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Could tariffs prevent monopolies from foreign companies?
Topic Started: Jun 1 2018, 10:34 PM (25 Views)
Soopairik
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Most liberals I know of do not support tariffs. And I, for the most part, do not support them either. But I was watching Adam Ruins Everything the other day, and I stumbled upon this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAeHuDcy_bY

The video shows that Luxottica owns a very large majority of the eyewear industry in the US, so they can just change the prices anytime they want of the glasses and nobody can stop them. And the US can't do just split Luxo into several smaller companies because they're from Italy, not the US.

So I was thinking, if we can't directly split Luxo up, why not put a tariff in place on Italy's eyewear to prevent Luxo from effectively achieving its goals? I know it sounds like a dumb idea, but it just might work. Otherwise, what else are we supposed to do when foreign companies start making monopolies in the US?
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Ngc1514

As in so many cases, the solution already exists online with companies like Warby Parker and Zenni Optical.
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Dionysus

welcome ngc. let's get lunch before I leave for vacation.
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Ngc1514

I was thinking about the question in the original post and was reminded of a situation a few years back. The Japanese were spending billions buying office buildings in New York and other major cities. There were similar discussions about the dangers of such that sounded a lot like the OP.

But, in both cases, what did these foreign buyers actually own? They owned pieces of paper attesting to a legal claim that would have had to stand up in an American court. If the courts did not accept those claims - for whatever reason - neither Japan or Luxottica had any way to force their claims. The concept of ownership is a legal fiction that has to be agreed upon by both sides and, if not, ultimately, be settled by force of arms.

Is Luxottica going to send over Italian police to protect their investment?
Edited by Ngc1514, Jun 5 2018, 10:21 AM.
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