[chrisco255]

Nobody is cheering for inflation to get worse, they are celebrating it being held down to 2.7% after higher inflation a few years ago.

The U.S. is a net exporter of oil and food and self-sufficent for majority of its mineral needs as well.

There is no need for U.S. to crash its currency to incentivize domestic production, it can just impose tariffs on imports to do so.

[legitster]

> Nobody is cheering for inflation to get worse, they are celebrating it being held down to 2.7% after higher inflation a few years ago.

Trump is actively fighting the federal reserve to drop the interest rate to 0%. Members of his team regularly do interviews where they say "it's going to get worse before it gets better". Inflation is being held down despite this administration's best efforts.

> The U.S. is a net exporter of oil and food and self-sufficent for majority of its mineral needs as well.

And has been for a while. But the current conservative rhetoric is specifically about bringing manufacturing jobs back.

> There is no need for U.S. to crash its currency to incentivize domestic production, it can just impose tariffs on imports to do so.

I don't think autarky is this administration's only stated goal. They specifically see an export-led economy as being more important or even "legitimate" and are pushing for other countries to import our goods. Devaluing currency is a strong way to incentivize exports and China's currency manipulations were the key to their rise as a manufacturing power.

[chrisco255]

> Trump is actively fighting the federal reserve to drop the interest rate to 0

The interest rate was near 0 for years, it did not cause inflation. Fighting for low interest is not same as being pro-inflation.

[thatguy0900]

The problem with tariffs is really just trumps complete instability. Why would anyone invest in domestic manufactoring when Trump wildly flip flops on all tariff policy using it as a diplomatic punishment and reward system? Especially when his tariffs in general are legally questionable at best and the other half of us politics are against them just in principal. Imagine investing millions in a domestic factory and then trump gets a personalized jet from some random nation so the tariffs you were depending on for your profit margin are gone. Or Trump loses the midterms and now tariffs as a policy are gone. Unless Trump both becomes a dictator and sets the tariffs in stone without changing them too much, or democrats come out in wide support of tariffs themselves, I don't see how you could use them to invest your money.

[Terr_]

Also, anything companies build inside the US (factories, supply lines, etc.) just becomes an economic hostage for a Trump to use for further rounds of extortion.

So it's not just that the policies are (A) counterproductive and foolish and (B) changed on a whim and (C) have no long-term foundation and (D) are changed for corrupt reasons... but even after all that, (E) the corrupt person "making deals" is incapable of honoring them.

[JumpCrisscross]

> it can just impose tariffs on imports to do so

This is how you grow a sclerotic, internationally-uncompetitive domestic industry. See: shipbuilding.

Where tariffs work is as a nursery policy. Give firms a safe haven to grow in. Then let competition hone them. South Korea has pioneered this playbook; China copied it. We were sort of doing it, but the current administration blew up our nascent new energy industry.

[legitster]

It's also debatable how important tariffs even are for "infant industries". In most situations, if you ever remove the tariffs, the native industry is just as likely if not more likely to die out to any serious foreign competition.

For South Korea and China, tariffs were not a very key part of their industrial policy. Which is not to say that the government didn't have a massive hand in the success of their native industries. Case in point: shipbuilding for South Korea. The government was key in securing the capital investment in the massive drydocks the entire world depends on.

[engineer_22]

> the current administration blew up our nascent new energy industry.

Which industry is that?

[peder]

Precisely. People in this thread almost seem mad that the economy didn't crash in Trump's first year.

[ActorNightly]

Hope and wishing aside, if you think anything Trump is doing is gonna benefit the economy, you really show your ideological side.

For example, businesses are hesitant to invest in domestic manufacture because the tarrifs can be undone by next president. But the reputation that US is building right now cant be undone. Investment in manufacturing takes years, not to mention that its not like America has lots of people wanting to go work in mines and factories. Meawhile as countries with sane leaders adjust, US is gonna be less and less relevant.

So in 5 or so years when your house value and investments are way down and there is a Dem president and you think about complaining about economy is bad under liberals, remeber who cause it all. Most of the current economic problems that existed in late 2020s have origins with Reagan era economics.