The new White House economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said Sunday that a âcoalition of the willingâ â including Canada, much of Europe and Australia â was being formed to pressure China and that the U.S. would demand that the World Trade Organization, an arbiter of trade disputes, be stricter on Beijing.
~cough~
Thatâs really sloppy Larry. Roll out WBush era rhetoric - that became a laughing stock point as more and more folks came to realize that was mostly a mirage. Worse yet was that you were dumb enough to state that you would announce more in 36-48 hours (or was that 24-36?) and then couldnât. Because it doesnât exist.
Itâs like political mixing of metaphors - except it blends the conjuring up of really bad, damaging policy and tags it, 8 years later, to another really bad and damaging policy.
Ah. So.much.âwinningâ.
It must be fun, in a diabolical sort of way, to be the person in charge of drawing up the lists of products to slap tariffs on if the US ever loses its mind. Itâs not obvious to the casual observer why a 10% tariff on something like âunrefrigerated beef tallow by-products with water content between 9% and 17%â should matter, but if Rep. So-and-So gets the message that this is what will make the big rendering plant in his district shut down and cripple the town of Whereversville, heâll probably lose any protectionist fervor he might have caught from Trump.
Just another perk of autocracy, I guess, since we canât really retaliate with the same kind of leverage against individual Chinese politicians. Well, donât worry, weâre closing that gap every day.
âBut Dr. Trump did not explain why, amid a week of unprecedented Cholera outbreaks, he felt confident his Patented Genuine One-Hundred-Percent Organic Raw Water and Snake Oil Mixture would be the cure for what ails 'ya.â
Fucking moron doesnât have a clue how cars are made in the US or where various car parts are imported from to make a US product that can be exported at an affordable price to compete. Meanwhile the price of a domestic vehicle assembled in the US will go up in price because heâs a total idiot.
Heâs just willfully ignorant of how trade actually works. Forget the âwillfullyâ. That assumes facts not in evidence, and actually takes effort. He really doesnât even bother to try. Heâs just a fucking dumb lazy, total fool.
No worries though, guys. Ivankaâs fashion line will be exempt:
But Trump did not explain why, amid a week of economic saber-rattling between the two countries that shook global markets, he felt confident a deal could be made.
Normally, comparable threats (not actions) are made in conjunction with ongoing negotiations, I donât see no negotiations or even a State Dept. empowered to carry on such negotiations, This is a call for one side to knuckle under. In that they seem to genuinely believe itâll be the Chinese who do so, the quality of the rhetoric coming out of this administration is delusional.
Given their targeted retaliation, the Chinese seem to have been much better prepared for this eventuality, to have a much better idea of how our political system is going to work and of how this conflict will play out. It doesnât bode well for the economic welfare of many GOP partisans or for the partyâs political future.
If thereâs anybody who can identify stupid, itâs the asshole-elect. Sad.
Sorry for the long note - but does anyone gave a good source of info on how the dynamics of the commodity markets and tariffs work?
Some of the things Iâd like to understand a bit better:
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The growing season for Brazil and the rest of South America has come to an end (itâs their early winter now). So, increased demand from Mexico and China could drive up prices for their recent harvest. However, South American farmers didnât increase their plantings with a trade war in mind - so (over the short term) how much of the rest of the worldâs demand for corn & soybeans, normally filled by South America and other locations, will just be displaced to other sources like the US?
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How much of an effect will the threat of tariffs have on US plantings this spring? If farmers assume lower demand for soybeans and corn, will they choose to grow other crops this year instead of risking lower profits due to reduced demand? What could these actions have on the US and world food supply & prices? And how will commodity futures, etc, effect farmers ability to finance their seeds, get crop insurance, etc.?
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Could tariffs cause a shift in agricultural production worldwide? - if South America increases their production of soybeans, etc., in anticipation of higher sustained demand because Trumpâs policies have shifted demand away from the US, will their increased production cause US farm and agri-business failures? (One effect of the Civil War was to encourage other parts of the world to grow cotton - reducing Americaâs domination of this market. Are we about to see the same thing happen with soybeans, corn, etc?)
What car is made and assembled and then shipped here from China complete and road ready?
I dunno but maybe this might help?
Something for you to slog thru anyhowâŚ
Thanks!