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I concede that this will probably just be me being naive about this.
But, if the USA are sticking tariffs on a lot of countries - what’s stopping the EU, UK, China etc all simply coming together to create some sort of agreement (albeit a loose one) where each agree to lower tariffs on each others goods to try and offset the extra costs exporting to the USA? But keeping tariffs on American imports high?
I understand that things takes time to achieve but is this possible?
seemingly so. Hyundai have just built a plant over there.
trump seems to forget that one of the reasons that the US buys stuff in is because they cant make it, or have no knowledge / facilities to make it.
therefore ultimately, the biggest looser out of all of this will be the US everyday joe - who will either lack of being able to buy products, or prices going through the roof.
then again like all of trumps other policies, im expecting a u turn
American manufacturing has declined, but that's more because it has lost out to lower cost producers, principally China, rather than being incapable of manufacturing. Trump realises this, hence his aggressive targeting of China, which has for a while been the #2 global superpower.
There are no extra costs for a country exporting to the US. The Importer pays the tax. The Importer is a company based in the US. The Importer will pass the tariff onto whoever buys the goods. So to sumarise, Trumps tariffs are a sales tax on US Consumers. These Tariffs won't cost any country anything. The downside is it will make their products more expensive in the US so maybe they don't sell so much.
also make American manufactured goods a home market boost as they should have a price advantage over imported goods.
One of the places hit with 10% tariffs is British Indian Ocean Territory but the only inhabitants of the United Kingdom territory are American and British military personnel and contractors stationed at a joint defence facility according to ABC News.
Smart.
I see the Dow is down 3.25%. Let’s hope Tesla is leading the way if only to annoy rubberchops Musk.
One of the places hit with 10% tariffs is British Indian Ocean Territory but the only inhabitants of the United Kingdom territory are American and British military personnel and contractors stationed at a joint defence facility according to ABC News.
Smart.
I see the Dow is down 3.25%. Let’s hope Tesla is leading the way if only to annoy rubberchops Musk.
I don't think Musk have ever been very bothered about keeping score of his net worth on paper.
There are no extra costs for a country exporting to the US. The Importer pays the tax. The Importer is a company based in the US. The Importer will pass the tariff onto whoever buys the goods. So to sumarise, Trumps tariffs are a sales tax on US Consumers. These Tariffs won't cost any country anything. The downside is it will make their products more expensive in the US so maybe they don't sell so much.
All the fashion brands were down nearly 20% today because as soon as people realise that their Vietnamese manufactured Nikes are suddenly 47% more expensive there is going to be a backlash and many simply won't be replacing for the sake of it.
It's debatable if they could be made in the US at less than a 47% premium given the land, energy and wage costs associated with manufacturing there. Let's not forget, many of these brands are US brands manufacturing abroad because it's so much cheaper.
So as a policy to bring back manufacturing it's hard to see how it can realistically work.
All the fashion brands were down nearly 20% today because as soon as people realise that their Vietnamese manufactured Nikes are suddenly 47% more expensive there is going to be a backlash and many simply won't be replacing for the sake of it.
It's debatable if they could be made in the US at less than a 47% premium given the land, energy and wage costs associated with manufacturing there. Let's not forget, many of these brands are US brands manufacturing abroad because it's so much cheaper.
So as a policy to bring back manufacturing it's hard to see how it can realistically work.
SB
Trump just doesnt get it with cars.
No one in Europe wants a US car. They are heavy, thirsty and too big for our roads. They are expensive and fiddly to repair. They are poor quality compared to a Mazda or similar.
And they have no supports / dealerships here anyway.
All the fashion brands were down nearly 20% today because as soon as people realise that their Vietnamese manufactured Nikes are suddenly 47% more expensive there is going to be a backlash and many simply won't be replacing for the sake of it.
It's debatable if they could be made in the US at less than a 47% premium given the land, energy and wage costs associated with manufacturing there. Let's not forget, many of these brands are US brands manufacturing abroad because it's so much cheaper.
So as a policy to bring back manufacturing it's hard to see how it can realistically work.
SB
Who knew Trump was an environmentalist, less stuff geing consumed is what we need surely.
