Trump's Trade War

[Brisketexan 105,151]

And far more profitable. 

Doesn’t have to be.

But we’re not very original thinkers.

Nobody wants to make America Great. They want to make Everywhere Else Shitty.

[Anastasis 23,474]

doesn't have to be but is. 

[FondrenRoad 4,378]

1 minute ago, Brisketexan said:

Doesn’t have to be.

But we’re not very original thinkers.

Nobody wants to make America Great. They want to make Everywhere Else Shitty.

We don't have to be original. Europe, Japan, and China are way ahead of us on this. Japan's infrastructure is infinitely better than ours. And they keep idle hands occupied. Tokyo has spectacular roadways and the best rail system in the whole world by a large margin. We cant even get a pothole filled half the time. Imagine if we had half our military budget and half our military labor doing infrastructure work here. 

[Anastasis 23,474]

Just now, FondrenRoad said:

We don't have to be original. Europe, Japan, and China are way ahead of us on this. Japan's infrastructure is infinitely better than ours. And they keep idle hands occupied. Tokyo has spectacular roadways and the best rail system in the whole world by a large margin. We cant even get a pothole filled half the time. Imagine if we had half our military budget and half our military labor doing infrastructure work here. 

 

[Brisketexan 105,151]

doesn't have to be but is. 

And will be forever, so long as “both sides” types excuse everything with “but etc.”

[Anastasis 23,474]

Just now, Brisketexan said:

And will be forever, so long as “both sides” types excuse everything with “but etc.”

LOL. #bothsides types responsible for the proliferation of the #MIC. #Ike out front should have told you. But etc. 

[bolverk 29,683]

4 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

 

Tone down your cynicism and take a note from your avatar:

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace."

[Anastasis 23,474]

Just now, bolverk said:

Tone down your cynicism and take a note from your avatar:

 "When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace."

I wish that the beauty of that quote was capable of toning down my cynicism. Until then, it's "both sides of the sky". 

Edited June 11, 2018 by Anastasis

[Brisketexan 105,151]

Tone down your cynicism and take a note from your avatar:
"When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace."

Bet on power and cruelty. They win. Enabled by the Anastasis crowd. Who are cowards.

[Anastasis 23,474]

Just now, Brisketexan said:

Bet on power and cruelty. They win. Enabled by the Anastasis crowd. Who are cowards.

[WhatTheBuck 28,783]

37 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

 

That would crater our economy. Defense spending is responsible for the nation's largest government subsidized jobs program.

It worked for Clinton. 

[4th&Five 41,558]

 

[Biff Tannen 45,691]

Meanwhile China just keeps on keeping on in the renewable sector.  

[atomheartbevo 89,685]

46 minutes ago, 4th&Five said:

 

Our friends are now our enemies, don’t you get it?  We can’t let them fuck us by allowing US companies to invest billions!  We can’t let them rip off America by employing thousands of America workers!

 

[hayden_horn 11,362]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-g7-summit/fair-trade-fool-trade-trumps-tweets-spew-ire-on-nato-allies-trudeau-idUSKBN1J70CN

Quote

Trade adviser Peter Navarro told “Fox News Sunday” that “there is a special place in hell for any leader that engages in bad faith diplomacy” with Trump.

Pompeo, at the Singapore briefing, pointedly ignored a reporter’s question about Navarro’s comment and left the podium while he was being pressed for an answer.

i kind of like pompeo. it's all he can do not to roll his eyes at the president's stupidity, but there he is, giving an effort for the country.

[retread 2,951]

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-trudeau-trade-fight-map-canada-exports-to-us-2018-6

Quote

Canada is the US's largest trade partner, with $673.9 billion worth of goods and services going between the two countries in 2017. Also, contrary to Trump's attacks, the US maintained a $8.4 billion trade surplus with Canada last year, mostly due to a large advantage in services.

