Source: John Phipps, AGWEB, 9/17/18


The more complex our trade wars become, the more important it is for farmers to understand the basics of trade actions. Central to these are tariffs—and misconceptions abound. Here are some basics.Tariffs are taxes. Grover Norquist, America’s leading tax-hater and president of Americans for Tax Reform, tweeted it bluntly: “Tariffs are taxes. Taxes suck.” It is also crucial to know tariffs are not paid by countries, but by people and businesses. They are like sales taxes on imported goods, and they are paid by the buyer—not the seller. That’s why saying “slap a tariff on Chinese steel” is misleading.

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