This is a simplistic view of economics that in many cases, maybe even most cases is not true.
If the reason for a trade imbalance is because one country has high tariffs and the other doesn't then making the tariffs equal will definitely be a big plus for that economy.
The reason for this is because manufacturing is the engine to any economy. If the car is made in the US then all those workers get paid in the US, pay taxes in the US and spend their paychecks in the US. On the other hand if you buy a car made in a foreign country it is like someone has opened the drain on the bathtub. All the money goes to that country. Who is going to pay the taxes in the US? Not those workers. Who is buying the goods at the local stores and restaurants? Not those people.
So then, in some cases tariffs are very damaging to world trade, in other cases tariffs that make things equal are like someone putting the plug back in the drain in the bathtub so that the money stays in the nation rather than being drained out by others.
We were warned this would happen with NAFTA. Yes, on one hand the cost of the goods seems cheaper, but on the other hand the US debt goes up, the decay of the US goes up, the lack of taking care of infrastructure increases, deficit spending increases, and ultimately you start to see inflation take off.
A Toyota corolla was about $2,000 in 1980. Inflation is a tax on the poor. The rich own stocks which go up generally a little faster than inflation. But for those who are not independently wealthy with stocks, your paycheck rarely if every will keep pace with inflation.
If the reason for a trade imbalance is because one country has high tariffs and the other doesn't then making the tariffs equal will definitely be a big plus for that economy.
The reason for this is because manufacturing is the engine to any economy. If the car is made in the US then all those workers get paid in the US, pay taxes in the US and spend their paychecks in the US. On the other hand if you buy a car made in a foreign country it is like someone has opened the drain on the bathtub. All the money goes to that country. Who is going to pay the taxes in the US? Not those workers. Who is buying the goods at the local stores and restaurants? Not those people.
So then, in some cases tariffs are very damaging to world trade, in other cases tariffs that make things equal are like someone putting the plug back in the drain in the bathtub so that the money stays in the nation rather than being drained out by others.
We were warned this would happen with NAFTA. Yes, on one hand the cost of the goods seems cheaper, but on the other hand the US debt goes up, the decay of the US goes up, the lack of taking care of infrastructure increases, deficit spending increases, and ultimately you start to see inflation take off.
A Toyota corolla was about $2,000 in 1980. Inflation is a tax on the poor. The rich own stocks which go up generally a little faster than inflation. But for those who are not independently wealthy with stocks, your paycheck rarely if every will keep pace with inflation.