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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?
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?
That's almost the sad thing (almost).
Those poorer elements of society who have bought the "man of the people" diatribe (like Farage here) and vote because they think he won't come after us/after our benefits etc.
Trump, like Farage, is about protecting the 1%. The others are merely vehicles to enrich others further.
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.
There's also the amount in 'pro bono' legal work that he has already extorted from some large legal firms, some of which employed people who were involved in legal cases against him, or have (had) DEI policies.
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.
it's more about Trump protecting and developing his home market. Protectionism by using tariffs is not about export. He will not care if anyone target American cars with tariffs, they do not well well anyway. It is more likely that other goods like electronics will be targeted in any tit-for-tat tariff reprisals. It is a dangerous game as protectionism was a major part that led to the great depression of the 20/30s.
Do you mean gang up on America? I think the World should. Trumps America effectively declared a trade war on the world so let's fight back. Trump won't end the tariffs on a country if he thinks it's good for America. He will of course negotiate when he realises that the tariff with a certain country is hurting the US but will be negotiating with a weakened hand. He might find them extremely adversarial not cooperative. I don't think countries are going to flatter/suck up to Trump after what he's just done.
Yes.
I learnt when I was 5 years old to always stand up to bullies.
“Hello, I'm your MP. Actually I'm not. I'm your candidate. Gosh.”
Boris Johnson canvassing in Henley, 2005.
most of their products are manufacutred in china. 39% on the price of your iphone doesnt sound great for the yanks (ignoring the fact its at least 39% overpriced as it is)
Apple (AAPL) saw its market value plunge by more than $300bn on Thursday, making it one of Wall Street’s biggest casualties following Donald Trump’s latest tariff offensive
Apple (AAPL) saw its market value plunge by more than $300bn on Thursday, making it one of Wall Street’s biggest casualties following Donald Trump’s latest tariff offensive
ouch
It will be another sliding day on Wall Street today...
China just announced 34% tarrif on all US goods from April 10th.
Part of me is thinking the EU is wise to pause and see how this plays out. Let US and China go head to head first.
I've a very strong sensation that Trump has his cronies betting against the market and making big money from all of this.
Call me cynical, but I find it hard to believe that no one is making money right now out of these decisions
He's got plenty of previous, made a fat little wad from what was effectively a crypto scam a little while ago.
No idea when I began here, was a very long time ago. Previously known as Spirit_of_81. Love cheese, hate the colour of it, this is why it requires some blue in it.
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.
[Post edited 4 Apr 7:52]
“The Americans are fixated by him and he can do nothing wrong”
A huge generalization that isn’t true. How would you even know? I’ve seen you throw statements are like “the average American”, which is pretty ignorant really. For a start the country is completely 50/50 split in terms of the vote to begin with.
Sure he has his core base but he also has ten of millions that voted for him over the other guys that are concerned about the extent and practicality of these tariffs as well, as it’s quite clear it will make life more expensive. I know he campaigned on making trade fairer and stopping American getting ripped off but I’d suggest not that many people are looking at those figures (which are trade deficits) not actual tariffs and thinking, yes finally this is the way.
Americans love a deal, not to mention we are all (as a rule of thumb) more exposed to the stock market than the UK in terms of our retirement. There’s no true long term about this IMO.
I think the administration will want some wins and headlines by countries coming to them and striking up a deal with terms that look favorable. There will be exceptions on some goods and this will start to get rowed back if it becomes an extended blood bath.
A massive gamble considering the Dems leadership is vastly unpopular and a lot of his other policies do have public support and you look at the current numbers on the southern border etc.
“The Americans are fixated by him and he can do nothing wrong”
A huge generalization that isn’t true. How would you even know? I’ve seen you throw statements are like “the average American”, which is pretty ignorant really. For a start the country is completely 50/50 split in terms of the vote to begin with.
Sure he has his core base but he also has ten of millions that voted for him over the other guys that are concerned about the extent and practicality of these tariffs as well, as it’s quite clear it will make life more expensive. I know he campaigned on making trade fairer and stopping American getting ripped off but I’d suggest not that many people are looking at those figures (which are trade deficits) not actual tariffs and thinking, yes finally this is the way.
Americans love a deal, not to mention we are all (as a rule of thumb) more exposed to the stock market than the UK in terms of our retirement. There’s no true long term about this IMO.
I think the administration will want some wins and headlines by countries coming to them and striking up a deal with terms that look favorable. There will be exceptions on some goods and this will start to get rowed back if it becomes an extended blood bath.
A massive gamble considering the Dems leadership is vastly unpopular and a lot of his other policies do have public support and you look at the current numbers on the southern border etc.
China retaliating with a 34% tariff of their own probably wasn't what Trump was expecting given his 'offer' yesterday to reduce/remove the tariff if they sold TikTok to one of his business associates.
It's clearly a massive gamble, because nearly all economists (apart from those with Trump) globally have said this is the wrong thing to do. Even leading GOP officials have said it's the wrong thing to do.
So is Trump right or are the qualified economists right? For help, Liz Truss has sided with Trump...
41% tariffs slapped on the Falkland Islands. Must be the dastardly penguins’ fault ripping off the American’s with surplus fish and crustaceans (their main export). Where is Batman when you need him?
