Tariffs are not a meaningful negotiating tool

What is Trump attempting to do with his tariffs? It makes no sense. It is almost as if Trump is doing Putin's bidding. Trump is severely damaging our national security by threatening our friends and allies. Ostensibly, he is trying to protect his base. But he is hurting farmers and factory workers with his tariffs, not helping them.

On March 8, Trump announced a 25% tariff on steel and a 10% tariff on aluminum. Immediately, there was an uproar from our friends. When he formally announced the tariffs, he immediately exempted Canada and Mexico, nos. 1 and 4 on the list of steel exporters to the U.S. Shortly after, he exempted Australia. The day before the tariffs were to go in effect, Trump exempted the E.U. and a few other of our friends. Wall Street began to treat Trump's tariffs as a joke. The stock market has recovered somewhat from the slide Trump created.

But Trump did not exempt Japan, an extremely valuable ally in East Asia and part of a check on North Korea and Chinese aggression in the South China Sea. Japan remains the only major US ally which was not exempted from the 25 per cent tariff on steel imports and a 10 per cent tariff on aluminum imports. Prime Minister Shinzō Abe visited the U.S. in an attempt to get Trump to reverse his decision. Trump refused, straining the relationship with his one-time friend.

Why? Why is Trump threatening a valuable ally in East Asia, an ally vital to our national security?

It gets worse. The exemption afforded to Canada, Mexico, Australia, Argentina, South Korea, Brazil, and the member countries of the EU shall apply only through the close of April 30, 2018.

This is Trump's idea of negotiating trade deals. Since his negotiation talents failed, he is attempting to use threats. Problem is, nations don't respond well to threats and they have long memories. Consequently, they have a tendency to do the very opposite of what was desired.

More than likely, this is the kind of response Trump will receive. A trade pact originally conceived by the U.S., the TPP, to counter China’s growing economic might in Asia now has a new target: Trump’s embrace of protectionism. A group of 11 nations — including major United States allies like Japan, Canada and Australia — signed a broad trade deal that challenges Trump’s view of trade as a zero-sum game filled with winners and losers.

For that reason, threatening our friends is a very bad idea.

Since the use of threats to create trade deals, Trump has signed one trade deal. That deal is with South Korea. Since South Korea's very survival is dependent upon the U.S., that deal has been likened to parents making a deal with their child. After sixteen months in office, the great deal-maker has signed one trade deal -- the one with South Korea.

This will not turn out good.

 

You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.

There is no perfect way to do it yet you guys bitch about anything negative.

Oh well, suck it up, it will be worth it in the long run.

 

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Tariffs are Taxes, all countries tax the products imported into their respective countries. In fact all countries tax their people too. When "tariffs" do not favor a country there's need to negotiate, just as Americans negotiate every four years to get a president that will cut taxes, and keep their opposing parties to create new taxes. Yes Wars and Revolutions have been fought over taxes. It's happened before and will happen again. Sometimes threats help as we have recently seen.

 

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Tuesday said North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has been "very open" and "very honorable," and wants an historic, high-stakes meeting as soon as possible. Fox News

Sometimes this guy brings tears to my eyes he is so funny. Seriously, there are times he somberly assumes the role of a comedian. He thinks the Presidency is a reality show and he is still the star.

 

You guys constantly whine that we didn't try diplomacy first.

When we do, you whine about that also.

I'm starting to think that you guys just like to whine.

 

That is an extremely infantile analogy, comparing Trump's use of threats against our friends to breaking eggs.

It is always wise to bitch about negatives. In the past it has forced Trump to change his mind once he realizes how stupid his decision was.

Using tariffs as a negotiating tool has produced negative results. Our friends are turning against us as shown in the OP. You obviously agree since you didn't challenge a single statement I made.

"Oh well, suck it up, it will be worth it in the long run." That is what Trump thinks, but wishful thinking makes lousy policy. Hoping things will turn out in the long run while trashing your friends in the short run makes very little sense.

As shown, our friends retaliated, not cooperated.

 

If they were our friends why are they having unfair trade deals with us?

Seems to me that a friend would do things equally.

Don't you think that?

