Is Bernie's Trade Policy More Extreme Then Trump's? Yes.

[TomCADem]

33. Bernie Sanders: 'Of course' I would use tariffs as President

Last edited Sun Aug 25, 2019, 02:07 PM - Edit history (1)

What you wrote contradicts what Bernie has proposed and it does not even make sense:

You wrote:

Yes, China overproduces steel and prices it predatorily, so yes, confronting China on steel was a good thing to do. Most Dems and many Republicans agree with Trump on that. And Canada is our closest trading partner and ally, so no you don't tariff them even though the US imports more Chinese steel through Canada than it does directly from China. So what do you do? Before you implement your tariffs, you get Canada (and the EU and Japan by the way) to implement the same outward facing tariffs on China (and a few other steel over producers, btw, including Korea, Vietnam and Turkey), so we are all acting in a coordinated fashion and reducing the leakage of Chinese steel going through intermediaries.

First, that does not make sense. Why would Canada impose tariffs on Chinese steel when they are a net exporter of steel? Second, why Korea? Korea has even higher living expenses than the U.S. Have you been to South Korea. They are not some third world country undercutting the U.S. on labor costs. Or, is it just xenophobia? Third, as for Japan, Bernie has also attacked Japan, opposed TPP, and proposed placing tariffs on Japanese steel:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/03/31/bernie-sanders-pledges-rewrite-disastrous-trade-deals/82473012/

Along with NAFTA, Sanders said he also would rewrite CAFTA, permanent normal trade relations with China, and the Korean Free Trade Agreement.

He didn’t specify what changes he would make but said U.S. workers shouldn't be forced to compete against people making “pennies an hour.” He also criticized deals that lead corporations to move to countries such as China where there are “virtually no environmental standards” compared to the U.S.

“That is not fair competition,” he said.

His campaign says Sanders also would impose countervailing tariffs on imports from China and Japan “until they stop dumping steel into the United States and stop manipulating their currencies.”

What you suggest directly contradicts what Bernie Sanders has proposed. Indeed, Bernie himself really can't distinguish himself from Trump except to say that, "of course," he would impose tariffs on China, but he would do so "rationally." Of course, since he has also attacked Trump this year for not being tough enough on China, says nothing. Perhaps Bernie should have used your language and just said he would follow Trump's policies in a "progressive," manner rather than a "rational" manner.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/25/politics/bernie-sanders-tariffs-trade-war-sotu-cnntv/index.html

Washington (CNN)Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said he would use tariffs as a negotiating tool if he wins the White House but slammed President Donald Trump's latest maneuvering in his trade war with China.

"What the President is doing is totally irrational and it is destabilizing the entire world economy," the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate said in an interview that aired on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday. "You do not make trade policy by announcing today that you're going to raise tariffs by X percent and the next day by Y percent, by attacking the person you appointed as head of the Federal Reserve as an enemy of the American people."

When asked by CNN's Brianna Keilar if he would use tariffs to cut a deal with China during his own presidency, Sanders said that he would.

"Yeah of course, it is used in a rational way within the context of a broad, sensible trade policy. It is one tool that is available," he said. "You're looking at somebody, by the way, who helped lead the effort against permanent normal trade relations with China and (North American Free Trade Agreement)."