As we reported earlier on Tuesday, embattled Joe Biden sat down for an extensive interview with TIME, and it was everything you thought it would be. It was everything you wanted it to be. It was everything you knew it would be.
Advertisement
In other words, the interview was a total disaster. Deliciously so. Quintessential Joe.
Of course, there were the typical lies that Biden repeats ad nauseam, like how inflation was at 9 percent when he took office, which even CNN recently fact-checked. (The year-over-year inflation rate when Biden was inaugurated was about 1.4 percent.)
And at one point, while woefully attempting to defend his new tariffs on certain imports from China, the confused president mixed up Russian dictator Vladimir Putin with Chinese dictator Xi Jinping, which TIME noted.
But mixing up and confusing names is standard procedure for Biden. More importantly in this interview were his incorrect answers about his tariff package, which he announced on May 18. The $18 billion package covers Chinese EVs, solar panels, and semiconductors, as well as imported steel and aluminum. Here’s Joe:
If you want to do business in China, you’ve got to have a 51 percent Chinese owner. You’ve got to provide access to all your intellectual property, etc. Sometimes they just outright steal through cyber espionage and other means. And it’s been well-documented and internationally recognized. When you make tactics like these, they’re not competing. It’s not competition. It’s cheating.
Advertisement
I don’t disagree with anything Biden said in that statement. Where I do take issue is with his response to TIME insisting the tariffs won’t impact costs for American consumers. He either lied, was confused, or simply had no idea what he was talking about. Again, Joe:
No, because here’s the deal. There’s a difference. I made it clear to Putin [Xi] from the very beginning that I’m not, we’re not engaging in. … For example, Trump wants a 10 percent tariff on everything. That will raise the price of everything in America.
Nonsense — but we’ll get there in a minute.
After continuing to dig by claiming the tariffs will allow the United States to “play by the same rules” as China (incorrect), Biden revisited the issue about China’s 51 percent ownership requirement (irrelevant to the tariff argument) before digging even deeper.
We’re just saying, if you want to do that, well, we’re gonna do that. And you cannot change the market in a way where you flood the market by — ignore all Chinese government subsidies to undercut their ability as to deal with electric vehicles. And we’re not going to put up with it.
The guy makes teeth hurt, sometimes.
So Here’s My Problem
Biden slammed Trump for “wanting a 10 percent tariff on everything,” claiming it would “raise the price on everything in America.” For argument’s sake, let’s assume it’s true. And if so, why so? Because costs incurred by manufacturers, importers, or any company that buys products that it, in turn, sells are ultimately passed to the end consumer. Pretty basic stuff here.
Advertisement
Even if Biden’s tariffs were, say, 5 percent — vs. 10 percent — the same argument that he tried to slap on Trump would apply to him.
But Joe’s tariffs aren’t 5 percent— or even 10 percent. Here’s more:
Biden’s China tariffs cover a variety of products and industries, including a 100% tariff on electric vehicles (EVs); 25% on EV batteries; 50% on solar panels and semiconductors; 25% on steel, aluminum, and ship-to-shore cranes; and tariffs ranging between 25% and 50% on certain types of medical equipment.
Don’t misunderstand; I’m not necessarily in disagreement with any of the above numbers.
What I am very much in disagreement with Biden about is his dishonesty — be it due to confusion or flat-out lies — that somehow Trump tariffs would drive up prices, but his won’t. That is nonsense. Moreover, the 51 percent Chinese ownership issue Biden used as a defense is simply not apples to apples. Call it the cost of doing business in a communist country.
Tariffs 101
To be fair, both Donald Trump and now Joe Biden may be off the mark on the fundamental issue of who actually pays tariffs.
When the U.S. imposes tariffs on imports, U.S. businesses directly pay import taxes to the U.S. government on their purchases from abroad. The economic burden of the tariffs, however, could fall on others besides the U.S. business directly paying the tax, including foreign businesses selling goods to U.S. businesses (if foreigners lower their prices to absorb some of the tariffs), or U.S. consumers ultimately purchasing the goods (if U.S. businesses raise their prices to pass on the tariffs).
Advertisement
While it’s been said that once Trump gets something in his head, it stays there, I get it. However, in Biden’s case, his serial lying is legendary. Toss in his daily confusion with pretty much life, and I’ll continue to support the other guy, every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
Related:
Pale, Senile, and Not Ready: Joe Biden Embarrasses Himself While Gaslighting on Tariffs
Latest Data About Buying Conditions Shows Biden’s Economy Is Off the Rails
The Real President of Genius Strikes Again!