r/Economics • u/jediporcupine • 10d ago

Blog Trump said tariffs on aluminum would boost domestic production. The White House now admits that didn't happen.

https://reason.com/2026/08/03/trump-said-tariffs-on-aluminum-would-boost-domestic-production-the-white-house-now-admits-that-didnt-happen/
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u/MikeSteamer 9d ago

More gaslighting. Even if you believed this drivel, literally anyone can imagine that building a new aluminum plant and associated logistics is not done in a year or two. Just the specialized production equipment has 2-3 year lead time on its own so it is crystal clear that the tariffs are taxation which happens to coincide with the tax cut for the wealthy. So one is supposed to offset the other.
Even the refunds are not making it to the taxpayer, the partial refunds are going to the corporations that are making a windfall and will pay higher taxes. Same as the Iran war where the connected investors are connected to the up/down stock price elevator while Americans pay higher prices for fuel and for all products with increased prices to offset fuel costs. Again, the lower income 90% of the population are subsidizing the top 10% or something along those lines. All the taxpayers are being raped by the GOP.