Trump threatens to tax European auto imports

[rooster59]

Trump threatens to tax European auto imports

By David Shepardson and Mike Stone

 

FILE PHOTO: Cars for export stand in a parking area at a shipping terminal in the harbour of the northern German town of Bremerhaven, late October 8, 2012. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump kept up pressure on trading partners on Saturday, threatening European automakers with a tax on imports if the European Union retaliates against his plan to slap tariffs on aluminum and steel.

 

Trump's tweet suggested he is refusing to yield to U.S. business interests and foreign trading partners alarmed at the prospect of a trade war that rattled financial markets this week.

 

"If the E.U. wants to further increase their already massive tariffs and barriers on U.S. companies doing business there, we will simply apply a Tax on their Cars which freely pour into the U.S.," Trump wrote on Twitter. "They make it impossible for our cars (and more) to sell there. Big trade imbalance!"

 

The United States imposes a 2.5-percent tariff on cars assembled in Europe and a 25-percent tariff on European-built vans and pickup trucks. Europe imposes a 10-percent tariff on U.S.-built cars.

 

Trump criticized Europe in remarks at a fundraiser, according to video posted online Saturday, and suggested they would not increase tariffs.

 

"The European Union: brutal. They've been brutal to us," Trump said at a Florida fundraiser. "They've banded together in order to beat the United States in trade."

 

Trump did not respond to questions about tariffs or other topics upon returning to the White House Saturday.

 

In a speech Friday night at Harvard University, European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager said the EU will respond to the tariffs "to defend European industry, and the world trading system," according to a copy of her remarks. She called the Trump action "one-sided protectionist measures, which hurt, not just jobs, but the whole system of rules that makes our global economy work."

 

German automakers Volkswagen AG <VOWG_p.DE>, Daimler AG and BMW AG build vehicles at plants in the United States. BMW employs more than 9,000 workers in South Carolina and is one of the state's largest employers.

 

The United States accounts for about 15 percent of worldwide Mercedes-Benz and BMW brand sales, while it accounts for 5 percent of VW brand sales and 12 percent of Audi sales.

 

The United States had a $22.3 billion automotive vehicle and parts trade deficit with Germany in 2017 and a $7 billion deficit with the United Kingdom, according to U.S. government data.

 

Last year, Germany's automotive trade association said "the United States would be shooting itself in the foot by imposing tariffs or other trade barriers."

 

Trump's threat comes amid mounting transatlantic tension on trade.

 

On Thursday, Trump said the United States would apply duties of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum to protect domestic producers. [nL2N1QK016]

 

Major automakers say the move will hike the cost of cars and trucks.

 

The next day, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told German television that "We will put tariffs on Harley-Davidson (motorcycles), on bourbon and on blue jeans - Levis." [nL8N1QK2SZ]

 

Canada also has said it will retaliate for any tariffs on steel and aluminum.

 

Trump had tweeted on Friday that trade wars are good and "easy to win," roiling U.S. financial markets. [nL2N1QK1R4]

 

In January 2017, Trump warned German car companies he would impose a border tax of 35 percent on vehicles imported to the U.S. market. [nL5N1F61VQ]

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-03-04

[Lungstib]

Didn't the big U.S. corporations freely choose to move their factories out of their country for cheaper labour costs? And doesn't the average American buy much of what they own from another country?  Are we really going to see Apple bring all its manufacturing into the U.S. and sell its then expensive product to happy consumers?  I dont see this trade war ending well especially for the average consumer who will only end up paying more.

[edwinchester]

Maybe the US should concentrate on trying to produce quality home produced cars instead of whinging about foreign imports.

[Boon Mee]

This is after the EU threatens to tax Harley Davidson and Bourbon? 

Sounds like tit for tat. 

[ilostmypassword]

8 minutes ago, Boon Mee said:

This is after the EU threatens to tax Harley Davidson and Bourbon? 

Sounds like tit for tat. 

And what came before the Eurpean threat about Harley and bourbon? Did that threat come out of the blue? Or just possibly was it a response to something else? Let me give you a clue: Trump: 2 tits.

Europeans: 1 tat.

[zaphod reborn]

43 minutes ago, Boon Mee said:

This is after the EU threatens to tax Harley Davidson and Bourbon? 

Sounds like tit for tat. 

I thought the purpose of the tariffs was to punish Chinese manufacturers?  Trump is such an imbecile that the tariffs actually punished American allies, like Canada, Germany and South Korea.  At the same time, Trump is praising communist Chinese President Xi Jinping for declaring his life tenure.  Fortunately, Trump's executive order on tariffs will be superseded by Congressional action.  Trump is so ignorant that he doesn't even realize that the power to impose tariffs was exclusively reserved for Congress.  (U.S. Constitution Art. I,  Section 8).

