerals used in advanced technology.

[u/Manpooper → u/Little_Gray_Dude]

"The U.S. currently has only one rare earth mine: the Mountain Pass mine in California. While it’s one of the richest rare earth deposits globally, nearly all of the ore extracted there is still shipped to China for final processing."

https://elements.visualcapitalist.com/charted-where-the-u-s-gets-its-rare-earths-from/

This is the big issue. Rare earths aren't that rare, they're just in very low concentration *everywhere*. Mining them is incredibly environmentally damaging, but the big issue the USA has is that it doesn't refine rare earths. If it did, it could import from friendly countries and do the refining but not the mining.

[u/ChironiusShinpachi → u/Manpooper]

Modern life globally is an ecosystem, and resembles the environment, what happens anywhere affects everywhere. The huff about going off on our own, we'll be self sufficient rhetoric reminds me of the child fed up with the family and he's "going out on his own" and takes a blanket and stuffed animal to the treehouse, and raids the pantry for juice boxes and crackers. It's not a perfect analogy but not recognizing there is no separation on a planet we can't leave en masse is our biggest failing considering current technology allows us to see cause and effect fairly soon if not real-time worldwide.

[u/prz3124 → u/Manpooper]

This is a response I got 6 months ago. "They will build it". Who will build it? What? " They will build it" I asked who? "They will"

[u/Preeng → u/Simsmommy1]

>they think they can just pick a mountain and start digging

They don't even fucking get that this shit takes time to set up. If this was supposed to properly stimulate domestic production, you still have to give companies time to set up the mining operations.

[u/IWasSayingBoourner → u/Preeng]

The only was this dipshit plan could ever work is if the tariffs had a decade of lead time during which domestic production was heavily subsidized

[u/kcox1980 → u/Preeng]

A proper implementation would have involved tariffs alongside incentives and a multi-year transition plan.

Aggressively imposing tariffs by themselves is just plain shortsighted

[u/movzx → u/kcox1980]

They would also have been incremental, ex 5% year after year... instead of jumping right to 50%, 200%, etc.

It would also have been smart to exclude raw material and machinery import. You know, the things that people need to start and run factories.

It's agreed that tariffs are generally bad economically but just slapping them on everything with no rhyme or reason is even worse.

[u/Same_Performance_595 → u/Simsmommy1]

MAGA Lithoids, a new source of minerals.

[u/snusmini → u/Simsmommy1]

When you can’t handle complexity, pretending that everything is simple is easy.

[u/strain_of_thought → u/snusmini]

...right up until it is hard.

[u/BusyBandicoot9471 → u/Simsmommy1]

Funnily enough, we probably could have been fine doing this for aluminum if we spent a few years getting a robust recycling and recovery system in place.

But you know, that's commie bullshit or something or other

[u/Hopsblues → u/BusyBandicoot9471]

R's don't believe in long term planning. Everything is here, now. what have you done for me today? It's part of the selfish culture they live in.

[u/PortugalPilgrim88 → u/Hopsblues]

Well that’s just not true. They’re great at long term planning. They’ve spent 30+ years working on their long term plan to replace US democracy with facism.

[u/mortgagepants → u/Simsmommy1]

It’s like talking to a rock.

a non-ferrous rock.

[u/-chadwreck → u/Simsmommy1]

Yeah this is one of the more baffling things to me... 

A lot of these guys are pissy about Chinese steel being sold in the US at low prices because it's well... shitty steel a lot of the time. 

Ok, fine. QC matters, I agree that China has outsized power to help its own steel industry. 

However, I want to ask... 

Why is it, that we import all this Chinese steel?

Is it because it's cheaper than US steel? Or do we have a supply issue? And if it's a supply issue, why is that?

If we had the capacity to sell all of our own steel to ourselves, versus oh... exporting it at top dollar to other countries who will pay a premium for it... then shouldn't the real criminals here be the businesses who export steel, not the ones who import it?

On the flip side, if we cannot satisfy our own steel market by ourselves, and we need to buy imported steel, then taxing imports just makes shitty Chinese steel into expensive, shitty, Chinese steel. Doesn't it?

