President* Donald Trump on Friday insisted “trade wars are good, and easy to win,” a bold claim that prompted pushback from a Nebraska Republican who quipped “kooky 18th century protectionism will jack up prices on American families.”Right. Trade wars are so good that we see them breaking out all over the world, all of the time.
Trump has declared that the U.S. will impose punishing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, escalating tensions with China and other trading partners and raising the prospect of higher prices for American consumers and companies.
One of the dumbest reactions came from Paul Ryan:
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said through a spokesman he hoped Trump would “consider the unintended consequences of this idea and look at other approaches before moving forward.”In what alternative reality has Ryan been residing? Trump doesn't consider unintended consequences. Trump doesn't consider anything at all. If there's something he can do on his own authority, then he can and has do it on a whim.
If Obama was playing 3-D chess, then by comparison, Trump is chewing on the checker pieces.
"one of the dumbest reactions comes from Paul Ryan" but I repeat myself.
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ReplyDeleteI hate to say it, but Ryan is right this time. Steel and aluminum are mid-process commodities, and the downstream jobs this would upend are one, but not the only problem with this fit Fergus is trying to throw to show how "tough" he is.
ReplyDeleteStill, the idea that Fergus would actually consider the real-world consequences of his actions is laughable, so Ryan's reaction to the situation is predictably mendacious.
-Doug in Oakland
Of course, if the Chinese played fair (Yeah, I know, Chinese, therefore a different idea of "Fair") then we'd not have this on the table.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the day, the CHinese need us as customers more than we need them as suppliers. Not saying the tariffs area good idea, but the consequences won't be as bad as everyone thinks.
Trump was trying to pander to his base. It worked in depressed areas of the country where jobs were scarce, the crowds cheered and cheered. By doing so, he wanted to hear and read news reports of how good he was at this job. But he really NEEDED to change the direction of the news cycle away from a resigning communications director; away from Jared’s lack of a security clearance; the Russian investigation getting closer and hotter.
ReplyDeleteFinally, Putin declares he has ‘unstoppable’ missiles and Trumps response is to Twitter fight with Alec Baldwin. Do the conservatives that voted for this buffoon regret their choice yet?
Dale
Mr. Smoot, meet Mr. Hawley; Mr. Hawley, meet Mr. Smoot. Mr. Smoot, Mr. Hawley, meet Mr. Trump. Thought you should meet, because I can't tell you apart, the triplet sons of different mothers.
ReplyDelete“At the end of the day, the CHinese need us as customers more than we need them as suppliers.”
ReplyDeleteIn 2017, the Director of the CIA testified before Congress on the threat that a reliance on China for “Rare Earth Elements” endangered U.S. security. The U.S. military alone needs over 800+ metric tonnes of these materials a year. Current U.S. production is 0 tonnes, and worldwide production is over 80% CHinese. The only U.S. REE mine was sold in July of 2017 to a group with Chinese connections, and The Trump Administration did nothing.
So, given that almost everything high tech requires REE’s, it seems less than correct to suggest we can afford to start a fight with the Chinese without a plan in place to replace those supplies. Current strategic stockpiles are less than 100 tonnes total, and the U.S. consumes 20,000 metric tonnes a year, and imports a significant amount of the Chinese usage of 104,000 metric tonnes per year.
The Soviet Union fell because of the lowering of the people’s quality of life to an intolerable point, so ask yourself how much of a reduction in quality of life the pampered U.S. citizen will accept before the riots begin. Our interconnected, high-tech lifestyle has seemingly opened a new front for a war against the U.S., that of attacks on the power and technical infrastructure that pacifies and feeds the masses. Watching what happens when stores get stripped before emergencies, how many days can the average city and its suburbs remain calm in the face of th supplies stopping or communication being interupted. Imaging the stories passed by mouth if the internet and phones are down, with no possible way to counteract those false scares.
Trump has a hate on for NAFTA and he wants to renegotiate the treaty . Canada is your main supplier of imported steel and aluminium so he is trying to put a 25% tariff on steel and 10% on aluminium as a negotiating tool .
ReplyDeleteI think if you check Nebraska is one of the 36 states that have a surplus with Canada. That politician may not care about China .
Glenn