Can someone honestly explain why they're upset with Trump's threats to increase tariffs on automobile imports and why this is a bad idea for Americans?
During the whole Brexit debate, there was (and still is) a lot of focus on how the EU deals with vehicle manufacturers. Manufacturers face heavy import duties for vehicles imported into the trading bloc, and so if manufacturers want tariff-free access to the massive European market, they're heavily incentivised to base their plants within the EU. It's essentially a massive protectionist measure to secure jobs and to sure up the German and wider EU automobile-manufacturing industry. I don't even necessarily have any problems with this, that's the whole point of the EU, right? To group together to increase their collective strength for the benefit of their citizens and member states. The same thing happens with agriculture and virtually every other industry you can think of in the EU.
The US is a tighter-knit collection of states than EU, with a similar GDP, so it has every right to protect its citizens jobs, industry and interests in such ways. It's literally the exact same thing the EU does.
So when Trump makes these kind of tweets, and says that if manufacturers and corporations want unfettered access to the massive American market, they need to base themselves and a large part of their work in the USA, why do you (particularly the Americans in this thread) have such a problem with this? Do you have a fundamental problem with this kind of policy or it it just a knee-jerk reaction against Trump's more "colourful" moments?
I get that these are global manufacturers, NAFTA stands in the way of automobile import tariffs and increasing protectionism the world over will lead to untended negative consequences, but at the same time, the relentless free-trade, offshoring and shedding of industry cannot continue unchecked in the West since it's clearly not benefiting its citizens enough.
Maybe Im just too much of an idiot to see why this is a problem, but what I do know is that after Brexit and Trump, the ripostes to this type of populism have not been anywhere near convincing enough.
