The Big Lie About Tariffs

 If you believe all the hoop-la about how the policies of tariffs are going to force American companies to move their total production of goods back to the good old USA, you might need a reality check. Big companies are NOT going to let even President Trump interfere with their profit margins.

President Trump has set March 1^st as the time line when a 25% tariff will be assessed on goods coming from Canada and Mexico. In addition, he is assessing another 10% on Chinese imports on top of already imposed tariffs which could elevate the total to as much as 60%. If you are worried about how much your pocketbook depletes now in today’s economy, you ain’t seen nothing yet since I don’t know of one non-food item that doesn’t contain a Chinese part, including many of our life saving medicines.

However, while consumer prices will rise, the big corporation profits will also rise due to some slick maneuvers.  Some U.S. Companies’ fearful of a Trump re-election, with his propensity for tariffs as the all-encompassing solution for the American economy, devised a corporate plan. They had begun shifting away from China, Canada and Mexico, to India, already home to the call centers for many U.S. companies.

As recently reported by Trading Economics exports to the U.S. from India, increased to over $91 billion in 2024, up from approximately $54 billion in 2020.  Companies like Apple, Fed Ex, Foxconn, Walmart, Micron Technology, Boeing, Siemens, GE, and Samsung Electronics have already committed to the India cheaper labor plan. And the list continues to grow daily.

Those companies that didn’t plan for the Trump agenda will be forced to raise their prices. The automobile industry is a good example. GM has one of their Buick models made totally in China, and those tariff prices will be passed on to consumers. As will all the other auto manufacturers who import vehicles and parts from Canada and Mexico.

However, what I fear even more is that companies that have out-slicked President Trump, by moving their production operations to India, will raise their prices to match those that didn’t and who are now impacted by the tariffs. These companies will reap even bigger profits at the consumers’ expense.

Now how all this present government economic plan to bring production back to the U.S.A. will work remains a mystery to me. Maybe our country will just keep imposing tariffs on more and more countries. But I am sure of one thing; more money is going to be drained from my pocketbook with this present plan.