"They break our legs and tell us to be grateful when they offer us crutches."
I read an interesting article some time ago where somebody had asked why ipads are manufactured in China and why not in the States. This was a long time before all this blew up.
The answer was enlightening, for me anyway. There was no capacity in the States to actually procuce most of the parts, even down to the little screws holding them together, there was nowhere in the States capable of manufacturing them to the required tolerances.
The thinking that by the end of the year the USA will be self sufficient is absolutely bonkers, it would probably take a decade of favourable conditions to get any where close to that so presumably he's doing his usual act of creating chaos by going to the extreme end before dialling back and settling on something that is a bit more favourable than it had been.
Making people poorer despite promising the opposite and then claiming it was always going to be this way worked here with Brexit - it's a seemingly very similar act of self harm economically
There’s actually huge opposition to this all across the Republican sphere. Many very outspoken as well, even the like of Rand Paul and Ben Shapiro. I think many looking from the outside with international news coverage just assume he has half the country under a spell with a huge cult following as to why he gets in. To be honest it’s usually just large swathes of electorate completely rejecting the other candidate/party as to why anyone wins the White House.
In terms of Trump doing this, I’m not sure it will last and is more a negotiation tactic to throw his weight around. He can’t watch the American economy tank (which many are predicting) for 18 months as we get towards the mid terms, though if that were to happen things could get very interesting.
That said there’s a a lot of historical belief and context behind this I think, he’s always said America is getting ripped off. Interesting interview here in the late 1980s with King, listen to how he speaks about Japan for example.
There’s actually huge opposition to this all across the Republican sphere. Many very outspoken as well, even the like of Rand Paul and Ben Shapiro. I think many looking from the outside with international news coverage just assume he has half the country under a spell with a huge cult following as to why he gets in. To be honest it’s usually just large swathes of electorate completely rejecting the other candidate/party as to why anyone wins the White House.
In terms of Trump doing this, I’m not sure it will last and is more a negotiation tactic to throw his weight around. He can’t watch the American economy tank (which many are predicting) for 18 months as we get towards the mid terms, though if that were to happen things could get very interesting.
That said there’s a a lot of historical belief and context behind this I think, he’s always said America is getting ripped off. Interesting interview here in the late 1980s with King, listen to how he speaks about Japan for example.
Consistent isn’t he!
[Post edited 4 Apr 4:36]
Election victories everywhere are usually down do the ineptitude of the existing government so you are right.
As for Trump, the Americans are fixated by him and he can do no wrong. Unless somebody offs him, he’s there as long as his health lasts. Nobody else comes close. He has totally embraced authoritarianism with all its rabid ignorance, rudeness and bullying. The people love it, as people often do. Let’s face it, who is more interesting? Flashman or Tom Brown (see George MacDonald Fraser books)?
If his insane fixations and made up maths lead to economic woes, he can blame everyone else. He’s already doing it. The clowns in hard hats will believe him and love him all the more. And when he starts stealing Greenland and Canada and whatever else his warped mind thinks is his, the majority will cheer even louder.
The rest of the world needs to wake up fast.
Edit: No tariffs for Russia, Cuba, Belarus and N Korea yet 10% on islands with nothing but penguins or service personnel. That tells you where his loyalties lie despite the windy excuse.
But on to more important issues, what I really want to know is, now that Trump's mate's company Amazon has bought creative control of the Bond series, who will the next villains be? The EU? Will they have a secret volcano base in Brussels? Will Ursula von der Leyen be stroking a white cat whilst coming up with a diabolical scheme to raise tariffs on Amazon Prime deliveries?
There’s actually huge opposition to this all across the Republican sphere. Many very outspoken as well, even the like of Rand Paul and Ben Shapiro. I think many looking from the outside with international news coverage just assume he has half the country under a spell with a huge cult following as to why he gets in. To be honest it’s usually just large swathes of electorate completely rejecting the other candidate/party as to why anyone wins the White House.
In terms of Trump doing this, I’m not sure it will last and is more a negotiation tactic to throw his weight around. He can’t watch the American economy tank (which many are predicting) for 18 months as we get towards the mid terms, though if that were to happen things could get very interesting.
