A ‘grenade’ lobbed into auto production
For decades, auto companies have built supply chains that cross the borders of the United States, Mexico and Canada. More than one in five of the cars and light trucks sold in the United States were built in Canada or Mexico, according to S&P Global Mobility. Last year, the United States imported $79 billion worth of cars and light trucks from Mexico – far more than any other country – and $31 billion from Canada. Another $81 billion in auto parts came from Mexico and $19 billion from Canada. The engines in Ford F-series pickups and the iconic Mustang sports coupe, for instance, come from Canada.
Higher prices at the pump
For many U.S. refineries, there’s not much choice. Canada produces the “type of crude oil that American refineries are geared to process,’’ Lincicome said. “It’s a heavier crude. All the fracking and all the oil and gas we make here in the United States – or most of it – is a lighter crude that a lot of American refineries don’t process, particularly in the Midwest.’’
Computers, Clothes and Toys
Tariffs on China could impact a wide variety of consumer goods that Americans depend on. Cell phones, computers and other electronic devices were among the top imports from China last year, according to Commerce Department data.
No, it’s just wrong. These are import tariffs, paid to the government by the individual or company importing the goods, and not by the exporting country.
The goal of import tariffs, is to increase the price of imported goods and materials to promote the use of local alternatives. The problem is that the US has given up on a lot of production of raw materials and imports a huge amount of them, like aluminum and paper products, from its neighbors. So now those raw materials cost more, and even locally-made products, made with imported materials, will have to get more expensive as a result.