by bee_rider 4 hours ago
Err… is there any question that the US is trying to slow down China’s high-tech computer development? I thought that was our open goal.
Countries decided the extent to which they’d like to engage in free trade together. It is a knob that we’d hope our leaders would turn strategically. (Regardless of whether or not we think our leaders actually are doing a good job of it…).
> I thought that was our open goal.
Is the goal also to hurt South Korean businesses and all businesses in the world, just to "pwn China" basically?
We’re probably also spurring China to develop more independently. I don’t think it is a good plan, just an unconfusing one.
On paper it can sound rational. In reality you look at stuff like cars, for only so long people will tolerate buying a car for $60k when other countries, whom you are also competing with, get buy similar cars for $10-20k from China. Those same vehicles are used to boost productivity in your own domestic industries.
There is always a ton of risk involved with protectionism. Primarily whether your taxpayer-subsidized domestic jobs and hypothetical national security risk significantly outweighs all the very real economic costs.
> buying a car for $60k when other countries, whom you are also competing with, get buy similar cars for $10-20k from China
I'd love to hear your examples of this happening. For $22K you can get a BYD Dolphin Surf in Europe. And that's a pretty small car. What are you paying $60K for in the US that's the same size?
Maybe let's try a different match up. The BYD Atto 3 seems to start around 40K in Europe. It's smaller than a Model Y, and people say it is slightly lower in market position, but close enough. The Model Y starts at around 40K as well.
Are the comparisons between expensive US cars (remember the average is just above 50K, and plenty of perfectly good cars like a Honda Civic can be had for half that) and Chinese cars in China?
Atto 3 is $19.3k USD in Thailand.
So it's really just tariffs and taxes making it that expensive elsewhere.
I read that's not really the case - there's a bunch of equipment on EU-spec (and some other market) BYDs that comes from EU vendors such as Bosch. It additionally has a completely different AC unit as the kind of refrigerant BYD uses in China is illegal in the EU.
I'm not saying it justifies the price difference, but there are changes between the cars.
Right, so we are never going to see it for 20 grand in the US. Maybe because of tariffs and taxes, as you say, or maybe just because BYD isn't going to set the price at 20K in a market with 10x the average income.
> Right, so we are never going to see it for 20 grand in the US
To be fair, @dmix explicitly mentioned the $20k price was for other countries
That is a fair point. But then it just reveals that the comparison was contrived from the outset and there was no point to be made. It has never been the case that products in different markets were priced in coordination. The price is always whatever the market will bear, it has zero relationship to the cost to produce unless the market has a lot of competition.
What better way to hurt the designated enemy and make others bare the cost?
Trump's America First in practice relies on a near-sided and overly simplistic understanding of the world (Win-lose, whatever is benefitting others must be a hinderance to the USA). Hence fighting the tariff wars against allies (Canada, Eu). Hence destroying Nato' credibility that was carefully built for 70 years. Hence ceasing to be Ukraine's ally (but continuing to be a trade partner, that sells weapons as long as Europe is paying). Hence helping Putin. Hence instigating problems with Taiwan if that means that TSMC will move some manufacturing to the USA.
It's a really miopic view, but at least on their part the behavior is intentional (consequences, on the other hand, are surprise for them).
« to bear the cost », not « to bare the cost »
"America First" as an ideology means that question is never considered