That said there’s a a lot of historical belief and context behind this I think, he’s always said America is getting ripped off. Interesting interview here in the late 1980s with King, listen to how he speaks about Japan for example.
Consistent isn’t he!
[Post edited 4 Apr 4:36]
I guess the biggest problem for the US now, is that this stuff isn't just going to be forgotten - even if it is all reversed there is still an element with this, how he has treated Russia vs Ukraine, about 100 other things where the US is now no longer a trusted partner on the international stage.
If Trump was just 2016-2020 then it could be seen as an aberration, but now he's come back that changes the calculation for a generation - it could have been swept under the rug before but now the population have voted for more of it then even if the Dems or a-non MAGA GOP candidate is to be elected in next cycle, or one after that, there will still be trepidation that the system allows this to happen.
Irreparable damage has been done, the world order has changed - to what yet we don't know but it's not going to be how it was again in our lifetimes
There’s actually huge opposition to this all across the Republican sphere. Many very outspoken as well, even the like of Rand Paul and Ben Shapiro. I think many looking from the outside with international news coverage just assume he has half the country under a spell with a huge cult following as to why he gets in. To be honest it’s usually just large swathes of electorate completely rejecting the other candidate/party as to why anyone wins the White House.
In terms of Trump doing this, I’m not sure it will last and is more a negotiation tactic to throw his weight around. He can’t watch the American economy tank (which many are predicting) for 18 months as we get towards the mid terms, though if that were to happen things could get very interesting.
That said there’s a a lot of historical belief and context behind this I think, he’s always said America is getting ripped off. Interesting interview here in the late 1980s with King, listen to how he speaks about Japan for example.
Consistent isn’t he!
[Post edited 4 Apr 4:36]
Given he said he was going to do this (although not to this level) it seems rather odd that there would be Republican opposition to what he's doing. Where was that opposition before the election? Why did they all roll over and let him say and do whatever he wanted?
Just looks a bit opportunistic to now be opposing something they actively enabled.
Not sure we have any evidence that he's not going to continue down this path. A few posters have said it's all a tactic but alienating everyone isn't a negotiation tactic, it's a fairly good way to ensure that in the future people are either going to not believe you or not be very accommodating. Large blocks like the EU can pivot their trade and if they do that I suspect they will be reluctant to pivot back. He may well be forced to roll it back if the markets carry on as they are but even then, trust has been eroded and they continue to say misleading and quite damaging things against their allies and trading partners.
Gorka on Newsnight was absolutely horrendous, just attacking allies and trading partners rather than address the points.
If he wants things moved back onshore he can't ever remove tariffs and neither can any other president because it's economically impossible to manufacture in the US at the same cost as cheaper manufacturing hubs. If it comes back onshore and tariffs are removed then if his calculations are correct it'll be 94% more expensive to manufacture in the US rather than Vietnam.
It's really going to hit home with many of his supporters when they go to the shops and their Nikes are 47% more expensive or their shirts are 49% more expensive.
American manufacturing has declined, but that's more because it has lost out to lower cost producers, principally China, rather than being incapable of manufacturing. Trump realises this, hence his aggressive targeting of China, which has for a while been the #2 global superpower.
Same as the UK. Our manufacturing has declined not because of lazy, incompetent workers, but purely because employee costs are so much cheaper in China.
Business leaders warned about this when some politicians championed allowing China into the WTO. Trouble was they joined on agreement of moving towards a market-economy to align with the rest of the world's, employee ptrotections model but then did a u-turn and moved to state-centric communist model of slavery and cheap labour. But nobody had put in rules to prevent that and kick them out of the WTO. Hence why many countries, organisations have placed tariffs on China, including the EU. You reap what you sow.
So Trump is correct from a tariff re China, after all the EU did it, .... but Trump's problem is he has decided to do the same against all countries rather than let the world markets flow naturally. He thinks he can flip a switch and go back to the 40s-70s when the world purchased Ford cars and fundamentally only Ford cars. Trouble is Kirk Junior costs $5000 a month to build a car in Detroit whereas Yang costs $50 a month to build a car in Xi'a. Same with any machinery. As the yank bod said yesterday on the TV, when he was showing examples re a mini digger he uses. The China version costs $8000 the US version $20000, so even if Trump adds 100% tariff it will still be cheaper to buy the China version. The tariffs will hit the world economy, including the USofA. As I said yesterday if it works its the most amazing thing any politician has ever tried, if it fails he will go down as an even bigger moron than he already is.