 

Quote

"He's now president for life, president for life. And he's great," Trump said, according to audio of excerpts of Trump's remarks at a closed-door fundraiser in Florida aired by CNN. "And look, he was able to do that. I think it's great. Maybe we'll have to give that a shot someday," Trump said to cheers and applause from supporters.

Luckily, Trump will be in an orange jump suit before he reaches the end of his first term.

Edited March 4, 2018 by zaphod reborn

[simple1]

18 minutes ago, zaphod reborn said:

I thought the purpose of the tariffs was to punish Chinese manufacturers?  Trump is such an imbecile that the tariffs actually punished American allies, like Canada, Germany and South Korea.  At the same time, Trump is praising communist Chinese President Xi Jinping for declaring his life tenure.  Fortunately, Trump's executive order on tariffs will be superseded by Congressional action.  Trump is so ignorant that he doesn't even realize that the power to impose tariffs was exclusively reserved for Congress.  (U.S. Constitution Art. I,  Section 8).

 

Luckily, Trump will be in an orange jump suit before he reaches the end of his first term.

Trump has quoted a 'national emergency' which I assume enables him to circumvent Congress. However, one assumes he will exclude the likes of Canada from the tariffs. All rather silly as Chinese exports of steel to the US only represents 2% of imported steel. Suppose will prompt his base to wave MAGA placards at his next revivalist meeting - LOL

 

Trump comes across as living in a self imposed fact free world. Trump is unfit to hold the Office of the President of the USA.

Edited March 4, 2018 by simple1

[ilostmypassword]

20 minutes ago, zaphod reborn said:

I thought the purpose of the tariffs was to punish Chinese manufacturers?  Trump is such an imbecile that the tariffs actually punished American allies, like Canada, Germany and South Korea.  At the same time, Trump is praising communist Chinese President Xi Jinping for declaring his life tenure.  Fortunately, Trump's executive order on tariffs will be superseded by Congressional action.  Trump is so ignorant that he doesn't even realize that the power to impose tariffs was exclusively reserved for Congress.  (U.S. Constitution Art. I,  Section 8).

Which is why Trump invoked National Security. The law allows him impose tariffs based on that.

[theguyfromanotherforum]

59 minutes ago, ilostmypassword said:

And what came before the Eurpean threat about Harley and bourbon? Did that threat come out of the blue? Or just possibly was it a response to something else? Let me give you a clue: Trump: 2 tits.

Europeans: 1 tat.

 

I'll take the tits

[Lungstib]

19 minutes ago, simple1 said:

Trump comes across as living in a self imposed fact free world.

A lovely turn of phrase. Improved my morning.

[spidermike007]

2 hours ago, zaphod reborn said:

I thought the purpose of the tariffs was to punish Chinese manufacturers?  Trump is such an imbecile that the tariffs actually punished American allies, like Canada, Germany and South Korea.  At the same time, Trump is praising communist Chinese President Xi Jinping for declaring his life tenure.  Fortunately, Trump's executive order on tariffs will be superseded by Congressional action.  Trump is so ignorant that he doesn't even realize that the power to impose tariffs was exclusively reserved for Congress.  (U.S. Constitution Art. I,  Section 8).

 

Luckily, Trump will be in an orange jump suit before he reaches the end of his first term.

One can only hope. That is a personal dream at this point. He certainly deserves a long jail term. Not so much for what he has done as president (he has not done much) but for the 4.7 billion dollars he stole from the small contractors over the course of his career. At the time of his election, there were 3,600 lawsuits pending against him. Has anyone in history been sued that often? I doubt it. 

 

The tariffs could be his undoing. It is all about the economy. He really runs the risk of slowing down the US economy. That would be the end of him. It's the economy stupid!

[ilostmypassword]

5 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

 At the time of his election, there were 3,600 lawsuits pending against him. 

 

 

False

Donald Trump's pending lawsuits and his presidency

"Even by the standards of billionaire businessmen, Donald Trump is an unusually litigious man who has been involved in thousands of lawsuits - both those he has launched and those he has defended - over the years.

The president-elect has been party to some 4,000 lawsuits over the last 30 years and is currently facing 75 active lawsuits, according to analysis by USA Today newspaper."

http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-37956018

[FritsSikkink]

3 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

This is after the EU threatens to tax Harley Davidson and Bourbon? 

Sounds like tit for tat. 

You forget that your great leader FIRST started to tax steel.

