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"Who pays the tariffs" can potentially be a complicated question. There is a certain amount of elasticity of demand, the breadth of choice of supply, and more that can influence if a supplier chooses to eat the cost or if the price goes up. It's totally possible to draw up a scenario where it's the exporter that does bear the majority or all the cost of a tariff. Highly unlikely in the real world, but technically possible.

But in the end blind American exceptionalisim and surrounding himself with yes men seems to have made him at least publicly proclaim the exporters would bear the cost. Or Trump is just a liar.

Occam's Razor suggests an answer. Chances are this is just another instance of Trump lying and people eating it up.






In what scenario does the other country - the one being tariffed, to be absolutely clear - does that country pay the tariff?

That was the exact scenario he iterated over and over on the campaign trail. What technically possible scenario exists for this to happen?


When there's practically no other country willing to import it and there are costs to migrate to another kind of production and few alternate buyers would be an example.



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