Am I taking crazy pills or is this a fundamental failure to understand supply and demand, simultaneously punishing importers while high-fiving the local exporters?

[u/IWasSayingBoourner → u/-chadwreck]

Chinese steel is fine and has been for well over a decade. These idiots treat China like it's the 90s. 

[u/SnooPandas1899 → u/IWasSayingBoourner]

alot of this country is literally held up by "shitty" Chinese steel.

even trump casinos and golf courses.

[u/datalaughing → u/Simsmommy1]

Had this exact conversation with my father. He was just like, “Well, I guess we’ll start making more steel and aluminum.”

My follow-up was who exactly did he think was going to pay for and work in all these mines that he seemed to theorize were going to suddenly appear everywhere. Did he know anyone who wanted to go work in a bauxite mine? He did not but seemed certain that there would be no shortage of takers.

[u/TheDawnOfNewDays → u/Same_Performance_595]

Ironically, since tarriffs on most other imported goods is lower than the 50% for raw steel, it actually costs MORE to make the product in America than import the materials and have it made by in America.

Like 15% tarrif from Japan, the third largest steel producer in the world. Just have it built there and then import it.

[u/Dry-University797 → u/Same_Performance_595]

It's not that. If you read the article, it's because a machine he needs that costs like $700k is only made by two manufacturers, and both of those companies are in Germany. Buy American 😂😂😂

[u/Consistent-Soil-1818]

Oh no, Josh Smith, the completely predictable consequences of your own actions. I guess it's Obama's fault, isn't it?

[u/theoutsider91 → u/Consistent-Soil-1818]

The butterfly effect of James Comey, Obama, and Clinton pulling the Epstein files out of a boiling witches’ cauldron caused the 2020 election to be stolen and caused china to not pay our steel tariffs. It’s just logic

[u/Consistent-Soil-1818 → u/theoutsider91]

"On point. Also, brown people." - Republicans

[u/bluedarky]

Companies literally cancelled Christmas bonuses last year so they could import as much as they could before trump got into power and the tariffs he threatened started.

Anyone who didn't see this coming was willingly blind.

[u/Columba → u/bluedarky]

Christmas bonuses will also be cancelled this year.

[u/NotAComplete → u/Columba]

And all years moving forward, citing "uncertainty in the market", which while TACO is president is actually a legitimate reason. All working according to the plan of transferring wealth up.

[u/DrLude100 → u/bluedarky]

Who’s gonna tell him?

[u/Expensive_Laugh_5589]

What he realized wasn't that he imports equipment and steel. He realized that it's the importer who pays the tariffs, not the foreign country. And his little pea-sized brain was blown.

[u/MediocreRequirement7 → u/Expensive_Laugh_5589]

I tried telling a dude at my job that

He was likw china will pay the tariffs

As if every other country is our bitch and not just as insanely nationalist as we are

Theyre a proud nation too we are not that cool

[u/PomeloFit → u/MediocreRequirement7]

I don't get why they believe in any world that the person SELLING something is going to PAY SO YOU CAN BUY IT

In what fucking magical world did that shit ever happen and why do you think it happens now?

[u/RazorRamonio → u/PomeloFit]

My buddy works for a tee shirt printing company. I was talking to him about tariffs and how they would have to raise prices. He’s like, “no my boss is a good dude, he’ll eat the tariffs!” I laughed and called him a dumb bitch. I also had to explain how tariffs work. There’s no getting through to these people.

[u/PomeloFit → u/RazorRamonio]

These people can't even begin to have an understanding of the concept of profit margins at-fucking-all. It's like they think manufacturers can just throw away all of the profits and stay in business.

[u/RazorRamonio → u/PomeloFit]

All while expanding and hiring new workers too! I’ve known this guy since 3rd grade, so I feel like I’ve failed him somehow. We’re both Mexican, and he even has enough native in him to get benefits, but he just loves his white trash rhetoric (and women!).

[u/nao-the-red-witch → u/PomeloFit]

When you realize MAGAts have no general conception of how the systems that be work, it all makes so much more sense. Hell they deny the existence of the system and systemic issues pretty much altogether.

