You people are clueless...and you sure as hell are not free traders. Free trade exists when both trading parties open their markets to both buying and selling agents from both nations. In the current case, China and the EU have been making a killing on our markets being open to their goods and manufactures...whilst closing their markets to our businesses and/or imposing draconian tariffs and "government fees". For example, the sale of electronics from the US is in constant flux but Chinese tariffs run as high as 25%...sometimes more...and that cost bumps to nearly 50% when Chinese government fees are factored in. Likewise, the Chinese impose a 15% tariff PLUS additional "fees" that equate to a 30-50% import tax. The EU and even our close allies in NAFTA impose tariffs on a wide range of our agricultural goods...to the point of absurdity in some cases (dairy to Canada being one particularly severe example).
In other words, these nations have been engaging in a trade war with us for years...feeding on the US economy like locusts on a lush field of wheat. That is not free trade or free markets, rather, it is the US getting bent over and treated like someone's prison honey. Apologies for the harsh analogy, but its the closest thing to the reality of what HAS been occurring internationally when it comes to free markets.
What Trump is doing...finally...and WAY overdue...is fight back. Imposing a cost on these freeloading parasites that will, over time, force them to the table to negotiate an ACTUAL free trade environment. No one who believes in open markets should have the slightest qualm with Trump using tariffs to finally put some hurt on nations that have long been putting the hurt on our own economy...free trade is only free if both parties open their markets. Anyone proclaiming we should sit on our hands and open our markets to those who will not reciprocate, is either a peawit or worse...an internationalist who believes the U.S. owes the world and should hand over the hard earned production of our nation to those "less fortunate" and more in need then our own people.
So if you're a fan of the United States getting shafted by the perpetual blocking of the sale of our own goods in the EU and to China...by all means keep cheering on the extension of the dimwitted policies that have been redistributing our wealth to China and Europe. If you actually believe in free trade then you should have the wits to understand that these nations/trading blocs will not open their markets to trade unless we impose some hurt on them...they won't do it to be nice or because its fair (they ain't liberals, and they don't care about our feelings). Trump, and damn near every one of his supporters, would be the first to rip down all tariffs and open up truly free trade IF our partners were willing...until they are, we would be complete and utter morons NOT to use tariffs and "fees" to both level the playing field and impose a cost on those nations unwilling to open their markets to our products.
So using 12 Billion to prop up an agricultural sector being targeted in this situation is damn smart...its how we outlast those who refuse to engage in truly free trade, and make them hurt more than our people must. We mitigate the cost for our workers and make theirs suffer so that they DEMAND their governments open up their markets. That is how we get to the negotiating table and get a real free trade agreement...and yes, it is the only way. Short of doing this, we as a nation get economically exploited while having our ability to trade snuffed out by the tariffs, fees, and unfair practices of our trade partners.
And by the way, edpc, its not Orwellian for Trump to state that our economy is crushing it right now...its simply a statement of fact.
