You can only snicker when commenters on The Costa Rica Star state that ‘opinions’ on American politics have no business being carried as newsworthy to those in Tico land. Sorry folks, but what happens in Costa Rica’s biggest trading partner can not only affect the lives of its citizens and residents but it’s future wellbeing…BIG time.

We will try and make a complex subject simple. People are seriously misinformed when the words ‘tariffs’ and ‘trade’ are mentioned, often forgetting that the US government used trade tariffs as the only funding the government had to support itself for most of its history. This was only changed in 1913 when the first permanent ‘personal income tax’ was adopted in the USA. Yes, tariffs are a consumer tax placed on imports, but they also became a tool used to protect favorite industries, punish other countries, and redistribute wealth from one nation to another.

Tariffs became a caustic word among modern day economist drawing from the negative effects of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930. These taxes (tariffs) were increased by Hoover at the onset of the Great Depression and some say it caused the economic collapse. It did not, but it intensified and ultimately delayed a recovery.

There is not enough space to explain all the insidious practices of China to rob intellectual property, currency manipulation, and dumping, but they do so to gain an unfair, but favorable trade advantage over other countries. After all, it was what built their country into its modern self, even though their means severely hurt global economics and fair trade worldwide.

So, the trade war is underway, thanks to a President that has the guts to finally fight for our country. No other modern-day President had the nerve to tackle the gross inequity since it had negative political consequences for those just seeking votes. An empty suit President like Obama probably did not even understand its significance, way over the pay grade of a community organizer. How long it will last until someone cries ‘uncle’ is anyone’s guess, but many are saying that it may stretch out past 2020 while China waits, in hope that Trump is replaced by another empty suit like Biden, who will cower to China’s highway robbery.

By now, hopefully, you understand the elementary significance of trade and tariffs. So, let’s go straight to their implications. Every war has innocent victims. In this war bullets are not flying, but the wealth of nations is at stake. China can absorb a lot of hurts because they are communist and couldn’t care less if their people must go back to eating grass, so long as the party chiefs still get their rice and pork. But they also know that trade generates the money they need to build aircraft carriers and gain global recognition as a wealthy superpower. So far in the war, they are experiencing an economic slowdown while the USA continues experiencing incredible growth. New tariffs funds are flooding the coffers of the USA treasury. The vulnerability of the USA is lack of patience. A people who demand instant gratification and are swayed by a politically charged fake news, are fighting with one arm tied behind their back.

The left-wing media loves to tout the negative impacts that will be felt by Americans, mostly to discredit Trump. For example, “the farmers are getting hurt”, without also noting that consumer food prices in the US are dropping radically because of the new tariffs imposed on US farmers and ranchers by China. More to eat at home at lower prices helps the poor and low-income individual, but you will never hear this from the media. More recently the left purveyors of doom broadcast that increased tariffs will cost the US consumer an average of about $800 more a year. Fake News. Not so. That is only true if the consumer continues to buy Chinese products at higher prices, which they will not. Chinese products coming into the USA have been mostly cheap luxury items that may satisfy consumer ‘wants’ but not actual consumer ‘needs’. Americans will just switch to products produced elsewhere, not subject to the tariffs. Americans are a fickle lot, loyal only to the lowest price.

Welcome, Costa Rica. Manufacturers are mobile and gravitate to where they can maximize profits. Unable to export to the USA market from China because of high tariffs imposed, those companies will seek homes elsewhere where they will not apply. There is already evidence this is occurring, and Costa Rica is primed to be one of the big benefactors. There is no reason Costa Rica cannot produce more medical devices, computers, washing machines, cell phones, toys, etc. from Zona Franco’s and easily compete with China in the US market, given this new playing field. So, get busy CINDE and start knocking on doors of manufacturers in China.

Dick Fowler: is the retired owner of Foreign Investment Group, who performed feasibility studies for the World Bank and others. He was a financial advisor to the late Jorge Manuel Dingo, VP under Oscar Arias. He also owned IMP Inc and NTK Inc, a drug testing lab and criminal investigation service to major US companies. He holds a BS degree in Chemistry/Biology as well as a BBA and MBA in Finance/Economics. Dick speaks 4 languages and is conversational in 2 others