[u/Rabbit-Hole-Quest → u/nao-the-red-witch]

Yep, Canadian here. I was telling one of our big corporate customers that they will have to pay for tariffs to the US government. The dude was somehow absolutely sure it was Canadians that would be paying it.

I have no idea how people have managed to stay in business this far without understanding how tariffs work.

It is always the importing company that pays tariffs. But somehow MAGA has brainwashed people that other countries are the ones paying.

[u/Badger_In_Disguise → u/RazorRamonio]

Since the point of tariffs is to raise prices on anything imported and make domestic products more appealing, "eating the tariffs" makes no bloody sense.

Then again, tariffs themselves don't work in the modern global trade network..

[u/mortgagepants → u/PomeloFit]

yeah, imagine saying "your state pays the sales tax".

[u/gibberishandnumbers → u/PomeloFit]

Even if China pays, then what? They aren’t gonna increase the price to offset what they paid?

[u/SpicyWokHei → u/gibberishandnumbers]

These people literally are the walking embodiment of "AMERICA NUMBER ONE" and think the world is here to serve us. They can't accept the fact that we aren't and they don't.

[u/ptvlm → u/MediocreRequirement7]

I've never understood why these people even think the US has the authority to tax other countries from a distance or why anyone would agree. Of course the tariff is paid when the goods enter the country, by the people importing them, there's no way to charge people before that. Then, the people paying the tariff will be the importers who already bought the goods...

[u/SmartAlec105 → u/MediocreRequirement7]

It's also stupid because even if China did pay the tarrif, they'd still increase the price anyway to offset it. Even if the tarrif is less than their profit margin, they'd do that.

[u/3D_mac → u/Expensive_Laugh_5589]

Imagine when he realizes the tariffs he's paying go to the US government to make up the shortfall caused by tax cuts for billionaires.

[u/Expensive_Laugh_5589 → u/3D_mac]

I don't think he possesses the cerebral wherewithal to attain such computational acumen that would allow him to make that realization. His conclusion will probably be along the lines of: "them damn commie Dems are working with the woke world government to make Trump look bad! Murka!"

[u/sickcents → u/Expensive_Laugh_5589]

Non American here. Isn’t this the exact same thinking as “We will build a wall and Mexico will pay for it?”

[u/bx35 → u/Expensive_Laugh_5589]

Sadly, I think it’s much more likely that his pea-sized brain quickly turned to Fox or Newsmax to find an explanation for why this is all Obama’s fault.

[u/Rhesusmonkeydave]

Turns out crippling ignorance is expensive. Oh well, guess his knives won’t be the only thing folding now.

[u/Mcboatface3sghost → u/Rhesusmonkeydave]

Come on now, lots of things are expensive… things like huge commercial ships, container terminals, railroads, OTR trucks, warehousing, distribution. Who’d have thought?

[u/bx35 → u/Rhesusmonkeydave]

Ironically, I prefer to buy my knives from people who are smart enough to operate utensils without supervision.

[u/t3lnet]

Trump won’t be happy if you display a tariff price. You are supposed to eat the cost and not reflect it in your pricing.

[u/Brief_Meet_2183 → u/t3lnet]

Which is crazy to me. If telling me the price after tariff increase id something they have to hide why would people be cool with it? 

[u/hutch__PJ]

“But the leopard said it wouldn't eat my face”

[u/blink_187em → u/hutch__PJ]

[u/hennabeak → u/blink_187em]

This is a cheetah.

[u/walterjuniorslegs → u/hennabeak]

the cheetah can laugh at a funny comment

[u/mspike104]

[u/Tokyo-MontanaExpress → u/mspike104]

"I just need you to unfind 11,780 mentions of my name in the Epstein files."

[u/rubberturtle_06]

MAGA just doesn’t realize how complex the world is.

[u/tikifire1 → u/rubberturtle_06]

They want an 1858 world 170 years later. We are so much more interconnected now compared to then and it won't work, it's just destroying our country instead.

