The American taxpayer has been footing the bill for other nations’ prosperity for far too long. That’s why Pres. Donald J. Trump has ramped up the rhetoric, leveled necessary tariffs and is upping the ante with foreign powers.
Since Bill Clinton wrongfully pushed the United States into uneven trade deals such as NAFTA, hard-working Americans watched their jobs move overseas and south of the border.
Even in 2018, outfits such as Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors are setting up shop in China after firing 9 percent of its American workforce. Having reaped all of the U.S. tax incentives to build his organization, he’s putting profit ahead of country. Musk is taking advantage of the fact China ships cars to the U.S. at a low 2.5 percent tariff while American made brands pay 25 percent over there. This simply will not stand.
Similarly, the American taxpayer foots the bill for Europe’s defense against Russian militarism. But double-dealing Euro elites like Germany’s Angela Merkel make lucrative energy deals with the same country they ask the United States to protect them against. This cannot stand.
NATO Members Broke Their Pledge
The United States military houses major installations in Germany, where Russia held land after helping defeat the Nazis in World War II. At one time, the thinking was to ensure Germany, as well as Russia, didn’t become an enhanced threat again.
The NATO alliance was formed to keep the peace in Europe and member states agreed to kick in 2 percent of their GDP annually to fund the multinational defense. Only five members of 29 are honoring their word while the American taxpayer pays the freight for their “delinquency,” as the president so aptly put it.
If NATO were a contract — which it is by the way — the U.S. would sue them in court for a breach, and win. That’s why Pres. Trump pushed NATO countries at a recent summit.
Calling attention to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that doubles the volume of gas Germany receives from Russia, Pres. Trump recently called NATO out.
“We’re supposed to protect you against Russia and yet you make this deal with Russia. Explain that,” Pres. Trump said. “It can’t be explained.”
Germany has yet to meet its 2 percent obligation. The country that started World War II pays in only 1.2 percent and says it will only meet this long-overdue commitment in 2025. That is simply unacceptable.
NATO member Canada — under the liberal policies of Justin Trudeau — has taken the position that the North America member will not raise its funding from 1.36 percent and meet its promise. In fact, Canada is on track to actually reduce its portion down to 1.23 percent. The president correctly called the situation unfair and unacceptable to American taxpayers, who pay nearly 4 percent of a much larger GDP.
On the home front, Trudeau has decried the tariffs imposed by Pres. Trump as contrary to fair trade. The Canadian leader continues to support protectionist tariffs that prevent American dairy farmers from selling products north of the border.
Unfair China Trade Costs Americans Dearly
The bad trade deals of past administrations have created a massive trade deficit with China. Once viewed as a source of inexpensive products, China turned uneven tariffs into a magnet to attract American businesses. That’s how Americans lost their jobs following the Clinton-era “global economy” farce.
In 2017, the U.S. suffered a $375 billion trade deficit with the Asian power and upwards of $506 billion in Chinese imports found their way to the U.S. The inequity is rooted in high tariffs imposed by China on goods stamped Made in the USA, and American leaders not making such fees reciprocal.
China also steals American intellectual property and makes the products less expensively by underpaying its Communist workforce. People in China have a far lower standard of living due to government constraints. Americans basically lost jobs to China, and now the Communist country resists American made products from hitting their market.
Pres. Trump went through quiet negotiations with the Chinese before engaging in a trade war. His 25 percent tariff on steel and 10 percent on aluminum were merely shots across China’s bow. With the Asian country firing back, the trade war is on. Pres. Trump hit back with another $34 billion, and is fully prepared to ratchet that up to the total amount of Chinese goods sold in the U.S. Trade deficits are one of the primary reasons that Americans pay excessively high taxes.
Although the biased media continues to criticize him, Pres. Trump has taken a stand for the American taxpayer.
~ Liberty Planet