 According to US Census Bureau data, Canada was the top export destination for 32 states in 2016, by far the most of any country. So far in 2018, Canada is also the top export destination for US goods, with over $98 billion worth of goods going over the border.

Of the 32 states that count Canada as their biggest export destination, 20 voted for Trump in the 2016 election.

 

Edited June 11, 2018 by retread

[wildcat09 29,354]

4 hours ago, hayden_horn said:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-g7-summit/fair-trade-fool-trade-trumps-tweets-spew-ire-on-nato-allies-trudeau-idUSKBN1J70CN

i kind of like pompeo. it's all he can do not to roll his eyes at the president's stupidity, but there he is, giving an effort for the country.

Counterpoint: Pompeo was one of the dumbest, shittiest GOP reps before he joined the administration. The fact that he's kind of, sort of pretending to do his actual job now doesn't absolve him of the fact that he's all in with this admin and its policy goals. He's as shitty as everyone else in this administration not named Mattis.

[Chooky 13,307]

We need to restructure NAFTA where we get the same benefits that we do now but Canada and Mexico get nothing.  In fact, if they'd agree to operate at a deficit it'd be even better.  The small amount of people who have problems with NAFTA seem to primarily resent Canada and Mexico for getting anything at all out of the partnership.  True reciprocity means you fuckers to the north and south need to suffer more.  American corn producers and trucking companies who are doing great are probably just too dumb to realize how smart it is for Trump to start meaningless bullshit with these countries so he can wrap himself in the flag against an imaginary opponent.  Stop being greedy and enjoying the profits from this trade agreement.  

[MaybeACoordinator 8,349]

5 minutes ago, Chooky said:

We need to restructure NAFTA where we get the same benefits that we do now but Canada and Mexico get nothing.  In fact, if they'd agree to operate at a deficit it'd be even better.  The small amount of people who have problems with NAFTA seem to primarily resent Canada and Mexico for getting anything at all out of the partnership.  True reciprocity means you fuckers to the north and south need to suffer more.  American corn producers and trucking companies who are doing great are probably just too dumb to realize how smart it is for Trump to start meaningless bullshit with these countries so he can wrap himself in the flag against an imaginary opponent.  Stop being greedy and enjoying the profits from this trade agreement.  

Mexico should be grateful we took California and all those hippies and pinkos and degenerates off their hands. Think about this, Mezcins -- you might have President Pelosi now if it weren't for us. 

[Hugo Stiglitz 23,367]

Edited June 18, 2018 by Hugo Stiglitz

[Js1 85,353]

TrAdE wArS aRe EaSy To WiN

[DixonHur 11,316]

Hmm, how could these brilliant tariffs possibly backfire?

Foreigners start losing appetite for US debt
 

Spoiler

 

Foreign governments pulled back their purchases of longer-term U.S. debt as trade tensions escalated around the world.

The declines are relatively small so far for notes and bonds — just shy of $5 billion each for March and April, the most recent months for which Treasury data are available — but it signals a potentially troubling trend.

"We need all the help we can get in the search for buyers of US Treasuries due to the enormous supply coming our way in the next few years," Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Advisory Group, said in a note. "Our stance on trade with our trading partners could very well play into this in coming months and quarters, especially with China, the largest owner of US Treasuries."

President Donald Trump's administration has been in a tit-for-tat battle of tariff threats with multiple U.S. trading partners, particularly China.

In addition, Trump has threatened to pull out of multinational trade agreements like NAFTA, and has slapped tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.

One of the most glaring declines has come from Russia, which sliced its holdings of U.S. debt nearly in half from March to April, from $96.1 billion to $48.7 billion. Russia's Treasury ownership peaked at $108.7 billion in May 2017.

In all, foreigners held $6.17 trillion of the total $14.84 trillion of Treasury debt outstanding through April. The national debt including intragovernmental holdings has swelled to more than $21 trillion.

Russia isn't the only country cutting back in its U.S. holdings.

