Letters to the Editor: Trump will win his trade war with China if he stays the course on tariffs

To the editor: The Los Angeles Times never miss a chance to stick it to the president. As a case in point, your headline for an article about President Trump’s latest tariffs on consumer goods from China could have read, “Trump helps American business owners and addresses the debt.”

With tariffs on about $110 billion worth of products kicking in, Trump has delivered on his promise to level the playing field for U.S. manufacturers. The tariff monies will go into the United States Treasury, helping out with the huge U.S. public debt.

Although this may be painful for consumers in the short term, in the long term it will be quite beneficial if the U.S. can sustain this effort. Our nominal gross domestic product is much larger than China’s, so it cannot win this trade war as long as we stay the course.

This grand effort should not be about politics, but rather what is best for America in the long run.

Jeffrey Whitfield, Santa Ana

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To the editor: The article omitted an important point. Trump, who has been a huckster all his life, is playing a shell game with the tax revenue system.

Lower income and business taxes will have a negative effect on the amount of money coming into the U.S. Treasury. So, the president wants to recoup the loss by collecting additional tariffs. Call it taxes or tariffs, but it’s all the same.

In the end, we may not be paying less in taxes.

Jack Berens, Alta Loma

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To the editor: Aren’t these “badly run and weak companies” that Trump blames as being responsible for any possible economic slowdown the same companies responsible for our “booming” economy? Does the president think the loss of markets due to his tariffs and trade policies has nothing to do with any possible downturn?

This is the same person who tells us China is paying for the tariffs. Of course if they are paying for the tariffs we levy, wouldn’t that mean we are paying for Chinese tariffs?

It doesn’t appear he ever considered that or the consequences of his trade war in the first place beyond his spurious claim they are easy to win.

Michael Solomon, Canoga Park