Can trade tariffs help to solve America’s massive fiscal and trade deficits countering the politics of hate and poverty caused by socialism?
Le’s start on a positive note – one day to go before the fog of despair is tackled – one day and then we can all do this:
Let’s leave the profligate and wasteful spending prevalent on the fiscal side to DOGE. We know that spending exploded during the scamdemic and did no recede to pre-scamdemic levels, but instead, increase, along with taxes and sill result in a fiscal deficit of 1.8 trillion bucks – rather that than the 600 billion planned by Trump all the way back in 2019.
Turning from the fiscal side to the trade account, here’s some data fire 2023 from Brave AI
“In 2023, the United States had a trade deficit of $773.4 billion. This deficit occurred because the country imported $3,826.9 billion worth of goods and services, while exporting only $3,053.5 billion.”
Turnover, including re-exports and re-imports, is huge – US$6.8 trillion, with a deficit of almost $800 billion. Here is a snapshot of who the US runs a trade deficit with – again, from Brave AI:
China: With a trade deficit of $279.424 billion, China is the largest contributor to the U.S. trade deficit.
Mexico: Mexico contributed $152.379 billion to the U.S. trade deficit.
Vietnam: Vietnam’s contribution to the U.S. trade deficit was $104.627 billion.
Germany: Germany contributed $83.021 billion to the U.S. trade deficit.
Japan: Japan’s contribution was $71.175 billion.
Canada: Canada contributed $67.861 billion.
Ireland: Ireland’s contribution was $65.342 billion.
South Korea: South Korea contributed $51.398 billion.
Taiwan: Taiwan’s contribution was $47.975 billion.
Italy: Italy contributed $44.012 billion.
Here’s a link to the latest figures for 2023 from the BEA.
https://www.bea.gov/news/2025/us-international-trade-goods-and-services-november-2024
“The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis announced today that the goods and services deficit was $78.2 billion in November, up $4.6 billion from $73.6 billion in October, revised.
Year-to-date, the goods and services deficit increased $93.9 billion, or 13.0 percent, from the same period in 2023. Exports increased $111.5 billion or 4.0 percent. Imports increased $205.3 billion or 5.8 percent.”
Going in the wrong direction!
Now let’s turn to the issue of visible and invisible trade barriers. Countries impose visible tariffs, quotas and taxes – and have invisible “barriers” such as wage rates and regulations.
In casa you are wondering about China’s global trade surplus, from Brave AI “annual trade surplus for 2024 reached a record high of $992.2 billion, “ Coincidentally the mirror image of the trade deficit for the US – reflecting its huge influence on Asian trade, as it sucks in regional imports.
Personally, I am in favour of free trade – that is, no taxes or barriers on trade, visible or invisible. Everyone gets the same opportunity to ply their wares wherever there is a market for hm. However, that is not the world we live in. Politics largely dominates trade.
Take the EU for example, as it seeks to impose EU standards on all goods and services within the EU, regardless of whether goods and services are made inside or outside the EU.
EU rewrites every trade deal it has with the entire world via its new compliance directive
Notice that the EU is imposing standards on countries outside the EU!
Lots of fertile ground for what should be a legitimate response by the incoming Trump Administration – RECIPROCATION!
EU companies should be fleeing the heavy taxation, high unionized wage/holidays/pensions and ludicrous “net zero” regulations of the EU - for China and India, Should Trump be able to reverse the insane regulations in the US, the US will also become an attractive country to locate to.
Trump could also impose tariffs on China that level the playing field of China’s absence of environmental regulations and use of cheap/slave labour at the same time as granting US companies to the same resources that China has – that are already present in the US, but which US regulations prevent from being extracted – not just hydrocarbons, but also copper and rare earth metals. America has these resources in abundance but imports them because of us regulations that do not exist in countries like Viet Nam and China.
Aside from the openness of trade and the mix of tariff’s quotas and wage rates etc, the ability of a country to compete internationally is also impacted by relative tax rates as a percentage of its GDP.