 

Trump wants to restrict free trade with our friends and allies. That is why the Republican Party is opposed to Trump's tariff policy. 11 nations bordering the Pacific Ocean made an equally loud statement in favor of free trade. According to Trump, everyone is wrong, and he is right.

Massive steel and aluminum tariffs imposed on our friends will isolate the U.S. That is why Trump likes the tariffs. He wants the U.S. to withdraw from world events. He wants to isolate America. That is what MAGA is all about. He did it by withdrawing from the TPP. He did it by withdrawing from the Paris Accord. He is threatening to withdraw from NAFTA. His tariffs are an extension of this policy. His idea of nationalism.

He is making a serious mistake the U.S. will be paying for a long time.

And you endorse the idea.

 

On March 8, Trump announced a 25% tariff on steel and a 10% tariff on aluminum.

The European Union and the United States have the largest bilateral trade and investment relationship and enjoy the most integrated economic relationship in the world. Given the low average tariffs (under 3%), the results are stunning.

• Total US investment in the EU is three times higher than in all of Asia.
• EU investment in the US is around eight times the amount of EU investment in India and China together.
• EU and US investments are the real driver of the transatlantic relationship, contributing to growth and jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.

http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/countries/united-states/

Trump is determined to destroy that unless stopped. Is he acting as an agent for Putin? That is what a Russian agent would do.

 

Tariffs are a great negotiating tool.

 

Explain unfair trade deal with us. Quit believing everything you hear from Trump and Fox News. Trump is a prolific liar. He says whatever suits his argument at the time.

Trump wants to impose a 25% tariff on steel and a 10% tariff on aluminum on the EU. Currently, there are low average tariffs (under 3%) on trade between the U.S. and the EU. http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/countries/united-states/

So again, define unfair trade deals.

 

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On the other hand President Trump is seeking to level the playing field and bring back faltering industries like steel and aluminum production within American that is today depleted and near destroyed by countries dumping the metals in the US at below production costs.
Steel and aluminum are vital national commodities.

 

Lol...
Oh you guys .... I must ask , are you still doing your Russian collusion stories , or your Trump is going to start world War 3 in North Korea funnies? What's next ? Trump hit a golf ball into the ocean killing all marine life , or Trump is selling out America to Martians? How bout a sneak preview .... what a hoot.

 

Because Japan puts tariffs on imports from the U.S and bans others. How did you miss that?

 

Tariffs are the only option left for China's tariffs and regulations on our businesses, currency manipulation, slave labor, government subsidized companies, and corporate espionage.

 

Hot News, thanks

 

I have asked this simple question a number of times without getting a straight answer from Trump supporters. Although the question has been directed at them personally, they have ignored it and changed the subject. Want to try your luck?

We have the largest economy in the world, nearly twice that of our nearest competitor, China. We have full employment.



https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/03/worlds-biggest-economies-in-2017/

What exactly is the problem Trump's tariffs are supposed to solve?

 

Did you research that at all or just take it out of your butt? I thought so.

While tariffs are generally low, Japan does have some non-tariff barriers that may impact commercial activity by possibly impeding or delaying the importation of foreign products into Japan. Although competition, U.S. and other foreign government pressure and other factors, have lessened the impact of these impediments, U.S. companies may still encounter some non-tariff barriers.

https://www.export.gov/article?id=Japan-Trade-Barriers

Trump's 25% tariff on steel and 10% on aluminum imposed on Japan are not low. They are quite high, and designed to piss off a valuable ally in East Asia. Why?

While you are answering that question, answer the question in post #17.

 

On the tariffs issue there did not seem to be much progress.

Trump has vowed to slap tariffs of 25 percent on imports of steel and 10 percent on aluminum on our EU trading partners. The 28-nation European Union, of which France is a part, has a temporary waiver from the tariffs.

But that could change next week. The Trump administration set a May 1 deadline for decisions on exemptions if a new agreement isn’t reached to either permanently exclude the EU or provide more time to reach a deal that would stop the tariffs.

During his speech to Congress, Macron said that facing challenges in a growing global economy “requires the opposite of massive deregulation and extreme nationalism.”

