(Cartoon image is by Sally Edelstein at Envisioning The American Dream.)Donald Trump's pea-sized brain has come up with another brilliant (not) idea. Now he wants to impose a tariff on foreign autos and trucks entering the United States. It was enough to punish our allies with tariffs on steel and aluminum -- now he wants to do the same with automobiles.
Trump obviously has no idea of just how complicated the automobile industry actually is. Many of the automobiles sold in the United States by foreign manufacturers are made in the United States by U.S. workers. And many of the cars/trucks sold by American manufacturers are made in other countries. And just to confuse matters a bit more, many of those autos made in other countries use parts (from engines to interiors) that are made in the United States.
In other words, Trump's proposed auto tariffs are just as likely to hurt American car manufacturers and American parts manufacturers as it is to hurt foreign car manufacturers. It will raise the prices of many cars (which consumers can't afford), and it could cost many American jobs.
Where does Trump get these crazy ideas? And out of all the CEOs, and lobbyists in his administration, isn't there one smart enough to explain this to Trump? I shudder to think what he will come up with next!