From Brave AI:
European Union (EU)
The tax-to-GDP ratio decreased from 40.7% in 2022 to 40.0% in 2023.
United States (US)
Generally has a lower tax burden compared to Western European countries but higher than Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland.
Investopedia article, which was corrected on July 20, 2024, states that the tax-to-GDP ratio in the United States was 27.7% in 2022.
United Kingdom (UK)
Has a higher tax-to-GDP ratio compared to the US, with a maximum income tax rate of 45% and a maximum capital gains tax rate of 28%
Under current government plans, the tax revenue is forecast to rise to 37.7% of GDP by 2027-2028, which would be the highest level of tax revenue ever seen in the UK.
“China's tax revenue as a percentage of GDP in September 2024 was 11.3%. This figure represents a quarterly measurement that has fluctuated over time, with a minimum of 3.8% in March 2020 and a maximum of 22.4% in June 2011.”
A tax rate of 20% implies that you work one day out of five for the “state”. The UK and the RU work two days a week! I view this as an indication of the degree of socialism in an economy. The trade deficits are an Indication of the success or failure of the education system to teach the population how to compete on the world stage. Just rules of thumb!
I will end with a couple of quotes from Churchill and the views of the dreadful London mayor, and fully paid-up member of the Muslim brotherhood, Sadiq Khan.
80 years ago, Churchill said this:
“The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings. The inherent virtue of Socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.” —House of Commons, 22 October 1945.
And this:
“Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy.” —Perth, Scotland, 28 May 1948, in Churchill, Europe Unite: Speeches 1947 & 1948 (London: Cassell, 1950), 347.
In other words, socialism is the politics of hate.
And from Sadiq Khan – who just imposed more misery on Londoners by raising London taxes by twice the rate of inflation. The London-wide taxes are on top of local borough taxes,
Sadiq Khan: Trump's return brings march of fascism
The Observer is the Sunday version of the left-wing comic, the Guardian.
“Sir Sadiq Khan has warned of “resurgent fascism” on the eve of Donald Trump’s return to the White House...”
To a screaming left wing lunatic, Lenin is right pf centre…
Haters like Khan are blind to the realities facing the poorest they pretend to represent. Countries have a responsibility for those less fortunate in society. People have less of an issue with taxes that provide a safety net – society at large can cope with sharing the burden,
Society cannot cope with taking care of migrant beggars with a significant percentage of violent criminals. There is an insatiable demand for free shit paid in welfare states.
Immigration, World Poverty and Gumballs
All the fake science involved with “net zero” policies, results in a disproportionate burden on the poor, sick and elderly – who can least afford the higher energy prices and “energy efficient” appliances. “Heat or eat” and “clean or eat” are not choices that should be imposed on the least fortunate and least able to pay. Yet this is the price being exacted by the “greens” in governments around the world.
The same “one size fits all” applied during the five-year scamdemic. The less fortunate have weaker immune systems with which to face additional psychological and physical pressures imposed by the “state” in the form of regulations and the injection of experimental and toxic substances.
So, let’s do the happy dance for a few days and hope that the positive aspects of “Brave New World” by Huxley (Orwell’s tutor) come to pass,
Onwards!
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Free trade is great in theory, but the second you place limits on labor or manufacturing, such as minimum wage, worker safety regs, worker benefits, anti-pollution measures... as soon as you make a limit that isn't also enforced by anybody you trade with, you give everybody who doesn't a price advantage and whee, offshoring. Tariffs seem like a very reasonable way to offset that. Sure, we could do with streamlining regulations to reduce the regulatory burden on domestic producers, but... I don't think we actually want to compete with China on our willingness to externalize costs by, say, dumping trash and chemical waste in the rivers or employing slave labor.
Say, will we get any credit for "exporting" all the folks who don't belong here? 😅 I know it will cut some of our costs going forward, unless we furnish them with 1st class flights or cruises home.