Trump's Tariffs and Trade War

[Womaniser]

China's car manufacturer BYD makes high-quality EVs beginning at less than USD $10,000 and up. That's almost $50,000 cheaper than the average price of an EV in the US: or about the same cost as a higher-end Chinese EV.

Oligarchs like Musk love the free market when it works in their favour. But as soon as it doesn't, they start squealing, and the politicians that work in their interests come to their rescue.

"Free trade" was always nonsense. Every advanced economy developed through significant state intervention, tariffs, subsidies and industrial policy.

The US only preached free trade after establishing the hegemony of its dollar aka "the rules based order."

But now that it is losing dominance to China, it is returning to protectionism in order to better compete with it.

On another subject, King Donald is threatening France for their industries DEI policies !
MAGA CULT members are very discreet on all the BS that his administration has accomplished in just 2 months ! The most unqualified group of clown in power !
Imagine almost 4 years.

 

[Womaniser]

On another subject, King Donald is threatening France for their industries DEI policies !
MAGA CULT members are very discreet on all the BS that his administration has accomplished in just 2 months ! The most unqualified group of clown in power !
Imagine almost 4 years.

Trump is consistently affirming that since always, other countries have taken advantage of USA.
What does it say about the intelligence of Americans through those times ?
His economist in chief Pete Navarro was his economy top guy in his first mandate.
According to Trump he was also incompetent and he hired him still !
What a clown !

 

[gaby]

The WORLD TRADE WAR is on/ 185 countries.....total total ABSURDITY......let's see how they will RETALIATE..... starting with CANADA.....non sense non sense non sense....and who will pay the bill?????...you got it.....lol.

 

[neverbored]

The WORLD TRADE WAR is on/ 185 countries.....total total ABSURDITY......let's see how they will RETALIATE..... starting with CANADA.....non sense non sense non sense....and who will pay the bill?????...you got it.....lol.

I guess I'm just too dumb to understand this high level power thinking. Why does this just look like 25% tax increase to all Americans with a side of self-embargo ?

 

[TheJames101]

There's been a pretty legitimate rumor going around that they based their tariffs on the trade deficits not the tariff rates - except for the 10% base number. So even Australia, with whom there are no tariffs... and they actually have a trade deficite WITH the USA... they ge teh 10% slapped on them too. Make sense of that.

​

 

[Meta not Meta]

Hard to make sense of it all.

Basically a regressive consumption tax on regular Americans that may not even generate that much revenue after reducing overall growth in the US economy. Especially so if, as suspected, he next reduces taxes for corporations and high earners, which may be his main purpose in all this.

And then there's just the ongoing uncertainty that is bad for investment everywhere ...

But mostly I don't understand his supposed strategy to reindustrialize the US. That's got to be a ten year "plan" at least. If the economy goes into recession he probably losses both the house and senate in two years. End of plan. Unless he declares a national emergency, brings in martial law and does a Zelensky on the nation, becoming president (for what remains of his life) in order to see it through ....

How can anyone put trust in the US?

Agreements don't mean anything with this clown. And it's not just him. From president to president anything can change on a dime. In recent years, the United States has unilaterally withdrawn from several other international agreements--and not just our own already renogiated trade agreement.

All while putting down economic & other sanctions on much of the globe, attacking countries, threatening others, and funding wars, including an ongoing genocide.

 

[Womaniser]

The WORLD TRADE WAR is on/ 185 countries.....total total ABSURDITY......let's see how they will RETALIATE..... starting with CANADA.....non sense non sense non sense....and who will pay the bill?????...you got it.....lol.

The genius that made the list of tariffs put a tarriff on a small island close to Australia where no humans live and there is no businesss, only Pengouins live there ! I wonder what they think of Trump !
They probably see him as the clown he is.
More seriously, the real goal of tariffs is to reduce taxes for his wealthy friends !

 

[gaby]

..et----sans surprise---- à l'ouverture les marchés PLONGENT......DOW 1400 NAS 800 SP 200......BUCKLE UP....

 

[Womaniser]

..et----sans surprise---- à l'ouverture les marchés PLONGENT......DOW 1400 NAS 800 SP 200......BUCKLE UP....

The clown told that tariffs worked in 1880's period ! He often refer to the 1880 's period on many of his policies.
Who's doubting about his mental health ?

 

[gaby]

It took at least/nearly 50 years to build a STONG MONDIAL ECONOMY.....it took ONE day to destroy this glorious era...and plonge the world in a global recession.....THE MASTER OF CHAOS rides again.....and at the end of the day who will b the big winner......CHINA.

 

[Womaniser]

It took at least/nearly 50 years to build a STONG MONDIAL ECONOMY.....it took ONE day to destroy this glorious era...and plonge the world in a global recession.....THE MASTER OF CHAOS rides again.....and at the end of the day who will b the big winner......CHINA.

If Donald Duck tanks US economy, Maga's wanted it and they deserve it.
Sorry tough for the normal americans !
NIKE sports shoes are made in Vietnam.
How can they be sold 200$ in USA ?

