The
import tax, or tariff, is the tax used by the US federal government to fund its
operations from 1789 to 1913. Other taxes were imposed to fund military
actions, but families were able to amass their savings to pass on to their
children.
The
import taxes on British manufactured goods was 45% in 1828. It allowed US
businesses to offer the same items at lower cost and establish US based
industries to produce tools, furniture and raw material mining.
Trump’s
use of the import tax to allow US industry to recover is a logical move to
restore lost industrial jobs to US citizens. In this case, foreign-owned, US
based manufacturing companies like Honda will benefit, because they, and others
have plants in the US already.
Voters
agreed at the polls that they wanted the products they buy to be made in the
US. They realize that they would have to pay more, but it may work out, that
all companies with US manufacturing facilities will end up producing most if
not all of these products in the US.
Voters
also know that the exodus of auto manufacturing after the passage of NAFTA in
1993 was logical, because the cost of maintaining US auto workers was
uncompetitive.
Between
now and when we need to buy another car, we want these companies to start making
the car we want to buy in the US, so we don’t have to pay the import tax. Most of us will get our way, but I expect
Bentleys and Rolls Royce models will be more expensive.
Of the
17.5 million cars and light trucks sold in the US in 2016, 48,000 were Toyota
Prius cars. These are currently “not
made” in the US and it will be up to Toyota to see if they will dodge the
import tax by cranking up production of the Prius in the US at one of their
plants. If they do not make the Prius in the US, I expect the import tax to
eliminate most Prius buyers, but we are ready to take that chance.
It will
be important to look at the import tax when it is drafted to see if parts and
sub-assemblies will be taxed, even if final assembly is in the US.
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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