Taxes on Imports. Attempts to Limit China’s Exports by Raising Taxes here on Commodities. 11 29 2024
The cockeyed idea that you can control production from another country of commodities in demand worldwide by raising taxes on the import of these commodities is running into difficulties. The idea that the American market can pressure China to produce less Electric Vehicles (EV’s) and Solar Panels, by taxing imports; tariffs, seems to be an argument that without Americans to consume China’s production, they will be unable to sell their EV’s and solar panels. What this view lacks is the recognition that the production of high quality finished goods, which will easily find a market elsewhere, are making the taxes only bite the consumers, primarily American workers, who consume cheap Chinese products at Dollar Stores, WalMart, etc.
The latest complaint is capitalist production cannot compete with China’s socialist system.
“China is too large to export its way to rapid growth and would benefit by reducing excess industrial capacity which is pressuring other economies, Yellen said in remarks to an audience of about 40 representatives of the American Chamber of Commerce in Guangzhou.”
“”Overcapacity isn’t a new problem, but it has intensified, and we’re seeing emerging risks in new sectors,” Yellen said in China’s southern export hub of Guangzhou, where she met with Vice Premier He Lifeng and Guangdong Province Governor Wang Weizhong.”
“Yellen and other Biden administration officials are growing increasingly concerned about China’s overproduction of electric vehicles, solar panels, semiconductors and other goods that are flooding into global markets in the face of a demand slump in China’s domestic market.”
Reuters 4 5 2024
“Chinese state media have pushed back against Yellen’s excess capacity message, saying it was an example of a double standard.”
“”While it is just basic economics that surplus products naturally seek out markets elsewhere once domestic demand is met, and Western nations have been doing that for centuries, when it comes to China, it becomes an ‘overcapacity problem’ threatening the world,” the China Daily said.”
Ibid. Reuters
They really look silly telling China to produce less because the market in America cannot compete, and they are starting to refuse to buy the commodities to hurt China. It’s like cutting off your nose to spite your face. They are going to deliberately cause inflation with taxes on imports, taxes that will be paid by the consumer, often of products like solar panels for rooftops that have been acknowledged by them as effective to stop climate change.
What logic is it to not buy a cheap solar panel, just because the seller has decided to sell it below its value, the amount of labour time required to produce it? Why should the buyer care?
Creating a surplus is the basic rule of all capitalist production. Suggesting China should not export so many products is a ridiculous request, given this is the overriding goal of capitalist production, to create surplus value. Do as I say, not as I do.
“Nov 29 (Reuters) – U.S. trade officials announced on Friday a new round of tariffs on solar panel imports from four Southeast Asian nations after American manufacturers complained that companies there are flooding the market with unfairly cheap goods.”
Article continues…
“According to a preliminary decision posted on the U.S. Commerce Department’s website on Friday, the agency calculated dumping duties of between 21.31% and 271.2%, depending on the company, on solar cells from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.”
“Most solar panels installed in the United States are made overseas, and some 80% of imports come from the four nations targeted in the Commerce Department probe.”
“President-elect Donald Trump has called the Inflation Reduction Act too expensive, but also has said he plans to slap hefty tariffs on a range of sectors to protect American workers.”
Reuters 11 29 2024
Trump said his favorite word was “tariffs”, and now he is becoming president again. What he really means is his favorite word is actually “taxes”, because that’s what tariffs are, a tax on imports. He already is trying to figure out what to do with the money from the taxes on imports, with lofty goals of being able to use it for his state.
Apparently there is some contention about if the consumer will be paying these taxes. They will, unless they purchase American made products, the old non metric, fossil fuel dependent production.
Solar panels are becoming more out of reach to the worker daily. China produces 80% of the panels, it is unlikely they will take a loss to sell their panels for less to compensate for the tariffs. You will see inflation on panels, due to taxes levied by the bourgeoisie, who are not really committed to stopping climate change.
It would be nice if solar panels were produced here, but instead the focus seems to still be on pumping as much fossil fuels as possible out of the ground, in the least amount of time. China seems to be rapidly becoming superior to American production of a key component of any renewable energy plans, the solar panel.
China is already talking about putting their own tariffs on large gasoline powered engines, for cars and trucks. This could get interesting. How about a tax on non metric products? Imagine if they had to go metric to access foreign markets.
In all this taxing of imports it is the consumer who is going to pay. This form of taxation will also bite the bourgeoisie, as Sam Walton owns WalMart, for instance, and will have to raise prices on Chinese products popular there due to tariffs. And if those non metric gasoline large motor powered cars and trucks get tariffed, it could cause an economic crisis.
Most large scale production uses Chinese produced raw materials, for welding, for instance. This is s tax on their own production; without the cheap welding supplies the commodities rise in value. Will the bourgeois willingly make less profit to offset the taxes?
Nicholas Jay B\oyes
Milwaukee Wisconsin
American Democratic Republic
Ecological Era 