Much as I loathe Trump and the small-minded authoritarianism that he stands for, I’m not entirely against the tariffs on electronics and other Chinese/Far Eastern made trinkets.
(1) They’re a consumption tax on discretionary items like electronics and cars. Lower income tax + consumption tax that hits wealthy people who buy everything new isn’t a bad way to go. In some ways, it’s the equivalent of a VAT that exists in Europe and Canada, but only on foreign-made goods. Less wealthy people (read, us poors) can get around it by buying used or keeping things longer.
(2) They’ll encourage Americans to fix their electronics and keep them longer, not make more e-waste when a battery dies or a connector breaks. I’ve literally picked electronics off the street on curb day where the only problem was a broken prong on the power plug. Electronics are notoriously hard to recycle or dispose of in an environmentally kosher manner.
(3) This might actually encourage production of electronics designed to last longer. Not stuff with glued-in batteries and epoxied cases (Apple, MS, looking at you) as has become the fad recently. Planned obsolescence is an awful trend.
(4) They internalize the cost of buying things made in poor labor conditions and with little environmental oversight. As it is, we’re exporting our pollution to countries like China. And ultimately, pollution doesn’t stop at national borders. If this makes even a small dent in our consume-and-destroy economy, this will be a good thing for the Earth.