China, the largest owner of U.S. debt, reduced its level by $5.8 billion in April to $1.18 trillion, while Japan, the second largest, cut its holdings by $12.3 billion to $1.03 trillion. Ireland, the U.K. and Switzerland also pulled back.

When counting all securities (including T-bills), the April decline came to $47.6 billion, a 0.8 percent reduction from March.

Finding buyers for government debt has become increasingly important since the Federal Reserve halted its bond-buying program in October 2016 after swelling its holdings to more than $4.2 trillion.

Since October 2017, the central bank has been allowing a set level of proceeds it gets from those debt instruments to run off each month, while continuing to reinvest the rest. The Fed's portfolio of Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities since then has declined by $116 billion, or 2.8 percent, while foreign holdings also have fallen off by 2.5 percent.

With the budget deficit expected to rise in coming years — passing $1 trillion in 2020, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates — the government has been issuing debt heavily. The total for 2018 has been $443.7 billion, a nearly ninefold increase from the same period a year ago and a 139 percent jump from 2016, according to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.

At the same time, interest rates have been rising. The benchmark 10-year note yield is about three-quarters of a point higher than where it was a year ago. Through the first eight months of the current fiscal year, the U.S. has paid $319.3 billion in interest on its debt.

 

3

 

[JimmyJames 12,271]

Prediction: (1) the economy will completely tank sometime between September 2018 and January 2019. (2) Trump will blame Obama and the Dems, somehow. Probably also throw some Meueler and FBI in the mix to salt it. 

Hey Millenials, you might want to think about voting in November. It’s your future trump and the olds are tanking.  You’re all voting age now. Hell they don’t give shit. They’ll all be dead in 20 years anyway. They’re just trying to grasp for the last rope on the way down. Trump isn’t some fluke.  

[Hugo Stiglitz 23,367]

Prediction: (1) the economy will completely tank sometime between September 2018 and January 2019.

 

The stimulus “is going to hit the economy in a big way this year and next year, and then in 2020 Wile E. Coyote is going to go off the cliff,” Bernanke said, referring to the hapless character in the Road Runner cartoon series.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-07/bernanke-says-u-s-economy-faces-wile-e-coyote-moment-in-2020

[JimmyJames 12,271]

3 minutes ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

Prediction: (1) the economy will completely tank sometime between September 2018 and January 2019.

 

The stimulus “is going to hit the economy in a big way this year and next year, and then in 2020 Wile E. Coyote is going to go off the cliff,” Bernanke said, referring to the hapless character in the Road Runner cartoon series.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-07/bernanke-says-u-s-economy-faces-wile-e-coyote-moment-in-2020

I don’t think the “stimulus” is large enough to prevent it from taking that long, particularly given the potential trade wars trump is staring which history has told us over and over again are insane. I guess nobody really knows when the reckoning will hit but its coming and it will be while either trump or pence is president during this term.  But then again predicting the economy is like predicting Texas weather. 

[retread 2,951]

stable genius

[Js1 85,353]

Why would you intentionally damage the products you're smuggling? Who wants to pay for scuffed up shoes?

[Kringelbert Fishtybuns 943]

3 hours ago, Js1 said:

Why would you intentionally damage the products you're smuggling? 

Maybe acid washed jeans are finally becoming popular in Canada.

[Biff Tannen 45,691]

He's just grasping at straws.

[atomheartbevo 89,685]

33 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

He's just grasping at used straws.

Fixed.

[SKJ 1,311]

6 hours ago, Biff Tannen said:

He's just grasping at straws.

He's smoking crack through a straw

[F250 28,777]

10 hours ago, retread said:

stable genius

He has gone full regard and he is rolling with it.

[bolverk 29,683]

Stagflation, here we come.

Edited June 20, 2018 by bolverk
If we're lucky.

[Hugo Stiglitz 23,367]

 

You start fucking with the money, these guys get upset.

[WhatTheBuck 28,783]

18 hours ago, Js1 said:

Why would you intentionally damage the products you're smuggling?

Did you ever see season 2 of The Wire?

