Answer:
1. You are a farmer, growing mangoes in California. Due to a recent drought, your crop has been particularly bad this year. The Chilean mango crop, on the other hand, is particularly good this year.
As a farmer I would support high import tariffs in order to increase the price of imported mangoes. If the world price of mangoes is very high, then I will be able to charge a higher price for my own production.
Since this was a very bad year for domestic mangoes, a very high price would allow me to recover some of the losses and stay in business. Several families are directly and indirectly affected by whether my business continues or not. I have employees and suppliers that would be negatively affected if I have to close my farm.
By increasing import tariffs, the government will earn higher taxes for every mango imported. The government also has the duty to protect local businesses.
2. You are the proprietor of a restaurant that specializes in tropical cuisine. You use mangoes and other tropical fruits in many of your dishes. Since the competition in the restaurant industry is stiff, you’re always competing to stay in business.
I oppose import tariffs, and if possible they should be eliminated. Import tariffs increase the price of goods, both domestic and imported, increasing my production costs and reducing my income.
Even though import tariffs might help a small amount of local businesses, it hurts society as a whole. Customers have to pay higher prices for mangoes, or any type of product, that should be purchased at much lower prices. The economic loss resulting from import tariffs and negatively affecting consumers and other businesses offsets by far any economic benefit generated by them. If such actions are taken, the domestic mango industry will be unfairly treated just like the sugar industry and a few others that hurt the entire economy and benefit only a few.
The government has the duty to do what is best for its citizens and businesses, and it cannot help a handful of businesses by hurting a very large group of other businesses and consumers. Government revenue will also decrease since steep tariffs will prevent any mangoes from being imported, reducing government revenue to zero.
