And those 228,000 jobs are good paying “private sector” jobs. Not those worthless DEI, fake phony government no-show jobs that Puppet Biden gave us.

I’m not opposed to what the Trump administration is doing, but it’s obvious that some of these people like Navarro are just pulling numbers out of their asses in their public statements. If these tariffs raise $600 billion in annual revenue, then clearly they are NOT resulting in a major migration of industry back to the U.S.

Domestic producers pay the same VAT as importers in countries with VAT. Navarro is a very stupid man.

The first time I heard of VAT (value added taxes) was when Al Gore was pushing the concept, so that America could be like Europe and begin using it. Rush, Mike Savage and Glen Beck helped explain it.

They’re trying to make Navarro the new personalized target for the left—and Musk starting that.

And those 228,000 jobs are good paying “private sector” jobs.

And you know that… how?

Mr babble-on, I think you might want to qualify your statement.

Navarro has been working for Trump from the beginning. They sent him to jail for it, which makes him one of the people over the target

And then there’s this, some may or may not find interesting, to the point of claims of his ‘stupidity’, but others may want this explained in that claim:

“He earned a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1979, and a PhD in economics from Harvard”

There may be a few deactivated heavy industrial plants that could be brought back, at least temporarily, but for tariffs that may be in effect no more than a few weeks or months ? I doubt anything like that is even being considered.

VAT taxes .... likely ANOTHER way globalists are making bank/grifting off of the tax payers.

Look at the perspective this way. These countries have been getting into the party free. They have been getting in free and picking everyone’s pockets. Now they have to pay a door/gate fee to get in and do it. It is fair that the venue makes something for providing the venue.

But in the EU, the exporting producer pays no VAT. So our products trying to come in to the EU are subject to VAT, but their products going out to us are not.

From Europa.eu site on VAT:

“VAT isn’t charged on exports of goods to countries outside the EU. In these cases, VAT is charged and due in the country of import and you don’t need to declare any VAT as an exporter. However, when exporting goods you will need to provide documentation as proof that the goods were transported outside the EU. Such proof could be provided by presenting a copy of an invoice, a transportation document or an import customs record to your tax authorities.”

OK, somebody dumb it down for me.

I’m 100% behind the reciprocal tariff approach provided that if country X imposes a tariff of let’s say 25% on our exportation of let’s say Harleys, that we in turn impose a tariff of 25% on their exporting to the U.S. a similar product...say...on Ducatis...or Alfas...or whatever...similar products.

But the VAT is something completely different!
The citizens of Country X must pay the VAT on almost everything they buy, regardless of the country of manufacture...whether the products are made in Country X or made in the U.S...it is applied uniformly.
In other words, the VAT does not create a disincentive to avoid products made in the U.S.; it’s applied to all products that the unfortunate citizens of Country X purchase.

Not only Navarro but a few Freepers have brought up the VAT as an issue. I don’t get it.

Thoughts?

One of the reasons manufacturing left is because the other countries had tariffs on American made products.

If Trump's tariffs are temporary only because they cause other countries to drop their tariffs (and thus Trump drops our tariffs on them), then some of the manufacturing that's being set up in the U.S. might stay in the U.S. (if the other countries keep their tariffs dropped).

I'm for tariffs if they're used like the military strategy of peace through strength. Unfortunately, you have the every now and then wacko that tests our military strength by attacking us. We should always respond with heavy force (not 20-years of "winning over hearts and minds" like after Sep 11) to teach them and everybody else that attacking us is a bad idea. After that you can have peace for a while (i.e. 60 years between Pearl Harbor and Sep 11 was because we were brutal to Japan in a much shorter timeframe until they surrendered).

That's how we should utilize tariffs, which is what Trump seems to be doing. Hammer hard with tariffs on those who've been tariffing us for decades. Then when they learn their lesson and beg for economic peace, we remove our tariffs, all while loudly saying everybody else should pay attention and not want us to repeat it.

“They’re trying to make Navarro the new personalized target for the left—and Musk started that.”

I saw that too. The real Musk coming out. Musk being loyal to Musk and protecting his own financial interests. Has he even applied his own DOGE money saving principles to his own ventures yet? Seems he has been reaping the rewards in the background. He has cards hidden up his sleeve and has been handed the deck to deal out.

OK, somebody dumb it down for me. Not only Navarro but a few Freepers have brought up the VAT as an issue. I don’t get it.

I think what is meant is VAT in place of corporate and income taxes. Our companies have to pay corporate taxes (thus American companies have to pay even for selling to other countries), while companies in VAT countries don't have to pay corporate taxes or VAT taxes for selling to other countries. Thus companies in VAT countries have an advantage over American companies (who have to pay corporate taxes).

The EU is trying to hit him up for at least a billion—and it looks to me like he’s trying to work that off with letting off some big political farts over here.

So he counters VAX tax by imposing VAX taxes on us, because that’s what tariffs are.

He’s saddling us with a 19-20% VAX tax.

If the reports I’m getting from my regular industry trade briefs are any indication, I’d say there isn’t a single long-term major business decision being made along those lines by any major international company. The general consensus is that they will just wait this out and see what happens after the dust settles.

If a VAT or a standard is clearly used to discriminate against foreign products, OK. Demand that they are removed as part of the negotiation. But Navarro sounds like he is setting an incredibly broad standard for what constitutes “unfair.” Currency manipulation is bad, but it hurts the country doing the manipulating more so than anyone else. VAT primarily is a revenue generator. What Navarro says here makes me hope that Trump doesn’t listen to him as much as Bessent and others who view US tariffs as a means to a very specific end, not a permanent feature of US policy that allegedly will be taken away when countries meet an ever-moving and impossibly high set of goal posts.