 

[Womaniser]

If Donald Duck tanks US economy, Maga's wanted it and they deserve it.
Sorry tough for the normal americans !
NIKE sports shoes are made in Vietnam.
How can they be sold 200$ in USA ?

Perhaps it's their normal price, compared to Trump gold sneakers at 500$, it's perhaps a very good deal !

 

[Jazzman1218]

To all those Trump supporters out there answer this: how do you like him now?

 

[gaby]

.....and meanwhile the MAFIOSO IN CHIEF flew away this afternoon to his BUNKER/FLORIDA for a long weekend to play golf......and f....the rest...BIG ORANGE has more important things to do.....lolllll....

 

[Womaniser]

.....and meanwhile the MAFIOSO IN CHIEF flew away this afternoon to his BUNKER/FLORIDA for a long weekend to play golf......and f....the rest...BIG ORANGE has more important things to do.....lolllll....

Was it a Rome Emperor that played fiddle while Rome was burning ? My memory sometime plays trick on me !

 

[CLOUD 500]

Here are the results, the tariffs caused the stock market to crash. Businesses lost lots of money, in the trillions. Even with the revenue collected by tariffs, it will completely be offset by the losses. Trump wants it like the 19th century where there were no income taxes, tariffs generated revenue. But that would not work today because production is so integrated. It would put a lot of businesses to a halt. Almost everything is made in China, many things are made in Mexico and other countries, to make that same thing in USA would cost three times more. Those costs get passed on to the customer. If the prices increases dramatically, people will not buy it. This is why stocks are crashing. Trump is hurting his own people and USA companies. They think they will be better off if things are made in USA. Cars for example, to have cars completely made in USA would cost on average $14,000 more. Nothing is made completely in one country. Each country specializes in something, whether is be resources or talents. Today we live in a global economy vs the 19th century. So in my book I think Trump is an idiot or is completely delusional. What his true motives are remain a mystery.

 

[minutemenX]

Here are the results, the tariffs caused the stock market to crash. Businesses lost lots of money, in the trillions. Even with the revenue collected by tariffs, it will completely be offset by the losses. Trump wants it like the 19th century where there were no income taxes, tariffs generated revenue. But that would not work today because production is so integrated. It would put a lot of businesses to a halt. ...

May be the true motive is indeed to deliberately crush world economy and, in the process, get read of the large chunk of the US national debt and make huge piles of money for himself and his cronies. The ”miracle” recovery after deliberate crush may also help with mid-term elections. Though the simpler explanation of a pure stupidity and miscalculation while gambling with poorly understood economic forces may equally be true.

 

[Meta not Meta]

China will make out just fine.

As I understand it, only something like 14% of its exports are to the US accounting for maybe 3% of its GDP.

Meanwhile it will continue to expand its trade around the world with a public strategy of 'Win/Win' instead of Trump's 'I Win When You Lose.'

 

[Meta not Meta]

Trump doesn't understand trade deficits.

He seems to think they're subsidies.

But he's given to so much fantastical thinking & rhetoric it's impossible to know what he really believes. But that's also what makes him such a great con man. Just "flood the zone" with lies, fantasies & half truths and keep everyone reeling.

He had to lie about fentanyl on the Canadian border in order to manufacture a crisis to "legally" abrogate an ongoing trade agreement. Will anyone even remember that a month from now?

But so much, even beyond this, is just lies, lies, lies ....

Regarding trade deficits, it's like someone having a credit card, overspending like a crazy person, and then blaming the business he bought from ("they're ripping us off") for that person going into debt.

Except it's actually worse than that ....

In effect, the US prints money to use as debt to buy foreign goods it doesn't or no longer can manufacture for itself.

So all those deficits he's so concerned about are actually funded with US dollars that are, in turn, often reinvested back into the US economy via the purchase of assets like stocks, bonds, real estate, etc. by the same countries supposedly "ripping us off."

It's just ridiculous to blame foreigners for that. The world is already-- or has been before tariffs-- quite literally helping to keep the US economy afloat by funding its debt.

Those foreign countries might actually buy American manufactured goods with those same dollars except for the fact that America doesn't make much of anything anymore for them to buy. Weapons, some pharmaceuticals ... what else exactly? And also because a strong US dollar just makes US exports of what surplus goods they do make uncompetitive.

MAGA's many, often fictional grievances and cloying sense of victimization require enemies like immigrants & foreigners to underpin them. Nothing can ever be their own fault. They must always be the victims and Trump exploits that.

They're not completely wrong about their plight, but they should instead try blaming their own financial elites for a change. The US long ago de-industrialized, "offshored" its manufacturing base, and left them behind, in effect, by adopting the "financialization" of its own economy over more than five decades.

Good luck to MAGA in returning to a time before that ....

 

[gaby]

Another ugly ugly day on the markets.....DOW-2230 NAS-962 SP--322...worst than yesterday....what a nightmare.....while the EMPEROR is playing golf .....