[Barrin92]

>The US needs to show its commitment to free market principles and lets its auto industry die already.

Given that the car industry here in Germany opposed the (even much more moderate) tariffs the state subsidies certainly don't seem to scare them more than a trade war. It's just a repeat of the automotive industry dark ages of the 70s/80s when tariffs vis-à-vis Japan were enacted based on the same reasoning. You're just gonna have 20 years of no competition.

China is going to win the markets in the rest of the world, which is where the bulk of cars go now. It's gonna be funny when everyone in Asia is driving a 15k modern electric car and we sit here driving old second hand gas cars behind a tariff wall. It's like a reverse Soviet Union situation

[bluGill]

15 years ago China was opening up and looking to become more free over time. As such I would oppose any tariffs in the belief that drawing them closer to us is for the better. However now that Xi is in power he has been doing everything to oppose US (and EU, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam...) interests and so I'm forced to support tariffs. In principal I favor free trade, but when I expect war with someone else I can't support them or allow them to get control of things we will need to fight that war.

[tivert]

> Given that the car industry here in Germany opposed the (even much more moderate) tariffs...

Isn't the German car industry pretty much all-in on China, and thus dangerously exposed to any retaliation? IIRC, they have lots of factories there and depend on their output for a lot of their revenue. It would be pretty easy for China to shut them down or make life difficult them with some kind of pretext.

Boy, do I wish governments shared business's wise preoccupation with next year's numbers.