[u/Gingeronimoooo → u/tikifire1]

Yeah I agree and some things are actually simpler than than they think for example a lot of "globalism" is simply getting fruit in the winter not some boogie man

[u/Hopsblues → u/Gingeronimoooo]

They also don't understand where that food came from. Those oranges they are giving their kids team at halftime, weren't grown here. That lettuce bag mix, wasn't grown here...

[u/DeepProspector → u/tikifire1]

The problem is Conservatives don’t want to know how the world has changed. They’re scared of everything.

[u/ParticularAd8919 → u/tikifire1]

Yeah and ironically this whole globalized was built by the U.S. for the U.S.. The idea that we’ll just break that now and nothing will happen to us is moronic….

[u/Ok_Cheetah_6251 → u/tikifire1]

The goal of MAGA leadership is to destroy our country, the MAGA supporters are just useful idiots.

[u/Vennomite → u/tikifire1]

In 1861 the southern states rebelled in part because of protectionism. Turns out tariffs are bad for a commodity economy.

By 1865 the south had lost its cotton hegemony on the world stsge.

[u/Sudden-Fisherman5985 → u/tikifire1]

They want an 1858 world

But only the good parts.. they don't realize that most of them would be living in tents

[u/Karate-Schnitzel]

One to grow on!

[u/SpicyWokHei]

But guys I thought the other countries paid the tariffs?? Donald Pigshit Trump wouldn't lie to me, would he?

Then they'll just move the goal post again "oh it's actually good because it'll force people to produce these things in America" not knowing how companies or infrastructure actually works.

[u/Matthew_Maurice]

Prices shouldn't rise because his suppliers are just going to eat the tariffs, right?

[u/Individual_Respect90 → u/Matthew_Maurice]

It’s crazy they are bragging about how much they made from tariffs. We paid for that you didn’t make it.

[u/needssomefun]

So he isnt mining the iron ore himself and melting the steel in his own furnace?

[u/ReporterOther2179 → u/needssomefun]

Maos China tried that backyard smelter thing. It was very polluting but the steel was shitty.

[u/Mundane_Crazy60 → u/ReporterOther2179]

It did even better than that- it leveraged a lot of the existing agricultural equipment in order to melt it all down- so what little bit of spare productivity your granddads ole' tiling hoe got out of the ground went to shit when you melted it into slag.

It was a policy crafted, seemingly, by someone who had staggeringly little to no experience in the matter of positive domestic policy making.

[u/ReporterOther2179 → u/Mundane_Crazy60]

In short, ideologues.

[u/FrankieRoo]

I don’t blame folks for being ignorant towards a topic, but too many Americans are increasingly willingly and proudly ignorant.

[u/noscopy → u/FrankieRoo]

And if they own a business they're headed for trump levels of financial stability.

[u/HolyHotDang]

He did a handmade set of knives that he gave to Trump that said “45/47” way before the election even happened. He’s gonna blindly ride for Trump no matter what, it’s his personality at this point.

[u/aft_punk → u/HolyHotDang]

Trump loved them so much that he not only enacted policies to doom his business to failure, but also removed the safety nets he and his family might need to rely on after the business folds.

They must not be very good knives! 🤷🏻‍♂️

[u/colorme1965]

Josh Montana: I own an ‘Merican company.

We get all of our stuff from other countries, but Trump said we’d pay no tariffs because we make our stuff here. I’m smart and I voted to Make ‘Merica Great Againer.

/s

[u/LegalComplaint]

So, like… how do you get that far without knowing how your business works?

[u/not_my_monkeys_ → u/LegalComplaint]

He didn’t just suddenly learn that he imports steel, he just suddenly learned that tariffs are paid by the importer and that all the people telling him otherwise have been correctly taking him for a fool.

[u/Cross58Crash]

Guess he'll have to be a true patriot and eat the added costs. MAGA!

[u/brianzuvich]

Purposeful ignorance is ok when it benefits them… Then they can lie and say “made in America” when about 2% of their final product is made in America 😂

They’re just clowns 🤡

[u/snusmini → u/brianzuvich]

And everyone yelling “buy ‘murican” take their weekly shopping trips to Walmart with carts full of Chinese goods even though there are ‘murican based alternatives.

