What even are Tariffs?
You hear it all the time, whispers in the hallways and the back of class. Depending on who you ask, tariffs are the savior of the American economy or the destruction of free trade. But what are Tariffs? Why should I care?
What does this have to do with me?
That’s a fair question, to be sure. I’m willing to bet you have a cell phone. Have you ever considered where it was made? Most iPhones and Samsung are made in other nations. Tariffs would raise the price of phones not made in the States. This goes for shoes and cars too. Some fruits and vegetables would be more expensive or just not stocked. Bananas for instance don’t grow much in the continuous United States.
So, What is a tariff?
Let’s start with the basics. A tariff is just a fancy word for a tax, specifically on imports and sometimes exports. Traditionally, a tariff aims to raise prices on exported goods, giving domestic producers a price advantage over global goods. In layman’s terms, as an example anything made in China becomes more expensive. You can put tariffs on specific nation’s exports and particular items. Why would a nation want this? Mrs. Harding (AP U.S government and comparative government teacher) says this “A country normally imposes tariffs for 2 reasons: 1. As a diplomatic tool to motivate another country to alter their actions/policies in a certain area 2. As a way to protect domestic industry”. That’s what Tariffs are for
Now that we know what we’re talking about…
What can we do about it?
So now that you know what a tariff is, what can you do about them? The House of Representatives and the President are the elected bodies that deal with tariffs. So to make your voice heard about your opinions on how tariffs should be handled get out and vote for the candidate that has similar values.
