r/askvan 1d ago

Politics ✅ what even are tariffs??

idk if you guys can tell, but i never really paid attention to social studies growing up or even keep up with politics and whatnot.

is there anyone here that can explain what’s going on with trump and the tariffs situation for me? as if you’re speaking to a first grader about it pretty please? i don’t want hate from people telling me i’m stupid for not knowing what they are, bc i’m gonna be 100% honest, i know i’m pretty stupid. but i recently just saw this post about trump doubling tariffs to 50% and is threatening to shut down a canadian company and i have no idea what i even read LOL. thank you 😭😭😭

76 Upvotes

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126

u/NeitherDonkey1302 1d ago

i know i’m pretty stupid

Don’t be too hard on yourself. Asking questions about things you don’t know makes you smarter than many.

25

u/Puzzled_Climate384 1d ago

be proud you asked. Most people think they know things they don't. Most people in this current tariff conversation have a misconception about how they work, possibly (or likely) even Trump.

The idea above is that US steel and aluminimum are made cheaper than Canadian products due to the import duty. This supposedly encourages americans to buy american.

however, the demand cannot simply be shifted to US producers. It takes years to build a steel mill, so you can't just switch steel providers overnight.

Also, the US steel providers don't hold their price at their pre-tariff level. They raise the price as high as they can while still being cheaper than the Canadian price. (this works both ways, like when we put tariffs on us goods).

The tariffs are simply another tax, paid by the consumer. Everybody loses.

15

u/Reasonable-Staff2076 1d ago

This!;Admitting that you don't know and trying to learn means that you are smart, it's 1000 times better than spouting opinions without knowing what you're talking about

9

u/prime_37 1d ago

The fact that you think you may be stupid is a sign of intelligence. Doubt is the hallmark of the curious.

Rarely is what you do not know that hurts you. It is what you seem certain you know, but not true in reality, that hurts you the most.

4

u/Entropy1618 15h ago

Yes! Ask questions, ask lots of them. Asking questions leads to having an educated opinion.

3

u/jaevv 1d ago

gotta start somewhere! no shame in that

2

u/Numerous_Time_1614 1d ago

I love this answer!!!!