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US' Proposed China Tariffs Would Target Robotics, Satellites (engadget.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Engadget: The U.S. Trade Representative has published the list of Chinese products that would be subject to its proposed tech tariffs, and there are a few clear themes. The move would hike the costs of about 1,300 products, including industrial robots, communication satellites, spacecraft and a slew of semiconductors.The aim, as before, is to punish China for allegedly goading American companies into transferring their patents and technology to Chinese firms for the sake of claiming economic superiority. The USTR claimed the proposed tariffs would stymie Chinese plans while "minimizing the impact" on the American economy. The tariffs are still subject to a 60-day notice process that would include public comments until May 11th and a public hearing on May 15th.
Instead, we damage ourselves continuously by taxing the hell out of US manufacturing, mining, and agriculture with income taxes that harm nearly every aspect of US production. We have individual income taxes and payroll taxes that make labor much more expensive than it should be, we have capital gains taxes that make investing more expensive, we have corporate income taxes that harm our businesses by making products more expensive, we have estate taxes that especially harm agriculture when family farms are taxed when the owner dies, we have gift taxes and alternative minimum taxes and these all just hurt everyone.
What we should do instead is to pass the FairTax. The FairTax completely repeals ALL Federal income taxes in the USA and replaces them with a retail sales tax on new goods and services - used items aren't taxed - and prevents taxing the poor by giving every legal resident of the USA a check from the gov't to pay for the FairTax on all their spending up to the poverty level - $230/month for a single person making $12K a year.
Untaxing US manufacturing, mining, and agriculture in this manner would put rocket engines on the economy, and further allowing citizens to set their level of taxation by deciding how much tax they want to pay by either buying or not buying taxed items. The FairTax is essentially a luxury tax, then, since it only taxes non-essential items - items purchased above the poverty level - so it really nails the big spenders (the rich) and gives a pass to the really poor and very frugal.
The FairTax would "Make America Great Again" by putting rocket engines on the economy, and untaxing our exports while greatly incentivizing both foreign and domestic manufacturing to come here or stay here. Jobs available would go up dramatically as would wages when the labor shortage hits.
The Fair Tax would be a winner for everyone in the USA, and a horror for foreign economic competitors.