41% tariffs slapped on the Falkland Islands. Must be the dastardly penguins’ fault ripping off the American’s with surplus fish and crustaceans (their main export). Where is Batman when you need him?
He’s an utter moron. Although penguins are neither here nor there really and just a laughing matter, , it’s actually cutting through to a lot of his borrowed voters. Nothing will sway his hardcore fans as they’re long gone, but he seems to be losing the voters he needed to win last time. Do that’s probably him cooked even if he does find a way to wangle a third term.
He’s an utter moron. Although penguins are neither here nor there really and just a laughing matter, , it’s actually cutting through to a lot of his borrowed voters. Nothing will sway his hardcore fans as they’re long gone, but he seems to be losing the voters he needed to win last time. Do that’s probably him cooked even if he does find a way to wangle a third term.
He's a moron alright but also a vindictive nasty small-minded excuse for a human being. The midterms are next year. All the seats in the lower house, the House of Representatives, have a 2 year term so they all have to stand for reelection in November 2026. Some Senators (6 year term) will be standing for reelection too. Trump could lose both houses. ATM Trump has both houses but he's not using them. They have to give him a budget bill to sign but for everything else he's signing executive orders. Trump is deliberately ignoring Congress even though they would rubber stamp his every whim. As Trump is already governing without Congress, maybe he thinks he can do away with them altogether and just govern by executive order so the midterms are irrelevant. A very large number of his executive orders and DOGE decisions are in the courts 'cos they are the responsibility of Congress as per the constitution. Every illegal executive order has to be challenged so he'll keep signing them until his opposition run out of money. His fees are paid by the US government. Eventually, those behind the legal challenges will be thrown in Jail for being un-American or something and then he has no opposition.
Don't believe a word I say. I'm only kidding. Or am I?
He’s an utter moron. Although penguins are neither here nor there really and just a laughing matter, , it’s actually cutting through to a lot of his borrowed voters. Nothing will sway his hardcore fans as they’re long gone, but he seems to be losing the voters he needed to win last time. Do that’s probably him cooked even if he does find a way to wangle a third term.
One of the many major problems with his bizarre reasoning (and I genuinely dont know whether he understands and doesnt care, or simply doesnt understand...), is that lots of small poor countries with a specialist industry are being utterly shafted.
They are not ripping off the US. They are selling them what they can, and cant afford US consumer goods. Imagine a poor small country selling the US a modest amount of some local and fairly unique produce. They are not taking advantage of the US... But they are being punished.
Time to put tariffs on services. Netflix. Google. Apple I tunes. Etc. If you take into account all that stuff, America has a massive trade surplus with the rest of the world and is therefore ripping us all off...
One of the many major problems with his bizarre reasoning (and I genuinely dont know whether he understands and doesnt care, or simply doesnt understand...), is that lots of small poor countries with a specialist industry are being utterly shafted.
They are not ripping off the US. They are selling them what they can, and cant afford US consumer goods. Imagine a poor small country selling the US a modest amount of some local and fairly unique produce. They are not taking advantage of the US... But they are being punished.
Time to put tariffs on services. Netflix. Google. Apple I tunes. Etc. If you take into account all that stuff, America has a massive trade surplus with the rest of the world and is therefore ripping us all off...
I think that's more an issue for countries being robbed of resources and most likely at the hands of Western based multinationals.
"They break our legs and tell us to be grateful when they offer us crutches."
One of the many major problems with his bizarre reasoning (and I genuinely dont know whether he understands and doesnt care, or simply doesnt understand...), is that lots of small poor countries with a specialist industry are being utterly shafted.
They are not ripping off the US. They are selling them what they can, and cant afford US consumer goods. Imagine a poor small country selling the US a modest amount of some local and fairly unique produce. They are not taking advantage of the US... But they are being punished.
Time to put tariffs on services. Netflix. Google. Apple I tunes. Etc. If you take into account all that stuff, America has a massive trade surplus with the rest of the world and is therefore ripping us all off...
According to The Hill, Peter Marks, the Food and Drug Administration official was pressured to resign over his disagreements with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“They broke something without real plans to fix it, because the people who were doing the breaking didn’t have any idea,” Marks said. “They took the place apart without having an instruction manual of how to put it back together.”
This rather neatly sums up what they are doing with everything.internally and externally from processes to relationships. Trump gives the impression of not knowing or caring. He says that he listens. In other words he doesn’t interrupt (unless it’s a foreign leader who you are seeking to humiliate, I presume) because he never listens in the true sense of the word. He has also surrounded himself with cronies who won’t challenge so he will never understand anything.
Trump is never wrong. He never can be because there is always somebody else to blame. He is a massive Putin fan. Ukraine started the war, run by a dictator because they asked for it. Logic worthy of Lord Melchett in Blackadder.
So yes, in his and his supporters tiny minds, the rest of the world is ripping them off and he used a cardboard chart to prove it. They are all guilty.
Many countries are not guilty of course, but that makes no impression on Trump because this is really as much about extortion as anything else.
I too would put tariffs on services along with everything else American in line with whatever the EU decide to do.
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