Given he said he was going to do this (although not to this level) it seems rather odd that there would be Republican opposition to what he's doing. Where was that opposition before the election? Why did they all roll over and let him say and do whatever he wanted?
Just looks a bit opportunistic to now be opposing something they actively enabled.
Not sure we have any evidence that he's not going to continue down this path. A few posters have said it's all a tactic but alienating everyone isn't a negotiation tactic, it's a fairly good way to ensure that in the future people are either going to not believe you or not be very accommodating. Large blocks like the EU can pivot their trade and if they do that I suspect they will be reluctant to pivot back. He may well be forced to roll it back if the markets carry on as they are but even then, trust has been eroded and they continue to say misleading and quite damaging things against their allies and trading partners.
Gorka on Newsnight was absolutely horrendous, just attacking allies and trading partners rather than address the points.
If he wants things moved back onshore he can't ever remove tariffs and neither can any other president because it's economically impossible to manufacture in the US at the same cost as cheaper manufacturing hubs. If it comes back onshore and tariffs are removed then if his calculations are correct it'll be 94% more expensive to manufacture in the US rather than Vietnam.
It's really going to hit home with many of his supporters when they go to the shops and their Nikes are 47% more expensive or their shirts are 49% more expensive.
SB
[Post edited 4 Apr 8:53]
How has Gorka got anywhere near a position of power? He's is possibly the most vile human I've ever come across, he's like a baddie from a terrible film. Just tells lies and shouts over everyone who tries to pick him up on it.
Given he said he was going to do this (although not to this level) it seems rather odd that there would be Republican opposition to what he's doing. Where was that opposition before the election? Why did they all roll over and let him say and do whatever he wanted?
Just looks a bit opportunistic to now be opposing something they actively enabled.
Not sure we have any evidence that he's not going to continue down this path. A few posters have said it's all a tactic but alienating everyone isn't a negotiation tactic, it's a fairly good way to ensure that in the future people are either going to not believe you or not be very accommodating. Large blocks like the EU can pivot their trade and if they do that I suspect they will be reluctant to pivot back. He may well be forced to roll it back if the markets carry on as they are but even then, trust has been eroded and they continue to say misleading and quite damaging things against their allies and trading partners.
Gorka on Newsnight was absolutely horrendous, just attacking allies and trading partners rather than address the points.
If he wants things moved back onshore he can't ever remove tariffs and neither can any other president because it's economically impossible to manufacture in the US at the same cost as cheaper manufacturing hubs. If it comes back onshore and tariffs are removed then if his calculations are correct it'll be 94% more expensive to manufacture in the US rather than Vietnam.
It's really going to hit home with many of his supporters when they go to the shops and their Nikes are 47% more expensive or their shirts are 49% more expensive.
SB
[Post edited 4 Apr 8:53]
Trust is always something hard to build, individually or collectively. It can only be broken once. In my view there is no recovery, no turning back. The sooner US is isolated (it’ll take years) and left to it with their totalitarian friends the better.
The irony is that the boneheads with hard hats rented in for his stunt the other day will be the ones who pay in the end. You either have money in America or you are toast. There are no real safety nets and what there was is being chainsawed. But they voted for the orange s’gibbon so tough.
Make America Isolated Again! It’s been done before, albeit by blockade. But since when did numbnuts do history?
Trust is always something hard to build, individually or collectively. It can only be broken once. In my view there is no recovery, no turning back. The sooner US is isolated (it’ll take years) and left to it with their totalitarian friends the better.
The irony is that the boneheads with hard hats rented in for his stunt the other day will be the ones who pay in the end. You either have money in America or you are toast. There are no real safety nets and what there was is being chainsawed. But they voted for the orange s’gibbon so tough.
Make America Isolated Again! It’s been done before, albeit by blockade. But since when did numbnuts do history?
