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Home Front: Politix
'It's Time For Reciprocity': Leavitt Shows List Of 'Unfair' Tariffs Targeting American Products
2025-04-02
[DAILYWIRE] White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stood before news hounds on Monday and listed off multiple tariffs imposed on American products by foreign nations, arguing that the ''unfair trade practices'' need to come to an end.

Leavitt pointed to massive tariffs from the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
, Japan, India, and Canada, saying, ''It's time for reciprocity.'' President Donald Trump
...His ancestors didn't own any slaves...
 is preparing to announce a round of reciprocal tariffs on April 2, a day he has labeled ''Liberation Day in America.''

''If you look at the unfair trade practices that we have: 50% from the European Union on American dairy. You have a 700% tariff from Japan on American rice. You have a 100% tariff from India on American agricultural products. You have nearly a 300% tariff from Canada on American butter and American cheese,'' Leavitt said, holding up a chart on a piece of paper. ''This makes it virtually impossible for American products to be imported into these markets, and it puts a lot of Americans out of business and out of work over the past several decades.''
Posted by:Fred

#21  I'll bet we'll be just fine.
Posted by: Crusader   2025-04-02 23:22  

#20  Well Trump did it. Reciprocal? Hardly.

European Union: Average Most Favored Nation rate of 5.2%; higher on specific goods (26% fish, 22% trucks, 10% vehicles, etc.).

Trump applies 20% (25% on cars). The EU must and will respond. Not good for anyone.
Posted by: European Conservative   2025-04-02 16:44  

#19  "Is there a reduction in VAT for the less privileged?"

Food in Germany has 7% VAT, not 19%
Posted by: European Conservative   2025-04-02 16:27  

#18  I see the Europeans have carefully thought out the VAT. I think it has failed in the US, mostly because it is 'regressive'. Poor folks deserve a lower rate because they're poor - so the story goes. (I like a flat tax, myself.)

Is there a reduction in VAT for the less privileged?
Posted by: Bobby   2025-04-02 16:22  

#17  Ok, let's explain this:

Cars are usually not imported by the consumer, but by your car dealer. Let's say the German car dealer sells Mercedes, Peugeot and Cadillac (for the sake of argument). And let's assume that the respective manufacturers sell their car for a value equal to 30,000 Euros.

So we have
1) Producers/exporters in the US, France and Germany
2) Importers/retailers in Germany
3) German consumers

First scenario: The retailer buys a Mercedes from the German Mercedes factory.

He pays 30,000 Euros plus 19% VAT (i.e. 5,700 Euros). He doesn't care about this 5,700 Euros because he is not the end consumer. He gets the 5,700 Euros back with his next VAT return (usually done monthly).

If he sells the Mercedes for 40,000 Euros, the consumer will have to pay 19% VAT (i.e. 7,600 Euros) on top of it, i.e. 47.600 Euros. If he is a private consumer, he won't get this money back. If I buy a Mercedes exclusively for business use, I can deduct this 7,600 from my VAT income. So I don't pay VAT on that Mercedes. If I use it privately, I can't.

Second scenario: The dealer buys a Peugeot from the French Peugeot factory. The factory and the dealer have an international VAT ID, so this is a so-called intra-community acquisition. In this case, no VAT is paid by the importer (and, of course, no VAT is refunded). The tax authorities of the EU work together, so they will know whether this was a business or a private purchase.

Again, if the dealer sells the car for 40,000 Euros, the consumer will have to pay 19% VAT (i.e. 7,600 Euros). Again, the private consumer won't get this money back.

Third scenario: Reseller buys a Cadillac from the American Cadillac factory. Reseller has to pay 10% tariff and 19% VAT (called import VAT) on the price of the car and shipping costs (same would be true for first and second scenario, VAT also has to be paid on shipping costs). The dealer will be reimbursed by the government for the 19% import VAT, just as he is for the German and French cars. If he sells the Cadillac for 40,000 Euros, the consumer will pay 19% VAT (exactly the same amount as in the first two scenarios) on top of it The importer will pay the 10% tariff, but he can deduct it as a business expense.

As you can see, VAT doesn't matter in any of the three scenarios. The consumer always pays the same amount (VAT is always included in the consumer price, so the price is 47.600 euros in all cases.

There are other taxes for the consumer, but again, it doesn't matter where the car comes from. In Germany, the consumer who wants to drive his car pays a vehicle tax based on engine size and CO2 emissions. Currently, electric car owners don't pay this vehicle tax. The amount may vary from country to country (it's much higher in Denmark because Denmark prefers you to drive small cars or - even better - bicycles), but again, it doesn't matter where the car was made.

So VAT (and vehicle tax) have nothing to do with tariffs. VAT doesn't "rip off" the US, it just rips off us poor consumers, no matter what car we buy.

Final thing: VAT varies from country to country, but this doesn't change the argument. Only the end consumer pays VAT - in his own country.
Posted by: European Conservative   2025-04-02 16:08  

#16  This was 2020. Denmark had very high taxes on cars. Once they were lowered to a reasonable rate, people bought cars. That’s what our tour guide said. It was a really high rate.

