Welcome to the Trade Wars

U.S. hits E.U., Canada and Mexico with steel, aluminum tariffs, sparking trade war

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross confirmed to reporters in an early-morning phone call that the White House will add a 25 percent import tariff on steel and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum after trade talks crumbled ahead of a June 1 deadline that would have enabled exemptions.

Canada announces retaliatory tariffs on steel and aluminum

Freeland said Canada plans to slap dollar-for-dollar tariffs on the U.S. The Nafta partner's proposed import taxes would also cover whiskey, orange juice and other food products alongside the steel and aluminum tariffs.

Mexico aims tariffs at Trump country, sees NAFTA complications

Mexico’s retaliatory tariffs target pork legs, apples, grapes and cheeses as well as steel - products from U.S. heartland states that supported Trump in the 2016 election.

EU announces retaliation against Trump tariffs

The European Union has already notified the World Trade Organization of plans to levy duties on about $7 billion worth of U.S. exports in response, with the aim of collecting $1.6 billion in tariff revenue.

Tariffs on other nations, least of which our allies, will spark a sharp and painful rise on goods and services across the country. Our exporters (farmers, factory workers, etc.) will see their incomes decline. This will ripple throughout our economy and our nation. I can't quite grasp the reasoning behind all of this beyond isolationism (build here, buy here). That all sounds like a good idea on the surface and will ultimately fail us as it did in 2002 and 1929.

If you believe what the White House has been selling you on the economy (great economy!) and the unemployment rate (lowest unemployment in years!) why would we need to institute tariffs on our allies?

a reply to: links234

Imagine if the US got a better deal as a result.




But of course it's Trump, so the obligatory, "Ahhhh! We all gonna die! Ahhhhh!"

a reply to: links234

Well,

Maybe.... just maybe, it is because they Tariff the crap out of us and it is very one-sided (not for us).


Trump may have a point about EU tariffs, ifo says

global.handelsblatt.com...

A leading German think tank says Donald Trump is right that tariffs between the United States and Europe are asymmetrical

So when Mr. Trump complains of “massive tariffs” he is not that far off the mark in several cases. And he does complain. “If the EU wants to further increase their already massive tariffs and barriers on US companies doing business there, we will simply apply a tax on their cars, which freely pour into the US,” the president tweeted earlier this month.

Cars are a particular sore point. Imports into the US are not quite free, but pay a tariff of only 2.5 percent, compared with the EU tariff of 10 percent on US car imports. Some other examples from the EU include a 17 percent tax on apples and 20 percent on grapes.

And Trump also pledged to drop Tariffs if they did.

Trump Pledges to Cancel Tariffs if EU Drops Duties on US Goods
sputniknews.com...

So, why should we get the shaft?

The US has been getting screwed on bad trade deals for years.

Countries that use slave labor are able to undercut US prices and drive down labor in the US.

The many failures in infrastructure in the US are due in large part to crappy foreign steel.

a reply to: links234

So, Canada: Subsidizing lumber in order to tank US producers.

money.cnn.com...

America's NAFTA nemesis: Canada, not Mexico

Canada continues to charge steep tariffs on U.S. imports of eggs, chicken and milk.

For instance, some tariffs on eggs are as high as 238% per dozen, according to Canada's Agriculture Department. Some milk imports, depending on the fat content, are as high as 292%.

"They're so onerous that you can't bring it across. There's no American eggs in Quebec," says Velk.

So, why shouldn't we use hardball tactics to either drop the tariffs or make them fair op?

a reply to: links234

Freakland, at the behest of Turd-eau started this big chocolate covered turd ball rolling. Freakland is an idiot, she or it tried to slam-dunk LGBTQ and pc crap into a trade agreement. What a moron. It's obvious nobody advised it on who it was trying to negotiate with, trump. So trump tore her/it a new one and she/it actually cried to the media cameras because it didn't get its way. So, none of this is trump's fault, our government in Canada screwed this up royally.

The problem is, when stupid dysfunctional agenda driven moron f**ktard politicians, like the present lot in Canada, screw stuff up, we the Canadian citizens suffer. C'mon trump, the US has a history of manipulating governments and/or regime change, waves, over here, can you at least fix our stupid ass government lol

Cheers - Dave

originally posted by: DBCowboy
a reply to: links234

Imagine if the US got a better deal as a result.

