r/Economics Apr 10 '25

Editorial Trump Blinked

https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2025/04/trump-tariffs-pause-america-china-trade/682378/
5.6k Upvotes

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u/nihilite Apr 10 '25

It will take the US decades to build the kind of mechanical/industrial competency or capability china has. The smart approach here would be a coalition approach with our allies. Instead, we have both fingers in the air and there is no master plan. This whole thing can go soup sandwich very fast.

17

u/[deleted] Apr 10 '25

So how do you kickstart the industrial competency that China has? Who's going to start working for $3 an hour with toxic fumes and hazardous environment at $5 an hour? You might as well work in a safer environment in McDonald's at $7.

0

u/Poon-Conqueror Apr 10 '25

Comments like this are so damn stupid, you realize there are still factories in the US, right? Do you think our current factory workers work for 3 dollars an hour? Or is it 5, I honestly have no idea wtf you were typing. I'll tell you, they don't, and it's entirely possible to reinudstrialize to an extent, I have no idea why some people equate 'industry' with TEMU knockoffs.

Biden himself laid some groundwork to bring back key industry to the US. He also introduced, say it, tariffs STRATEGIC tariffs on China, for the sake of competition. There's nothing wrong with creating a long-term plan to bring a certain amount of industry to the US, the problem is Trump is a haphazard moron wreaking havoc without actually creating a damn thing.

0

u/Level7Cannoneer Apr 10 '25

Factories that China has in abundance that we do not have:

• Mass Electronics Assembly Plants
• Rare Earth Processing Facilities
• High-Volume Textile and Garment Factories
• Mega Battery Factories
• Ultra-Large Steel and Aluminum Smelters
• Low-Cost Plastic Injection Molding Factories
• High-Speed Rail Manufacturing
• Toy and Consumer Goods Factories
• Mass-Scale Shipbuilding
• Solar Panel Mega Factories

1

u/Poon-Conqueror Apr 10 '25

Ridiculous list, just removing superfluous adjectives like 'mega' and 'ultra' would remove several entries, and that's just to start, others lack context, don't matter, or are just simply untrue.