U.S. isolated at G7 meeting as tariffs prompt retaliation

[Jingthing]

It's funny how one insect can damage so much grain.
 
John / Taupin.

It's tragic. People should be in the streets by now demanding an end to this madness but it's like he has people hypnotized into acceptance. It's borderline demonic. No folks he's not just another normally bad president. He makes Joseph McCarthy seem like Mary Poppins.

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[dunroaming]

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

It's tragic. People should be in the streets by now demanding an end to this madness but it's like he has people hypnotized into acceptance. It's borderline demonic. No folks he's not just another normally bad president. He makes Joseph McCarthy seem like Mary Poppins.

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Isn't part of the problem the American public tend to not look at or even understand anything outside of their State?  They just listen to soundbites and if it sounds good for them they go with it.  Obviously not all Americans but the Trump supporters.

[maximillian]

3 hours ago, dunroaming said:

An "ally" is an odd thing to identify with and falls into different categories.  We are all happy to be America's closest ally when it come to trade.  When it comes to military backup then it is less clear.  Apart from certain areas of the world most of us want to be allies with the USA but not allies with Trump. An example of that can be seen by the vitriol towards him from the British people, concerning his visit, against the popularity of the American people and their country in general. The USA is a great country but it is being severely damaged by the poisonous so called president.

 

Countries don't have friends or allies. Countries have interests.

[sirineou]

4 minutes ago, ballpoint said:

It's funny how one insect can damage so much grain.

 

John / Taupin.

 it is unfortunate that Trump can have some good ideas but he poisons the good with all the other garbage. He is like a poisonous vesel,  anything good places in it spoils.

The man does not know when to shut up.

Once long ago I was making a point with my then boss and mentor. It was a good point and I was so proud of myself and so excited to be right i kept talking and talking.

 This is what my boss told me , that stayed with me all my life.

"Steve  you made your point, anything you say from now on can only hurt you"   

    People make  the sale , and then don't shut up and blow it!

Trump never learned that lesson , he suffers from diarrhea of the mouth. 

 

[geriatrickid]

6 hours ago, buick said:

i'm an american and i like the idea of re-working the trade deals.  seems reasonable that they can be changed from time to time.  but i don't like the 'national security' claim which is being used to circumvent the 'normal' process (if there is a 'normal' process !!!).

 

i don't consider germany an ally of the USA as the article infers.  a big exporter to USA, yes, but an ally ?  not currently an enemy by any means, but i wouldn't group them in with 'closest allies'  as the article does:

 

TI like it too for more concrete reasons: It will encourage some countries to stop being dependent upon the USA and  allowing their resources to be sold at a pittance. The USA is doing Canada a favour and just might bring back manufacturing jobs to Canada. Instead of purchasing from the USA, Canada can start making its own products again. There will be short term pain, but the Canadians can slap 100% tariffs on its electricity exports & key mineral exports and add silly charges to things like overflights.  The next time US aircraft need to park somewhere, tell them ooopsie, our airports are closed just like in the uSA, smell ya later. I hear China is looking to open some airbases overseas. How about a training facility 50 miles from the US border?

 

The US President is there to look after US interests, not to boost foreign economies or those who do not support the USA. If foreigners are distraught over the US position then they  should look in the mirror since they are a cause of the  problems because they chose to whore themselves out to  the USA, and now to China all because they wanted short term gain.

 

[spidermike007]

Captain Chaos is so far out of his element here. And Mnuchin is an absolute moron. Between them, they are by far, the dumbest guys in play. Tiny Don is taking the long cherished relationships that have been built over decades, and roasting them in the fire of his deep hatred, racism, bigotry, isolationism, and ignorance. He is perhaps the most dangerous man on earth at the moment, and is an enemy to US National security. Get him out. Hopefully Mueller will be able to force this jerk to resign. Let us hope he has some very, very damaging stuff on this village idiot.

[FritsSikkink]

26 minutes ago, geriatrickid said:

 

TI like it too for more concrete reasons: It will encourage some countries to stop being dependent upon the USA and  allowing their resources to be sold at a pittance. The USA is doing Canada a favour and just might bring back manufacturing jobs to Canada. Instead of purchasing from the USA, Canada can start making its own products again. There will be short term pain, but the Canadians can slap 100% tariffs on its electricity exports & key mineral exports and add silly charges to things like overflights.  The next time US aircraft need to park somewhere, tell them ooopsie, our airports are closed just like in the uSA, smell ya later. I hear China is looking to open some airbases overseas. How about a training facility 50 miles from the US border?

 

The US President is there to look after US interests, not to boost foreign economies or those who do not support the USA. If foreigners are distraught over the US position then they  should look in the mirror since they are a cause of the  problems because they chose to whore themselves out to  the USA, and now to China all because they wanted short term gain.

 

You clearly have no idea at all how world economics work just like Trump.

[Kiwiken]

16 hours ago, dunroaming said:

Well I wouldn't bother with mandarin.  In China English is fast becoming the preferred language and all the younger educated Chinese speak it perfectly well.  So unless you want to live in rural China (where there are hundreds of dialects anyway) then just stick with English.

 

So much of the world economy is tied up with US dollars that it is still an important currency.  However the world power has shifted and where the USA was once kingpin it is not anymore.  China has far more influence and with a rising India  as a new heavyweight the world order is changing.  Trump is speeding up that process in leaps and bounds.

 

The answer is not to "frack" America but to "frack" their worst enemy.... A certain moron called Donald Trump!

