Tariff and World Trade talk
We don't generally allow politics on the forums. With the obvious exception of The Political Machine. The Political Machine - The Power of the Presidency Can Be Yours! Forums
But the world trade situation is probably something worth discussing provided people can avoid assuming "the other" are stupid or evil or greedy or whatever.
Now, I'm a child of Michigan USA. Detroit area. That means cars. And I can say, regardless of political association, the topic of unfair trade has been discussed endlessly here.
I won't get into the issues with the UAW and Unions and whatnot. But I will say that the global trade situation is more nuanced than most know.
To side-step the USA vs. China stuff, I want to instead talk about UK.
The United Kingdom is about to close its last steel plant. I.e. for the first time since the Bronze Age, the land of England will stop being able to make metal. That's a bit hyperbolic but the point is the same. Losing the ability to make certain basic civilizational goods is a problem.
If we lived in a world that would never have any supply disruptions and could avoid having any wars, then it would be perfectly fine for the US, UK, the EU, etc. to just switch to a pure information economy of services and leave the production of physical goods to other countries. But we don't live in that world.
When COVID hit, Americans discovered that most antibiotics and N95 masks were made elsewhere and no longer readily available. This is a problem when there is a disruption.
I don't know what nations should do. I do know that it is probably a very bad thing if the UK, for instance, can't produce steel anymore. Similarly, I think it's bad for the world in general if a single country produces virtually all the manufactured goods (whether that be the USA, China, or whatever).
Just my 2 cents.