"Under Trump’s tariff fest, countries face very different tax rates. This provides an enormous incentive to mask the origins of goods imported into the United States. This may be done by actually changing the production process, for example shipping components from China to Vietnam where they will be assembled into a refrigerator or television set. Or it could just mean writing on the box “made in Vietnam.”

In fact, it would be reasonable to suspect that something like this is taking place. Our imports from China through October were down by 25.3%. At the same time, imports from Vietnam increased by 40.4%. You’re welcome to believe that Vietnam suddenly became a much more attractive source for U.S. importers, but it seems more likely Chinese companies have figured out how to circumvent Trump’s tariffs."

deanbaker22.substack.com/p/don…

#USPolitics #Tariffs #DeanBaker