“A commercial war is not consistent with our mission, with our history with our current commitments for global security,” Macron told lawmakers on Capitol Hill. He added, “At the end of the day it will destroy jobs, increase prices and the middle class will have to pay for it.”

Trump, who seems to have an opinion on just about everything, had no comment to Macron's revelations except to say, “I’m not going to say what I’ll do, even if you have an inkling."

The moronic response was typical Trump. He cannot even defend his own policies.

 

If we want to produce in house tarriffs make sense. Otherwise it is just pandering, as the constant exclusions suggest.

We need the infrastructure to produce here if we want to achieve anything out of tarriffs. Otherwise we’re just increasing the price of commodities for no reason.

 

Americans are addicted to cheap stuff from china and government handouts from washington and that makes us weak

 

Yes, they are high. In fact they are punitive as they should be. Their purpose is to reduce dumping. China and Japan are the major dumpers. What does the U.S. gain by imposing tariffs? It helps reverse some of the outsourcing we have suffered for decades. It helps bring some manufacturing back home. It isn't in the interests of those who export to the U.S. It shouldn't be.

 

This is what happens when a country uses tariffs as a negotiating tool. This is what happens when a country uses threats against friends. They lose the friends.

Germany holds little hope that the EU will be granted a further exemption from US metals tariffs beyond a May 1 deadline. Trump has demanded concessions in the auto industry to drop the tariffs. It is not just the EU that will be impacted by Trump's tariffs. Canada, Mexico, Australia, Argentina, South Korea, Brazil will also be affected.

The EU's top trade official has warned, however, that the 28-nation bloc would not enter talks on easing commercial tension until Washington dropped any threat to hit Europe with punitive measures.

In April, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said she had "not started to negotiate anything" with the US and would not do so until an "unconditional and permanent" exemption to the tariffs was granted.

"We are under no circumstances negotiating anything under pressure, under threat," she said.

Trump's decision has exasperated Brussels, which has threatened retaliation if Europe is hit by the measures, and is preparing to challenge them at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

http://www.dw.com/en/germany-expects-us-metals-tariffs-to-come-into-force-may-1/a-43545105

It is quite likely, because Trump is isolating the U.S., that the other nations will react similarly. Trump seems bent on destroying the relationship with all of our friends.

 

You avoided the facts contained in post # 17. I requested you answer the question in post #17 in light of those facts. You avoided the question, too. Those facts overrule everything you said.

Which, of course, is why you avoided post #17.

"Trade deficit" is a misnomer. We receive goods in that trade, goods that contribute to the powerful, vibrant American economy.

A new study on future global competitiveness, by Deloitte Global and the U.S. Council on Competitiveness, predicts that the U.S. will dislodge China as the most competitive manufacturing nation in the world in 2020. http://www.industryweek.com/competitiveness/top-10-manufacturing-countries-2020

That is if Trump doesn't screw it up. He seems determined to destroy our trading relationships with his tariffs.

With an index of 100, China is No. 1 in manufacturing. The U.S. is No. 2 with an index of 99.5. https://www.google.com/imgres?imgur...hUKEwj91teWodnaAhVYHGMKHamXBdwQ9QEwAHoECAAQLg

Now what was it you were saying about manufacturing?

 

Here is what I find interesting. Do you know who is not talking about Trump's tariffs? Trump, that is who. Neither is the White House. Neither are his economic advisors. The looming May 1 deadline is fast approaching and it is all a big, dark secret as far as the administration is concerned.

Before a joint session of Congress, French President Macron just ripped Trump a new one regarding the tariffs. Germany's Angela Merkel will be in town Friday to tell Trump the same thing.

EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said she had "not started to negotiate anything" with the US and would not do so until an "unconditional and permanent" exemption to the tariffs was granted.

"We are under no circumstances negotiating anything under pressure, under threat," she said.

No doubt the leaders of Canada, Mexico, Australia, Argentina, South Korea, Brazil will have a similar message.

Trump's own party, economists, S&P 500 companies, Wall Street traders are telling Trump to forget the tariffs. The tariffs could cause him to lose part of his constituency, farmers.

Through it all Trump is saying nothing. He is not even trying to justify the tariffs. That is a sure sign of a weak President. He cannot even support his own policy.