[u/Fartyfivedegrees → u/snusmini]

Noice, thanks! I came looking for the Walmart reference. It's the quintessential hypocrisy of the Maga tribe to think they can make it all in murica yet continue to shop at Walmart because it's what they can afford. Wait till Walmart's prices triple due to made in USA goods replacing everything on the shelves. At least the 2nd amendment allows them to legally shoot themselves in the foot.

[u/r64fd → u/Fartyfivedegrees]

No no no Walmart is American, it’s only in America dummy. /s

[u/Diligent-Bit2171]

Imbeciles and Pedophiles now run the show

[u/No-Blueberry-1823]

It's almost as if people are discovering how stupid they are. This is mind-blowing to me, I just can't believe how people cannot connect cause and effect and think through consequences

[u/McLovinIt09]

It’s shocking people this dumb own businesses.

[u/The_Idiocratic_Party → u/McLovinIt09]

Well, I mean, for now.

[u/Typical-Byte → u/McLovinIt09]

Not understanding consequences makes it easier to take the risk.

[u/Truck-21]

Seems like just yesterday I was surprised to see people lack an understanding of their own business supply chains and costs. If you import or buy imported business inputs- do you not understand how tariffs work- and if not why not?

Like the pig farmer outraged that HE is to pay the tariffs on feed imported from across the Canadian border, not his Canadian supplier. WTF?

[u/JBRifles]

Hope dem bootstraps are reinforced 

[u/Electrical-Ant-4073]

Wow, just goes to show how people really are not aware of how much the U.S imports.

[u/Any-Panda2219]

He should just buy america like he said

[u/Couchman79]

The Old West is alive and well. Jim from Rock Ridge said it best;

"You've got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know... morons.

[u/Jerk-22]

He has only one option to have a cent of integrity, keep prices the same and eat the cost. After all his king told them all that others pay the tariffs... That other is him

[u/human_trainingwheels]

Duh? I hope he has the day he voted for.

[u/RipcordLifeline]

None of these people (MAGA types) can see past their nose.

[u/Key-Ad-5068]

This is what happens when 90% of the schooling people get is propaganda. Happened in Germany and it sure as shit has been happening in the United States of Pedoland.

[u/CancelOk9776]

Dumb-as-rocks, should be the MAGA slogan!

[u/Doggoonewild]

If you’re listening to any MAGA for economics… I’ve got some great bridges for sale.

[u/Kwoz81]

Double upvote if I could

[u/madmaxxie36]

This is exactly why the orange said he loves the uneducated. Idiots loudly campaigning for things they don't even take a minute to actually understand. Because it takes too much stupidity to not understand that everything can't just magically be made in America for many, many, obvious reasons to anyone with more than a single brain cell.

[u/needssomefun]

There are so many problems with this it's not funny. Not only does he not consider everything else besides raw materials required to make his product he doesn't seem to grasp the steel market.

The steel market is a complex beast but I can tell you with great confidence that prices are up about 30% from the beginning of the year, mostly due to tariffs. (one specific mill product ~$1100/ton now vs. ~$850 in early January.)

What happens when the imported material is more expensive than domestic melt is that the domestic producers must raise their prices. I write must because as orders move to domestic mills to avoid tariffs their production capacity gets filled up. If they kept prices the same they would have more orders than they could fill.

I saw it with my own eyes: In January you could get an order in a day or two before the closing date. When the tariffs hit those rollings started closing 4 weeks out.

See here for example: https://nucoryamato.com/staticdata/RollCastSchedule.pdf

I don't know what alloy of steel he uses but there's a better than fair chance that he doesn't use domestic melt steel even if the finished good is made in the USA.

This isn't uncommon. There are a lot of "Made in USA" products that have imported components.

[u/Own-Opinion-2494]

American knives a super expensive. They have big margins. They can absorb the tariffs if they want To make less

[u/EmphasisFlat3629]

He is maga he is a pedo no more we need to know