[DixonHur 11,316]

18 hours ago, retread said:

stable genius

Why would DOTUS care if people weren't paying Canadian tariffs?  Or is he suggesting we impose an export tariff?

Unless they failed to pay the sales tax, I'm not sure why we care.

[Kyrie Eleison 9,312]

On 6/19/2018 at 12:26 PM, retread said:

stable genius

[retread 2,951]

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,515]

7 hours ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

 

You start fucking with the money, these guys get upset.

The Koch bros actually support some causes that are not always in the best interest of their finances.   They have their ideals even it hurts their pocket books.  It doesn’t surprise me that they are against tariffs.  

[Hornius Emeritus 12,464]

On 6/10/2018 at 11:23 PM, FondrenRoad said:

We don't have to be original. Europe, Japan, and China are way ahead of us on this. Japan's infrastructure is infinitely better than ours. And they keep idle hands occupied. Tokyo has spectacular roadways and the best rail system in the whole world by a large margin. We cant even get a pothole filled half the time. Imagine if we had half our military budget and half our military labor doing infrastructure work here. 

 

To be fair, Japan has all sorts of advantages ------ and incentives ------ when it comes to infrastructure.  In terms of miles of roadways to maintain, for example, the U.S.  has almost 6 times the mile/kilometers of paved "regular"  roads and almost 8 times the mileage of freeways/highways to maintain, while having a population only a little more than three times that of Japan. Plus Japan's total area is smaller than that of California. 

[Brisketexan 105,151]

 
To be fair, Japan has all sorts of advantages ------ and incentives ------ when it comes to infrastructure.  In terms of miles of roadways to maintain, for example, the U.S.  has almost 6 times the mile/kilometers of paved "regular"  roads and almost 8 times the mileage of freeways/highways to maintain, while having a population only a little more than three times that of Japan. Plus Japan's total area is smaller than that of California. 

Also, they have tentacle porn.

Advantage....well, that depends on your individual perspective now, don’t it?

[Newdoc 3,440]

21 hours ago, bolverk said:

Stagflation, here we come.

I thought that's essentially the state of our economy now.  We are barely keeping up and have been doing so for years.

[TDunk 590]

24 minutes ago, Hornius Emeritus said:

 

To be fair, Japan has all sorts of advantages ------ and incentives ------ when it comes to infrastructure.  In terms of miles of roadways to maintain, for example, the U.S.  has almost 6 times the mile/kilometers of paved "regular"  roads and almost 8 times the mileage of freeways/highways to maintain, while having a population only a little more than three times that of Japan. Plus Japan's total area is smaller than that of California. 

No Godzilla or blurry penis disease.  USA!  USA!

[Hugo Stiglitz 23,367]

 

[atomheartbevo 89,685]

GM is gonna build the new Blazer in Mexico.  Back in the day, it was built in US.

Wonder if Trump is going to threaten GM.

[blackmarketbaby 118]

On 6/11/2018 at 6:57 AM, 4th&Five said:

 

So they'll stop knocking on my door and scaring the olds on nextdoor right?

[Royalfan5 2,354]

3 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

GM is gonna build the new Blazer in Mexico.  Back in the day, it was built in US.

Wonder if Trump is going to threaten GM.

Used to able to jump terraces in a Blazer while trying to shoot Coyotes(animal, not smuggler) but I don’t you’ll be able to do that with the new one either.

[CooterBrown 18,014]

The cult belongs to Fox News and right wing media.  If Fox News turns on Trump, much of the cult would follow.

To do that, Fox News would have to be country first, party second. Country isn’t even in the top ten of what they are concerned about.

[atomheartbevo 89,685]

29 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

To do that, Fox News would have to be country first, party second. Country isn’t even in the top ten of what they are concerned about.

 

Profit drives Fox News. Trump makes them money.  

[TornACL 7,698]

You should be able to explain to a third grader why win-lose scenarios don't work with international trade. 

But it seems to baffle our current administration.