Getting Hurt by Trump’s Tariffs

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/15/opinion/trump-tariffs.html

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To the Editor:

Re “Industries in U.S. Feel Undermined by Trade Policies” (front page, July 5):

Leaders of trade associations, farmers and industries now being threatened by President Trump’s trade and tariff policies should not be surprised by his attempt to “level the playing field” for American trade. Just as he promised repeatedly during his campaign to bar Muslims, crack down on immigration and roll back environmental regulations, he is following through with exactly what he said he’d do.

Those businesspeople who voted for Mr. Trump ignored at their peril his irrationality, ignorance and bullying behavior. Now his proposed policies are coming for them, hitting them in their pocketbook. They will, we hope, understand that a man’s conduct, knowledge, experience and demeanor matter — for all of us, farmer, student, immigrant and asylum seeker alike.

KAY OPPENHEIMER, DURHAM, N.H.

To the Editor:

At the risk of seeming insensitive, it’s hard to muster much sympathy for Kevin Scott, the North Dakota soybean farmer who voted for Donald Trump and is now getting “heartburn” because of China’s and Mexico’s threat to impose tariffs on soybeans in retaliation for the president’s ill-conceived trade policies.

After all, that outcome was not only entirely predictable, but was in fact so widely and so credibly predicted throughout the 2016 presidential campaign that it should come as absolutely no surprise to anyone who was paying attention.

However, Mr. Scott probably has little cause for concern. Just as the Trump administration proposes to require electric power companies to purchase coal even though natural gas is cheaper and better suits their needs, the president is doubtless hard at work on a plan to force someone, somewhere, to buy all those soybeans.

Be patient, Mr. Scott, and know that your future is in good hands. After all, President Trump is “like, really smart”!

J. TODD BROWN, TUCSON

To the Editor:

“Rare Earths May Tilt a Trade War. Rare Whats?” (front page, July 12) rightly identifies that China’s central role in the rare earth market allows it to upend the global production of everything from mobile phones to televisions. And if China turned off the tap, global companies are out of luck.

But that’s the rosy scenario. China’s dominant position in the materials market extends well beyond rare earths. It dominates the mining and processing of the critical mineral building blocks our high-tech and green society relies upon — from cobalt in batteries to neodymium in magnets. Since developing mines and material supply lines takes years, substantial new supplies won’t quickly fill the void.

Beijing’s plan to produce the aircraft, cars and green tech the world needs, Made in China 2025, necessitates consuming an overwhelming amount of these raw materials. A trade war gives China an easy premise to restrict them.

DAVID S. ABRAHAMDENPASAR, INDONESIA

The writer is a senior fellow at New America.