Trump Cranks Up Pressure on Europe, Renewing Tariff Threat

Discussion in 'Western Europe' started by The Scotsman, Jan 24, 2020.

  1. The Scotsman

    The Scotsman Well-Known Member

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    ....and just to make it a bit more unclear....
    ...and then the wee Munchkin puts his oar in....
    To me these all seems like the pathetic endeavours of a presidency looking for a domestic narrative from a world stage despite American influence collapsing inwards and struggling to understand what being an international trading nation actually means. Roaming around the world inanely throwing threats and tantrums around and then tweeting about how hard life is for America is frankly pathetic. Anyway I'm sure he's doing a fantastic job...

    Bloomberg
     
    Last edited: Jan 24, 2020
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  2. Lil Mike

    Lil Mike Well-Known Member

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    You should punish the US by stopping all trade with it. That'll show Trump!
     
  3. Quasar44

    Quasar44 Banned

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    EU is ripping the USA off by 150 billion year

    Trump has new fair deals with Mexico and Canada and japan, S. Korea

    Things are slightly better with China

    EU is next !!!
     
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  4. Quasar44

    Quasar44 Banned

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    Without USA products : the Europeans would never have advanced in 40 yrs
     
  5. CKW

    CKW Well-Known Member

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    He's looking for a fair trade deal where the American citizen isn't shafted. Should be doable into a win/win.
     
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  6. alexa

    alexa Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    From how they were talking on Question Time last night it sounded as if they were being as bloody minded as they were to the EU...in this case possibly a good idea.
     
  7. alexa

    alexa Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Trump has already forced the EU to act against Iran threatening them 25% tariffs on cars if they do not do that. This was done though Germany were quite out in the open that they were only doing it because they were being threatened in this way. Europe unfortunately by letting the US stop them from operating the Iran Deal let the US know they could do what they wanted with Europe. If you let the bully know you will allow yourself to be bullied as the EU did to Trump obviously it will continue to get worse. That being said there is no way the EU can continue this and particularly if Trump is re-elected I would think that will be pretty much the end of the post ww2 relationship. If as is being said the UK Government are being more demanding of the US they may have a better chance - though the door is also there for them to make a better deal with the EU if the US look like it is going to offer nothing of benefit to the UK. - you need to do that before no deal of course.
     
  8. CKW

    CKW Well-Known Member

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    Trump is working for the American people and American security. That is what a president is elected for. He's not going to sacrifice our security or hurt the American worker by putting Europe ahead of the interests of his own country. You call him a bully because he is resetting to a more equal relationship....which provides for a win win rather then America as the sugar daddy for countries that want to live off her economy while American workers suffer.
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2020
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  9. alexa

    alexa Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    No he has made the US into a world bully/would be world Dictator. He threw in the bin a Treaty which had been 12 years in the making and was made with all the significant powers. Then having shown the world that the word of the US on an International Treaty which included the UN meant nothing he promised to put sanctions on other countries which upheld the Treaty. That is where Europe should have stood up to them and they did. However they did not do so in a manner which allowed them to keep doing business with Iran. I have not properly studied it but I think the main problem was firms being scared that they would suffer sanctions from the US.

    What your post suggests you do not understand is that while it would be expected a country work for itself, if a country does what the US did and has continued to do ever since - ignore International norms even to people it has called its allies, it will end up very much on its own.

    So Iran followed the Treaty to the letter. Due to there being so little trust among the people making the deal it included a way of working if one side was not honouring its side. Iran was the one wronged so it started to work on that gradually moving away from it. Then the US starts Puffing and blowing about Iran not keeping the deal choosing to ignore that the country who went against their word on that Treaty was the US - first by reneging on the Treaty and second on threatening every country in the world that did not do what it wanted that it was going to harm them.

    Then the US decided to go against both International Law and its own law by assassination of a top Member of a Government of a Sovereign State. I believe they have found an argument at last with which they can slovenly claim it was within their law but it was not and it most certainly was not in accord with International Law.

    Having done this murder which could have caused world war 3 and to make it worse done it when Soleimani was in Iraq on a diplomatic mission the US demanded the EU say that Iran was breaking the treaty and the UN should put them under sanctions - as if there is anything left to take from them. According to Zarif, Pompeo has now been quite out in the open. He has told Iran they either do what he wants or they are going to starve the people of Iran.

    As far as this demand that the EU declare that Iran has not been keeping the Treaty the EU did do this but did it with all kind of , we are doing this in softness with no hard feelings and as I said one of them I think the German one came right out and said that Trump had said he was going to put tariffs of 25% on cars if the EU did not do this.

    You see how the US under Trump is like a child having a temper tantrum and demanding everyone do what he wants ignoring all the rules and threatening others if they do not do what he demands. I don't think it is for the benefit of the US.

    Oh please. You believe you are the sugar daddy of the world when far from it you have special privileges due to your currency being the world reserve currency. I understand that allows you to act in ways that other countries cannot. Hence you are currently able to avoid the consequences of the massive debt you have. Of course the world has been wanting to stop you having this power for a long time but Trump's total misuse of this has made that much more important to almost every country in the world. If you believe you are doing badly now, you will see what hurting really looks like when your currency is no longer the world's reserve and many countries are in any case already pulling away. Agreeing to use a currency other than the dollar for instance.