Bit harsh on the half or more of their population who didn’t vote for him (sorry, on phone and don’t have figures).
Also, worms are already turning there - see the two states rebelling this week (iirc Wisconsin and Louisiana - the latter from a +22% pro-Trump vote last November).
Given he said he was going to do this (although not to this level) it seems rather odd that there would be Republican opposition to what he's doing. Where was that opposition before the election? Why did they all roll over and let him say and do whatever he wanted?
Just looks a bit opportunistic to now be opposing something they actively enabled.
Not sure we have any evidence that he's not going to continue down this path. A few posters have said it's all a tactic but alienating everyone isn't a negotiation tactic, it's a fairly good way to ensure that in the future people are either going to not believe you or not be very accommodating. Large blocks like the EU can pivot their trade and if they do that I suspect they will be reluctant to pivot back. He may well be forced to roll it back if the markets carry on as they are but even then, trust has been eroded and they continue to say misleading and quite damaging things against their allies and trading partners.
Gorka on Newsnight was absolutely horrendous, just attacking allies and trading partners rather than address the points.
If he wants things moved back onshore he can't ever remove tariffs and neither can any other president because it's economically impossible to manufacture in the US at the same cost as cheaper manufacturing hubs. If it comes back onshore and tariffs are removed then if his calculations are correct it'll be 94% more expensive to manufacture in the US rather than Vietnam.
It's really going to hit home with many of his supporters when they go to the shops and their Nikes are 47% more expensive or their shirts are 49% more expensive.
SB
[Post edited 4 Apr 8:53]
Someone on the World Service yesterday said that Trump has produced a climate of fear amongst those in the Republican Party who do not share his views, making them fearful of speaking out because of the likely backlash from Trump hardliners.
Putting it another way, Trump has had a chilling effect on free speech across the board in the US with even the media on the defensive, which is ironic given how much people like him and Vance laud free speech.
How has Gorka got anywhere near a position of power? He's is possibly the most vile human I've ever come across, he's like a baddie from a terrible film. Just tells lies and shouts over everyone who tries to pick him up on it.
Because the rules of normalcy and decency don't apply in the US anymore.
Gorka was denied security clearance in his own country due to his views and actions and was for a time in the previous Trump era too.
Right now though, he is a useful tool for Trump and as you say will simply just shout down anyone who challenges his/Trump's view
There’s actually huge opposition to this all across the Republican sphere. Many very outspoken as well, even the like of Rand Paul and Ben Shapiro. I think many looking from the outside with international news coverage just assume he has half the country under a spell with a huge cult following as to why he gets in. To be honest it’s usually just large swathes of electorate completely rejecting the other candidate/party as to why anyone wins the White House.
In terms of Trump doing this, I’m not sure it will last and is more a negotiation tactic to throw his weight around. He can’t watch the American economy tank (which many are predicting) for 18 months as we get towards the mid terms, though if that were to happen things could get very interesting.
That said there’s a a lot of historical belief and context behind this I think, he’s always said America is getting ripped off. Interesting interview here in the late 1980s with King, listen to how he speaks about Japan for example.
Consistent isn’t he!
[Post edited 4 Apr 4:36]
It just comes across as a knock-off Mob boss.
Like China today, he said he would reverse tariffs if they sold Tik Tok to one of his backers.
All of this will fail. All of world economics isn't wrong and by some stroke of genius Trump and his Project 2025 goons are right. It's just not how this works.
It's macho imperialism but built on a foundation of rapidly melting ice.
Someone on the World Service yesterday said that Trump has produced a climate of fear amongst those in the Republican Party who do not share his views, making them fearful of speaking out because of the likely backlash from Trump hardliners.
Putting it another way, Trump has had a chilling effect on free speech across the board in the US with even the media on the defensive, which is ironic given how much people like him and Vance laud free speech.
[Post edited 4 Apr 9:51]
That is entirely true. You've seen Musk threaten any sitting senator or congressman already with primaries and to financially back the challenger if they don't vote or support exactly in the way they are meant to.
The media have a lot to answer for though. Call lies, lies. But instead they normalise authoritarianism because Trump says things in a funny way.
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