I think this is many times overlooked in the trade debates. The United States is a land of abundance. We consume more than we can produce for some products, while we produce more than we can consumer for others. This is why a healthy trade of goods and services is necessary for the economic growth of the United States. One of the major contributing factors to the steady growth of the U.S. economy in the past 20 years is the fact that our tariff rates on imported products have been drastically reduced or eliminated.
Reduced tariffs give American consumers cheaper products and more choices.
In fact, the average U.S. tariff rate on dutiable imports was 59 percent in 1933, compared to less than 5 percent now. No wonder it took over 10 years for the U.S. to get out of the Great Depression. The American people were strapped for cash in the first place, and then as a result of high tariffs, their purchasing power was drastically reduced. To top it all off, foreign nations retaliated by dramatically increasing their tariff rates on U.S. goods, creating even less demand for U.S.-made products. I will stop with the history lesson.