By Robin Bruno
Take a look around you and see if you can find something that was made in the U.S., not made in China, Mexico, or Canada. Notice how you can’t really find anything? That’s because the U.S. relies on these countries!
Trade is something that many people believe is unimportant. But without it, we would have little to no resources that we use on a daily basis.
Things like cars, clothes, and even some foods are imported from other countries because of the simple fact that we don’t manufacture our stuff in the U.S.
The U.S. trades primarily with Canada, Mexico, China, and the EU (European Union), whom all have to deal with tariffs and regulations.
But before I go into the nitty gritty details, there is some vocab you should know.
Tariffs are taxes imposed by the government and the president on imported goods to make more profit off of foreign goods. Regulations are set, specifically in this scenario, on making sure the proper precautions for the safety of workers and pollution of the planet to be kept at a minimum.
In the article, Top U.S. Exports and Key Global Trading Partners by Allison Shipping, she explains U.S. farmers “Benefit from international demand, especially in regions facing food insecurity or limited arable land.” The US depends on agricultural products that come from other countries because we don’t have much available land for food production to take place.
Other goods that are imported are industrial equipment, engines, pumps, and construction equipment are in high demand in the U.S. market. Along with electronics and energy resources that turn crude oil, natural gas, and petroleum into gas for cars that are better for the environment.
However trade is getting harder for countries, especially the U.S. because of all these tariffs and regulations. According to Erica York and Alex Durante of the Tax Foundation, the president has imposed new tariffs on our trading partners and has, “Threatened and imposed 232 tariffs on autos, heavy trucks, steel, aluminum, lumber, furniture, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and copper.”
With more tariffs and regulations that these countries have to deal with and follow, it means they are less likely to want to go through the hassle and money to trade with us.
If countries don’t want to trade with us then we only really have two options. We need to get rid of some of the tariffs currently in action so countries can more easily trade with us, or we would have to rely on what we can produce ourselves.
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