New Taxes

Trump Announces New Taxes on TVs and Air Conditioners

KEVIN DRUM

It says something weird that this news is getting only slight attention:

President Trump escalated his trade war with China Tuesday, identifying an additional $200 billion in Chinese products that he intends to hit with import tariffs. The move makes good on the president’s threat to respond to China’s retaliation for the initial U.S. tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese goods, which went into effect on Friday and would eventually place nearly half of all Chinese imports under tariffs.

….Trump’s latest action will hit consumer products, such as televisions, clothing, bedsheets and air conditioners, which were spared from the first import levies….Chinese officials are expected to retaliate in other ways, hitting U.S. firms in China with unplanned inspections, delays in approving financial transactions and other administrative headaches.

Meh. What’s $200 billion these days? In any case, I suppose all these TVs and 600-count satin sheets are national security threats, right? That’s why Trump can slap tariffs on them just because he feels like it. Or is it that the original tariffs were related to national security, and these are retaliatory tariffs intended only to retaliate against the original retaliatory Chinese tariffs—and thus don’t need any particular justification? I get so confused these days.