[jcsmith]

4 hours ago, Lungstib said:

Didn't the big U.S. corporations freely choose to move their factories out of their country for cheaper labour costs? And doesn't the average American buy much of what they own from another country?  Are we really going to see Apple bring all its manufacturing into the U.S. and sell its then expensive product to happy consumers?  I dont see this trade war ending well especially for the average consumer who will only end up paying more.

It will benefit Trump's business buddies who are likely contributing to him...

[thaiguzzi]

Quote

 

There is a reason why Range Rovers et al and German cars are so popular in the USA.  There is also a reason why American cars are not popular in the UK and Europe.  And it has nothing to do with the price out of the showroom floor.

[rudi49jr]

Trump is simply doing for America (although one wonders if he is really doing it 'for America') what he has been doing for himself his whole life: I'm going to do what's best for me and screw everyone else!

[malibukid]

nothing Thailand is doing already, a BMW 3 series is double here what it cost in the U.S.

[siam2007]

26 minutes ago, rudi49jr said:

Trump is simply doing for America (although one wonders if he is really doing it 'for America') what he has been doing for himself his whole life: I'm going to do what's best for me and screw everyone else!

 

soon he will find out that he has screwed himself (and the rest of the world too when the big recession starts), but of course he will blame Obama, Hillary, Iran and the salvation army....

[zaphod reborn]

3 hours ago, ilostmypassword said:

Which is why Trump invoked National Security. The law allows him impose tariffs based on that.

That's a WTO rule.  A treaty doesn't supersede the Constitution!  http://www.wl-tradelaw.com/gatt-article-xxis-national-security-exception-the-ultimate-trade-policy-conundrum/

[Srikcir]

Trump's tariff war might hurt American transnational investors who have capital in those foreign manufacturers who are exporting to the US. If they are also invested in American distributors and/or retailers for those foreign manufacturers, Trump's tariff war could be a "double whammy" hit on their investment returns. Domestic prices will have to be raised for Trump's tariff war.

 

Then there is the "production-sharing phenomenon."

The United States, Mexico, and Canada each produce and assemble auto parts, sending them back and forth as they work together to build cars and trucks. Cars built in North America are said to have their parts cross the United States borders eight times as they are being produced. This is done under NAFTA.

http://issues.org/28-4/p_wilson/

Domestic prices will have to be raised for Trump's tariff war.

[Lungstib]

55 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

Domestic prices will have to be raised for Trump's tariff war.

You appear to know far more than I about this trade business. But if the above is true, and if the jobs desperate people voted him in for dont come back, there is going to be some awful unhappiness isn't there?

[jcsmith]

6 minutes ago, Lungstib said:

You appear to know far more than I about this trade business. But if the above is true, and if the jobs desperate people voted him in for dont come back, there is going to be some awful unhappiness isn't there?

They'll convince themselves it was a necessary action caused by Hillary or Obama somehow. Or blame liberal investors for tanking them.

[Andaman Al]

The Art of The Deal.................NOT!

 

It seems the rumours are true. Trump never bothered to read the book he claimed to write himself.

 

He behaves like a child, the rest of the world are really experiencing shock in how to deal with a retard in the oval office. He bankrupted his own businesses and he will bankrupt the USA. The effects of what the clown is doing will be felt in the USA for a decade and the people of the US are allowing him to do it. Republican politicians should be very worried, I guess they are,  - like Rabbits in the headlights. The funny thing is that when Trump is officially "outed" beyond any argument or dispute, the GOP and Trump supporters will turn on him like a pack of rabid dogs in a bid to save their ass and their dignity (too late for that as none of them have any dignity left). What we are now witnessing are the economic policy's of TRUMP. Lets see how the Dow Jones fairs once Trump starts implementing his non-strategy. It's all been Obama's success so far. The economic era of Trump is coming.

[pokerface1]

Don't let the media pull the bag over your heads. The USA hardy import any steel or aluminium from the EU.

Steel and aluminum, which Trump has targeted, account for about 2% of world trade, according to Capital Economics.

Nearly 17% of steel imported into the US comes from Canada, according to S&P Global Platts. South Korea, Mexico, Brazil and China are also major exporters to the US.

This is not fake news but more misleading news which is aimed at the FX market traders, hedge funds and dark pools etc. The US Dollar has turned Ultra bullish hence there are those institution that are short the US dollar and suffering. It may well be that Trump is suffering as well or some of his cronies have been into his ear.

The timing of his announcement came right on the heels of the dollars surge. I am a FX trader so I keep my finger on he pulse.

[joecoolfrog]

3 hours ago, malibukid said:

nothing Thailand is doing already, a BMW 3 series is double here what it cost in the U.S.

In World Trade terms , what Thailand does is utterly irrelevent.

