Gideon Oknin Poet Lyric

The Tariff Song

Our president says, “Bring the factories back,
Rebuild the mills, get us on track.”
He looks at the rust belt, sees sorrow and tears,
Whole towns undone by decline through the years.

I have a bike made by Trek
They can't make it here, said an exec
He explained that nobody here makes any part
A whole bike ecosystem needed to restart.
 
So Trump raised tariffs, a hammering blow,
But allies responded with a resounding "no."
In Germany, most consumers are taking action
In France, "Boycott USA" has gotten traction.

Down under, Aussies can now buy U.S. beef
But buyers won't buy them, the hopes were brief.
Japs and Filipinos see Trump as a bully
It's our exporters that feel the pain fully.

In Denmark, Euro products are marked with a star
It helps consumers know which products to bar.
Chinese,  Irish, British, you name it
Refuse to buy our stuff, cannot tame it.

Canada has an app called "Maple Scan"
It identifies our brands, for the voluntary ban.
The leftist party that governs would have lost the vote
But Trump really got the average Canadian's goat.

Tariffs also drive countries to trade with China more
India is one example, They are feeling really sore
Japan and South Korea pursue a new China pact
Wasn't it predictable how they'd all react?

It didn't help that Trump floated the idea of Canada annexation
Doesn't he understand their pride in their nation?
Tariffs alone couldn't cover the cost,
Of trust broken, of friendship lost.

In most cases, I think tariffs were a mistake
We have to look why things in the U.S are costly to make.
Let's work on that, not create enemies from friends
Not all means reach desired ends.

And yes, many countries protect factories and food production
Subsidies, tariffs, they feel the same seduction.
But we're not blameless either, and we can sink our boat
by retreating into a fort, surrounded by a tariff moat.

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