What if it makes everything more expensive, are your a gambling man?

originally posted by: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

originally posted by: DBCowboy
a reply to: links234

Imagine if the US got a better deal as a result.

What if it makes everything more expensive, are your a gambling man?

What if it didn't?

And yes, I am a gambling man.

I once bought a lotto ticket.

No,

Just not from the Neville Chamberlain school of capitulation.

There is no way to level the playing field without playing some hardball, do you think these other nations will give up a lopsided advantage through the goodness of their hearts?

Fair Trade.

a reply to: DBCowboy

Fantastic if it doesn't, time will tell.

obviously this is supposed to incentivize US business to move back home. I bet it works. Not like we can't make our own steel or aluminum.

Trump is trying to bring the jobs back like he said.

Only time will tell if this strategy works.

obviously this is supposed to incentivize US business to move back home. I bet it works. Not like we can't make our own steel or aluminum.

Trump is trying to bring the jobs back like he said.

Only time will tell if this strategy works.

a reply to: DBCowboy

Things will get worse before they get better.

Raising tariffs to 25% is a 1000% increase compared to current rates. Making these unilateral actions (my way or the highway) is, overall, bad foreign policy and makes negotiations in the immediate and distant future less worthwhile for our partners and ourselves.

It's destructive for the sake of being destructive.

Get ready to stock up on cheap cheeses next week.

I'm still loaded down with choice slabs of ribs after China put one on pork. Paid $7-8 for vacuum sealed slabs of pre-rub baby back ribs.

a reply to: links234

Because, and I'll try to paint in this the simplest way possible, we've been getting the shot end of the stick for decades. Look at every major league sports organization. What happens when a new collective bargaining agreement happens. The players go on strike. Then what happens?
Will a trade war hurt us short term? Yes. Will it hurt them worse, yes. Will they maybe sit down and figure something out when they realize they wont simply be gifted whatever they want? Well, they better. We're tired of selling steel jobs for cheap quality steel, among other things.
Well, maybe you aren't, if you're anything like Obama who told industry workers their jobs were disappearing and to basically get over it. Hint: they weren't disappearing, they were just being sold to other countries. As for Mexico, screw them. Howling have they been stealing our industry and they can't even entice their own citizens to stay with the jobs they've taken from us. So, we lose jobs to them, and have to support their illegal immigrants. Classic Obama lose/lose.

originally posted by: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

originally posted by: DBCowboy
a reply to: links234

Imagine if the US got a better deal as a result.

What if it makes everything more expensive, are your a gambling man?

It will. It's part of the negotiating process. I swear, its like the left puts zero thought into anytning beyond predictable knee-jerk reactions. Does the left only buy things, and not sell them, or something? Have you ever wanted to buy... anything with a firm price? Did the seller eventually say, "You know what, just take it. In fact, I'll wprk for you for pennies, sell them at a discount, and you can even sell them back to me at full price!" Now, imagine if the seller did none of those things. You'd say "well, I won't buy it!" Would it hurt the sellers pocket? Yeah, until you realized you need cell phone parts.

a reply to: bender151

What you call zero thought I call caution, while you may be optimistic and willing to bet the house this will work out as planned, im not willing to get caught up in the hype .

originally posted by: hopenotfeariswhatweneed
a reply to: bender151

What you call zero thought I call caution, while you may be optimistic and willing to bet the house this will work out as planned, im not willing to get caught up in the hype .

Right now we are getting screwed. We will try this and if it doesn’t work we will try something else. It is better than staying with an unfair status quo.

Also, I am happy to pay more for something made in America by American workers. I think most Americans are.

if any american likes the idea of a country not able to produce or manufacture their own goods i would say that person has a rather un-american opinion on the matter.


trade should be a voluntary exchange of goods and services with other entities wherein the trade is mutually beneficial. To the extent the net advantage of that trade is lost or significantly lopsided for one of the partners it should be re-negotiated.

How do you get people to negotiate? Saying "please" ?

a reply to: Metallicus

All the best to you ,I would like to see prices go down for you guys, everyone wants a better deal, I'm just really skeptical, I don't trust trumps motives, he more of a " me " kinda guy than an " us " kinda guy.