Loading ...Take beef, for example. The US cattle herd is at its lowest levels in forty years. It’ll take six years minimum to recover, in the meantime import prices increase by at least 10%.
Or steel. When did America last build a new steel mill, or aluminium, or oil refinery (1970’s for the last one I think) – so not only will import prices rise by 10% minimum (much more if from China, SK, Japan, India, Finland) but if you reopen shuttered mills you’ll be running at a competitive disadvantage using outdated production techniques. Lose-lose on the inflation front.
Or IP. I worked for a company making specialised, patent protected equipment, best in its field bar none, essential to the running of, for example, your aircraft carriers but with multiple other high volume applications. We had American warehousing and sales offices. All that will now cost you another 10%, 20% for similar situations from the EU, and we wouldn’t be setting up a factory in the US because, if for no other reason, the stainless steel is only made in Finland which would then attract a 20% tariff!
Tariffs. Great theatre in the hands of Trump, but be careful of the unintended consequences.