Foreign governments can't stop us from freely trading within jurisdictions they don't control and statist countries cannot compete with free societies. Support freedom, not Trump's statism and his populist statist rhetoric rationalizing it.

Conservatives used to know that, as illustrated by the Curtiss book from the 1950s on tariffs and some recent articles from the Heritage Foundation.

If someone does not want to buy imports from businesses in another country then he can choose not do it. We can't control foreign governments taxing their own citizens but can educate foreign citizens to oppose their own statism. Taxing American citizens with punitive tariffs is an additional injustice from our own government.

My good experience with wines in France was in '91. Although my preference is for Cabernet Sauvignon, due to limited time we tasted in regions of Champagne and Burgundy (in Beaune.) The tasting in Beaune was done in a cave/tunnel underground with a bottle of wine placed on a empty barrel every so often along the path through the cave. The first bottles were of the taste and spit quality, but quality improved as we went along. After about 20 wines we came to a larger cave where 5 wines were available to taste - the best of the available wines. We tasted all 5, and went back to the one that was superior (in our opinion.) As it happened we and 2 other English speaking couples (one Canadian, one Australian, one American) all decided on the same favorite wine. After finished 2 bottles, we all went to dinner together that night and stayed until the restaurant owner had to close. We all were so delighted to be able to speak English again after a week of nothing but French.
In my trips to Australia I bought wine throughout the trips and found a retailer in Sydney that would ship it back to the US for me (when I bought 2 cases from his store, too.)

Right on. Fully agree.

I tried very expensive French wines when I was in France, a long time ago. Tell you frankly, I wasn't that much impressed. I got a headache after but it may have been due to other factors.

Yes, Silver Oak Cabs! Heavenly! When I lived in Sonoma, I learned to appreciate the Sonoma wines - Sonoma and Napa are very chauvinistic about their regions. Would you believe that Sonoma Market (an exclusive private supermarket where I used to shop) did not carry Napa wines? I was flabbergasted when first went there asking for my favorite wine that happened to be made in Napa, and the guy educated me that they don't carry Napa wines only from Sonoma and he was happy to show me his best selection. I wasn't disappointed.

I don't have much experience with Italian, the ones available here are third rated and I did not drink much wine when in Italy. I am not particularly eager for Chianti.

Yes, I agree about the Aussies. In Sidney I had the chance to try some heavy red ones. Delicious! New Zealand is right up there with some silky whites.

About the French: I think the fame of French wines is all in the past. Sure they made excellent wines in the past, but it doesn't mean others did not catch up to them. Grgich Hills won the Grand Prize with its Chardonnay in Paris many years ago, stunning the French. I had the chance to visit his boutique vinery and meet the owner when I moved to CA. It was an out of world experience to taste his Chardonnay! Then he ruined it by experimenting with all kinds of things and now the Grgich Chardonnay is a sour, unpleasant product you try to forget. Only its price stayed the same, not the quality - in the stratosphere.

Speaking of other countries, when traveling in Europe I tried Hungarian wines. Absolutely great experience! They had a wine production before WW2 which the communists managed to drive to the ground like many other branches of the economy but they recovered after 1990. Now they make some of the best whites in Europe.

So, what's your solution to "market distortions" created by other governments? I'm talking the whole gambit here (subsidies, currency manipulation, regulations preventing US goods from competing, virtual slave labor, etc.). One can praise the "free trade" ideal, but as soon as a "market distortion" is forced by another government then you no longer have free trade. What is your solution?

Yes, I agree, CA wines are much better value than imports in most cases. It's about the only thing I miss by not living in CA. I'd be at Silver Oak and Groth every month if I was nearby.
The Italians keep the best they make at home, imo; I was astounded by the fantastic table wines when I was in Italy. The best from Australia are consumed quickly in Oz by "friends" of the small wineries. The French wines I have enjoyed most were very expensive and not affordable for me.

As for me, I prefer California wines for French.

Many CA Chardonnays and Cabernets are of way higher quality than the French.

Olive oil imported (94% of total US use) is mostly from Italy(50%) and Spain (25%). Us gets about 74% of its olive oil from those 2 countries and another 14% from other Mediterranean countries.

Olive oil imported (94% of total US use) is mostly from Italy(50%) and Spain (25%). Us gets about 74% of its olive oil from those 2 countries and another 14% from other Mediterranean countries. As you said, France is probably most affected by wine tariff.

"cheese, olive oil, fruit juice, jelly, seafood, wine, and textiles."

Well, that will basically hurt the French and the Danes, both fully ripe for getting their nose broken on cheese and wine import.

As for fruit juice: would anyone tell me why do we need to import fruit juice? We have plenty of orange trees in CA and FL.

Trump's higher tariffs are taxes imposed on American consumers. That is what a tariff is and how a tariff tax is imposed. This has been understood by conservatives for a long time. Prior to Trump conservatives opposed tariffs. See W.M. Curtiss, The Tariff Idea, Foundation for Economic Freedom, 1953. https://fee.org/resources/the-tariff-...

The mechanism for the EU "subsidies" in this case has been lower interest rates. According to the article you linked to: "The WTO's ruling said the EU subsidized Airbus by giving it preferential treatment on interest rates."

Market distortions created by government subsidies do not disappear by imposing more taxes. Statism does not justify and is not cured by more statism.

HMMMM...".In June of 2010 the WTO ruled in favor of the United States on 80% of the total alleged subsidy amounts, and in May of 2011 a WTO appellate panel upheld all of the key findings of the earlier panel. The WTO ruled that Airbus had received $18 billion of illegal subsidies, including $15 billion of launch aid. Airbus-sponsor governments were given until December of 2011 to remove the harmful effects of all illegal subsidies. On September 22, 2016, the WTO confirmed the European governments not only failed to meet the compliance deadline to remedy $17 billion worth of past subsidies provided to Airbus, but that an additional $5 billion in illegal launch aid has since been provided to support the A350. In a last ditch effort, the EU appealed that ruling. The WTO rejected the appeal in May 2018, opening the door for the U.S. Government to initiate the WTO process for imposing tariffs on European exports to the United States to mitigate these violations."

15 Billion of Launch Aid, seems a bit more than "lower interest rates"....

It cascades, when they have lower costs because the EU chooses to steal money from their people to "redistribute" to Airbus, that allows them to undercut Boeing. The result is an artificial market, and those costs are masked and inserted in other things. The net effect is increased costs for every member of the society in increased taxes, prices fees etc. So, how does higher tariffs on EU products equate to higher taxes on Americans?


http://www.boeing.com/company/key-org...

Statism does not justify more statism. Lower EU interest rates for Airbus does not justify higher US taxes on Americans.

If it comes from an EU country, but they get to pick and choose their targets. The countries that don't be nice, get hurt. No one seems to understand, this is equitable given that the EU has subsidized Airbus for 20 years, allowing them to undercut Boeing.

Another leftist policy from a leftist government.
Why is nobody slamming this on what is meant to be an Objectivist forum?

Well, nobody lifted a finger when the price of vanilla skyrocketed! Go for it! I happen to only buy olive oil!

Guess I need to go buy a few gallons of olive oil.