Donald Trump on Tuesday told CNBC that he will gratefully “remember” U.S. companies that do not seek refunds for the tariffs he unilaterally imposed, which the Supreme Court later ruled were illegal.
Trump’s comment on “Squawk Box” came a day after U.S. Customs and Border Protection opened a portal for importers to seek more than $160 billion in potential refunds for the so-called IEEPA tariffs.
He was asked about a number of large companies, among them Apple and Amazon, that have not filed requests for refunds for the tariffs they paid, potentially because they are worried about “offending” Trump.
The tariffs WE PAID. Those fucking companies jacked up prices to cover them. Now our tax money is going to pay them again.
Taxes this year were brutal. Fucking. Goddamn. Brutal.
Trump is suing our own government to steal these. He’s doing it right now. He’s a fucking traitor.
I think I’m with the companies here, which feels weird to say. The Trump admin imposed these ridiculous tariffs, which the companies had to pay. Makes no sense for them to lose money on the products they sell, so of course they raised prices, which we all said they would have to when the tariffs were imposed. Meanwhile, the administration pocketed the money. Then the tariffs were ruled to have been illegal.
So yes, I want the companies to go after the money that the administration illegally bilked them (and, indirectly, us) out of. I hope they figure out ways to pass the recovered money back to customers; Costco has said it will use the money to lower prices. But it’s actually more important to me that the administration not get away with the illegal tariffs.
Product sells for $10. After tariffs of $2 it sells for $14.
You pay $2 tariff and $2 convenient price hike. Company makes $2 for hiking price more than value of tariff.
Company requests refund for $2, company made $4 total.
You paid $4 extra total, which the company made. It’s a completely standard transaction, money from your packet to company’s. And more tax money will be wasted for the costs of processing the refunds.
Company brings price down to $12, you’re still overpaying, and are you necessarily buying that product again?
I’m sure some companies did that, but do you have data suggesting that was a widespread practice? Because what I read was that lots and lots of companies tried to stock up on materials before the tariffs went into effect, so they wouldn’t have to raise prices, and then many just ate the extra cost for a while - hoping the tariffs would be short lived - because they knew they would lose customers, before ultimately raising prices to cover. Many companies did lose money on the deal, according to what was reported.
But I’ll read whatever you have from a reputable source.
And then, they’re keeping those prices high.
Yeah, there’s no chance they now lower prices and collect less profit. That’s what we should remember…
Stop buying shit from these companies