[joecoolfrog]

1 hour ago, Lungstib said:

You appear to know far more than I about this trade business. But if the above is true, and if the jobs desperate people voted him in for dont come back, there is going to be some awful unhappiness isn't there?

The point is that Trump promised to safeguard Steelworkers jobs and he can now boast he kept an election pledge. Its all about him so the consequencies are unimportant , he will just blame somebody else when the crap starts flying.

[dundee48]

6 hours ago, theguyfromanotherforum said:

 

I'll take the tits

Tut tut.

[Andaman Al]

31 minutes ago, pokerface1 said:

Don't let the media pull the bag over your heads. The USA hardy import any steel or aluminium from the EU.

Steel and aluminum, which Trump has targeted, account for about 2% of world trade, according to Capital Economics.

Nearly 17% of steel imported into the US comes from Canada, according to S&P Global Platts. South Korea, Mexico, Brazil and China are also major exporters to the US.

This is not fake news but more misleading news which is aimed at the FX market traders, hedge funds and dark pools etc. The US Dollar has turned Ultra bullish hence there are those institution that are short the US dollar and suffering. It may well be that Trump is suffering as well or some of his cronies have been into his ear.

The timing of his announcement came right on the heels of the dollars surge. I am a FX trader so I keep my finger on he pulse.

Well in all honesty there are as many FX traders in Thailand as there are ex members of 22 SAS regiment. Most struggle to make a bare living and the very successful do not talk about it. You don't have to be an FX trader to 'keep your finger on the pulse'. The suggestion that the misleading news is aimed at FX traders and Hedge fund managers is nonsense. There is not one of the 4 hedge fund managers I know that would make their fundamental or technical decisions based on any of the crap they hear. Being a trader is nothing to do with wanting a particular political situation, it is about exploiting whatever situation exists. They do not care which way the market goes, all they care about is predicting the direction. There is as much money to be made when the market tanks as there is when all is sweet and good. The only people that lose money when the market falls are the "normal" shareholders, most of whom do not have the first clue about what they should or should not do with their money. As an FX trader you don't need to care, you either go short or long on the dollar, it is that simple - yet seemingly not that easy as most 'FX traders' do not have a pot to pee in.

 

Trump has no clue of the consequences of what he says. The only people that do have a clue are his ex/advisors like the recent one, who clearly said "Donny, give me a heads up if you are going to do anything about steel tariffs".

 

The media have never made any attempt to make it sound like Europe are major steel exporters to the US, however the trade is still worth around 6.4 Billion Euro's a year and Europe are simply the first to stand up and say 'Go ahead if you dare'. Canada, Japan, S Korea and China, to name but a few will respond strongly if Trump is so stupid. Trump really is about to make a huge mess and he won't be able to blame this one on Hillary or Obama, or the Democrats, though God forbid he will try.

[pokerface1]

1 minute ago, Andaman Al said:

Well in all honesty there are as many FX traders in Thailand as there are ex members of 22 SAS regiment. Most struggle to make a bare living and the very successful do not talk about it. You don't have to be an FX trader to 'keep your finger on the pulse'. The suggestion that the misleading news is aimed at FX traders and Hedge fund managers is nonsense. There is not one of the 4 hedge fund managers I know that would make their fundamental or technical decisions based on any of the crap they hear. Being a trader is nothing to do with wanting a particular political situation, it is about exploiting whatever situation exists. They do not care which way the market goes, all they care about is predicting the direction. There is as much money to be made when the market tanks as there is when all is sweet and good. The only people that lose money when the market falls are the "normal" shareholders, most of whom do not have the first clue about what they should or should not do with their money. As an FX trader you don't need to care, you either go short or long on the dollar, it is that simple - yet seemingly not that easy as most 'FX traders' do not have a pot to pee in.

 

Trump has no clue of the consequences of what he says. The only people that do have a clue are his ex/advisors like the recent one, who clearly said "Donny, give me a heads up if you are going to do anything about steel tariffs".

 

The media have never made any attempt to make it sound like Europe are major steel exporters to the US, however the trade is still worth around 6.4 Billion Euro's a year and Europe are simply the first to stand up and say 'Go ahead if you dare'. Canada, Japan, S Korea and China, to name but a few will respond strongly if Trump is so stupid. Trump really is about to make a huge mess and he won't be able to blame this one on Hillary or Obama, or the Democrats, though God forbid he will try.

looks like someone is short the dollar .....sorry to upset you

[Andaman Al]

Just now, pokerface1 said:

looks like someone is short the dollar .....sorry to upset you

I don't play such stupid games with money. I know where to go to make returns that you would orgasm over.