    Trump is working for the rich not for those who suffer. The tax cuts help the rich. Trumps best friends are Corporate Power - exactly the same people as the Democrats. The difference between Trump and the Democrats is that Trump uses the old far right tactics - the problems we face are all caused by the immigrants - they are caused in part by global warming which he ignores and in part from violence in their countries caused by you getting rid of their leaders and putting in the most violent around. So that is one. The other thing he accentuates is 'the other'. The other is the cause of all the problems in the US today. Those sort of things are the main differences between Trump and the Democrats - except again he goes against International Law. Given that a large part of his base is the American Christian Zionists he is working to give Israel all the land which it said in their bible 'Jews' ruled over. He has finalised the death of the two state solution and is backing Israel annexing most of the West Bank and claiming the Golan Heights are theirs. He also bullies any other countries he has something over to copy him in doing things like moving their Embassy to Jerusalem but or claiming Hezbollah is a terrorist organisation - that is a great one. Once you call a group terrorist you can never negotiate with them. That was where Bush and Israel were clever in ending the hope of a two state solution. By getting the EU to name Hamas, who at the time were on a cease fire and ready for talks, as a terrorist organisation, the US helped by the Eu made a Palestinian state impossible. It would be impossible to come to an agreement on two states when not talking to Hamas and as long as you are calling Hamas a terrorist group you cannot talk to them.

    The US economical problems come from following Regan and Thatcher. They come from home.

    No country not even the US can survive without friends and the US has been treating its friends with contempt. The future does not look good for what has become a Rogue State and will be plunged into poverty when it loses the dollar as the reserve currency.

    Trump has worked for the 0.1%.
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2020
  10. Quasar44

    Quasar44 Banned

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    Trump has greatly built up the top 10 percent but its these folks who generate all the jobs.
     
  11. Quasar44

    Quasar44 Banned

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    I know several Jewish friends who have made millions since Trump was in office due to their stocks. They are very happy and living it up
     
  12. Quasar44

    Quasar44 Banned

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    US just wants a more fair deal.. nothing more.
    Trump is the only person who can get it done
     
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  13. The Scotsman

    The Scotsman Well-Known Member

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    How does undermining the buying power of the middle and lower classes provide security for them.
     
  14. gnoib

    gnoib Well-Known Member

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    The US has tariffs, too. WTO.
    But tell me what, would the US export, which products ?
    Gas and oil ? China said it would export more of US oil and gas, but the US does not produce enough gas and oil for that commitment.
    More cars, which ones ? The US gas guzzlers, who buys them, besides the US? Nobody.
    20 miles a gallon on a good day and the US is proud of it.
    What does the US have for sale ?
     
  15. Quasar44

    Quasar44 Banned

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    A lot
    High tech things , military , computers .
     
  16. Quasar44

    Quasar44 Banned

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    You will buy them or trump will put on huge tariffs
     
  17. gnoib

    gnoib Well-Known Member

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    Military, that's it.
    Computers, nope, they maybe US companies, but they do not built their products in the US and do not file their taxes in the US

    What else you have to offer, besides nothing.
     
  18. Quasar44

    Quasar44 Banned

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    What do you offer ?? Cheese and wine ??
     
  19. gnoib

    gnoib Well-Known Member

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    Lederhosen
     
  20. Caligula

    Caligula Well-Known Member

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    Since the US system is all about free markets and 'may the best product win', perhaps they should learn to produce something people in other parts of the world would be interested in. The US got rid of large parts of its producing industry decades ago and started focusing on services instead. Now they think they are being ripped off because hardly anybody wants to buy whatever they have left to offer.
     
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  21. gnoib

    gnoib Well-Known Member

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    After WWII the US industry ruled the world, because the rest of the industrialized countries had to rebuilt.
    No competition at all. They got lassie, arrogant, sat on their rich and fat lard arses, we are the greatest, built crappy products, like the car industry and were not ready for competition. When the competition came they were swept away.
    Chrysler and GMC ruined their European companies with US designe and tech, same in South America and Australia. Just one of many examples. They laughed their arses of when the first Japanese cars made it to the US. Ugly cheap little things. Same with the Korean.
    Oh well...…..……...
    The largest exporters of US made cars are German and Japanese companies.
    Oh well...…..………..
     
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  22. The Scotsman

    The Scotsman Well-Known Member

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    As demonstrated in the film Gung Ho.
    Thing is they still cannot manufacture an exportable vehicle without it looking and handling like a barn door in a storm....
     
  23. Quasar44

    Quasar44 Banned

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    We make the best trucks

    You may only get 12 mpg
    But you will not die in an accident unless it’s another truck
     
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2020
  24. gnoib

    gnoib Well-Known Member

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    Which nobody outside of the US wants. The US companies used to rule South America, its now Japanese, Korean and Chinese pick ups.
    All the US pick ups do, get bigger, higher, chrome loaded monster. Kinde a reminder of the giant cars from GM, Ford and Chrysler, with old crappy tech.
     
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  25. Quasar44

    Quasar44 Banned

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    We make the best military and computers
    Don’t you want Windows 10 and iPhone 12 ??
     

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