Tax what you don’t want, right?
Posted by: Grampaw Brown7138   2025-04-02 14:42  

#15  From westcoastshipping.com:

Standard Import Duties for Vehicles

For vehicles imported to Germany from non-EU countries like the United States, the standard import duty structure includes:

Basic Import Duty: 10% of the vehicle's declared value
Value Added Tax (VAT): 19% calculated on the combined total of the vehicle's value, shipping costs, and the 10% import duty

This means that for a vehicle valued at €30,000 with €1,500 in shipping costs, you would pay:

Import Duty: €30,000 × 10% = €3,000
VAT: (€30,000 + €1,500 + €3,000) × 19% = €6,555
Total import taxes: €9,555
Posted by: The Walking Unvaxed   2025-04-02 12:38  

#14  My apologies EC, you are correct about the VAT, somewhat.
What I found while I was breaking preparing for the 7"-11" of rain we will experience this week;

The rate of VAT in Germany is 19%, with a limited number of goods being eligible for a lower 7% rate. Goods imported to Germany from outside the EU are subject to a different tax, called Import Turnover Tax, equal to 19% of the value of the items plus other import costs, such as shipping.

Goods imported to Germany from outside the EU are subject to a different tax, called Import Turnover Tax, equal to 19% of the value of the items plus other import costs, such as shipping. Goods imported from within the EU apply VAT at the point of sale.

So as I read this courtesy of Bing, US imports are subject to the VAT and ITT. Are there more taxes you are not disclosing? An EU tax, a German import tax? What else? Local and state tax?
Posted by: The Walking Unvaxed   2025-04-02 12:22  

#13  I don't know why VAT is part of the tariff discussion. Apples and oranges.
Posted by: DooDahMan   2025-04-02 10:52  

#12  "Denmark decided to take off the 100% tariffs, and people bought cars."

I don't understand what you mean. There's no 100% tariffs on cars.
Posted by: European Conservative   2025-04-02 09:54  

#11  VAT has nothing to do with tariffs or unfair treatment.

VAT is paid by the end consumer. The importing company gets paid VAT (or import tax) refunded when it sells the product.
Posted by: European Conservative   2025-04-02 09:34  

#10  When we were in Denmark a few years ago, our tour guide explained all the cars.

Denmark decided to take off the 100% tariffs, and people bought cars.

Tax what you don’t want, right?

So the EU might have 1 tax, but each country might impose more?

Let’s see that added on list.
Posted by: Grampaw Brown7138   2025-04-02 09:26  

#9  VAT may be complicated but no difference is made between domestic and imported products.

Food and books carry 7% VAT, but it doesn't matter where they come from.
Posted by: European Conservative   2025-04-02 09:23  

#8  The VAT is way more complicated than you project. Some get refunds on the 19%, some pay only 7%, some pay zero.
Posted by: The Walking Unvaxed   2025-04-02 09:13  

#7  Israel removes all remaining tariffs on US imports
Posted by: Skidmark   2025-04-02 09:12  

#6  VAT is exactly NOT the issue. VAT is levied on ALL goods, domestic or foreign.

Obviously I have to explain that:

If I order a Mercedes built in Germany worth 100,000 euros, I will pay VAT (19%) on top of it. So the German car will cost me 119,000 euros.

If I order a Cadillac from the U.S. worth 100,000, I will also pay VAT (19%) on it (just that this VAT is called Import tax or Einfuhrumsatzsteuer). Thus the Cadillac will cost me 119,000 euros as well.

VAT has nothing to do with tariffs or unfair treatment.
Posted by: European Conservative   2025-04-02 09:00  

#5  ^ You fail to mention the EU VAT. Pretty much the issue.
Posted by: The Walking Unvaxed   2025-04-02 08:54  

#4  The Path of Tariff Pain
Posted by: Skidmark   2025-04-02 08:53  

#3  While the EU applies a 10 percent most-favored-nation tariff on cars (US 2.5%), the US levies a 25 percent tariff on pickups – the largest segment of the US car market, accounting for about a third of all vehicle sales. In fact, the best-selling vehicle in the US is a pickup, the Ford F-150.

"Unfairness" goes both ways.

The average EU tariff on imports from non-EU countries is 5.2%. That's above the average US tariff on imports (3.5%). When the product classes are weighted with their different import values, the difference is somewhat smaller (3.0% versus 2.4%).

Nothing that couldn't be solved with amicable trade negotiations. TTIP would have done away with most of these tariffs (and regulations).

Note that services (US has a big surplus here) have no tariffs.
Posted by: European Conservative   2025-04-02 08:41  

#2  Canada stares down consequences of Trump tariff war: Job losses, grocery price hikes, possible recession
Posted by: Skidmark   2025-04-02 07:12  

#1  Probably a stretch to say that the Canadian butter tariff is putting a lot of Americans out of work, but I do agree with her.
Posted by: Super Hose   2025-04-02 05:31  

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