The US invoked Trade War will just speed up the Creation of an Asian Pacific trade bloc as already exists in Europe. China and to a lesser extent India will be lynch pins. New Zealand already sees the importance of this bloc although Our big neighbor to the West still seems to believe in Big Brother USA. History teaches us things change. and as trump forces a US disengagement others will fill that vacuum. A Future POTUS may find it hard to reestablish links so brutally cut by a greedy Old Man

[Kiwiken]

Lets all be honest Free trade has never existed. There are always winners and losers. new Zealand lifted most import restrictions 30 years ago. Deregulated and opened up its economy. Manufacturing dwindled and the growth has been low paying service industries. as wage pressure grew in certain Sectors rather than let the Market decide e.g lower wages mean labour shortages. to fill this gap they allow cheap Migrant Workers.This in turn puts pressure on housing and infrastructure. instead of allowing the normal cycle of growth.

NZ imports far more from the USA and others than it exports. Our Agricultural products blocked by US Farming Lobbies

Personally i would prefer we ran down Our dairy Industry and sold 10% of the water they use currently to the World. it would bring in 3 times the revenue and reduce pollution. In the future Asia will be New Zealand's main market. The good thing maybe we will innovate again and start making stuff we need.

[buick]

13 hours ago, dunroaming said:

The USA is an enormous market for Germany because of the motor trade alone.  Apart from their other exports   Mercedes, BMW, Audi and VW all sell extremely well.  So as far as trading is concerned Germany will consider the USA a close ally.

i understand what you are saying and appreciate your reasonable, generally accurate responses (many times i get answers that don't really provide an answer !!!).  with respect to tarriffs and such, i've seen headlines 'G7 ministers criticize US tarriffs', i've also seen 'global trading partners and allies criticize.....'  i don't remember the term 'ally' being applied to trading partners very often, while it might be techinically correct, i don't think it is often used.  and i think in the case of the OP, it was purposely used to get the blood flowing so to speak (the new goal of media outlets these days).  i could be wrong.  just my opinion.

[zydeco]

23 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Like a bull (s--t) in a China shop! Make it stop! 

Sure, empires rise and empires fall. But with "trump" it's like a death wish to make the USA decline as fast and brutal as possible. 

The US was never supposed to be about being an "empire." That you would want to prolong such an immoral system that costs non-American people's their freedom and Americans their lives in useless unending imperial conflict says much about your motivations. Americans before 1945 did not need the false self esteem of being an imperial power, just to spend its blood and industrial treasure all across the world. Americans today shouldn't need it either.

[roobaa01]

there will be no response by the eu like vino alcoholic junker sreamed for. the eu i in disarray coz of italy, spain, brexit....

 

wbr

roobaa01

[metisdead]

Off topic posts and replies re-hashing the history of WWII have been removed. 

[roobaa01]

trumpy boy has told merkel heel or feel meaning drop the russian gas supply line or trade war commences....hence merkel as so frequently is the cause for political malaise.

 

wbr

roobaa01

[moontang]

Funny how Thailand is quiet about this...perhaps because they have been imposing unfair tariffs on US goods for decades, leaving its citizens and visitors to buy far inferior products.  Also, the EU threatening to impose tariffs on Levis?  Really?  My friends were bringing extra pairs to Europe with them 40 years ago...they have always been taxed to death there.  And the Canadians buy their Canadian Maple Syrup in the US because????  And the Mexicans cross the border to buy milk and gasoline (and of course Levis), all while sitting on oil reserves larger than many Middle Eastern countries, yet there is so much poverty there.

 

I can go years without buying anything made in the EU...or Canada.

Edited June 3, 2018 by moontang

[Sir Dude]

Nothing wrong with fair and reciprocal trade tariffs...fair enough really.

[vinegarbase]

So the US wants tariffs at the same level these countries put on US imports and now the US is the bad guy? Wow. If tariffs are so bad why don't all the countries complaining drop their tariffs? Oh wait, it's only when the US has import tariffs it's bad but everyone else can do as they wish to protect their markets. 2+2=5

[moontang]

A bottle of French wine is less in the US than France.

[mikebike]

On 6/2/2018 at 3:55 PM, buick said:

i don't consider germany an ally of the USA as the article infers.  a big exporter to USA, yes, but an ally ?  not currently an enemy by any means, but i wouldn't group them in with 'closest allies'  as the article does:

Curious as to whom you would include in a list of USA's 5 "closest allies"?

[buick]

7 hours ago, mikebike said:

Curious as to whom you would include in a list of USA's 5 "closest allies"?

i would put the UK and Canada at a tie for #1, then australia, then france, then tie at 5 - south korea and israel.  china and mexico are in the top 3 in trade but i have a hard time calling china an ally (a trade partner, yes).  same goes for mexico, kind of a forced marriage if you will.  if an ocean separated USA and mexico, i doubt there would be much of a relationship there. 

 

i feel bad for canada and the UK on these tarriffs.  we'll have to see how it all plays out.  i have a feeling it relates to the relationship trump has with trudeau and may.  i don't think he got along all that well with those two leaders during their meetings, discussions, etc...  so he likely cast aside a century of history to satisfy his ego.  i'm not a trump basher at all so that is coming from someone who is somewhat neutral on the whole 'trump' controversy.

Edited June 4, 2018 by buick

[buick]

on the topic of tarriffs related to germany, maybe someone can help out on tarriffs related to their vehicle imports.  i think most would consider german vehicles a luxury item.  if a porsche sells for $70,000 and an additional 5% is added to that via tarriff, i question whether that would reduce the volume of porsche vehicle sales in the USA.  if someone wants a porsche and they are willing to pay 70k, they'll pay 73.5k.  the cost would certainly be passed along to the consumer but that type of consumer can handle the increase.  i've always been a supporter of taxes on luxury items and what some call a 'sin' tax (booze, cigarettes, etc..). 

Edited June 4, 2018 by buick

[bristolboy]

On 6/2/2018 at 7:22 PM, buick said:

i think the article is written with somewhat of a bias (as usual).  an unbiased version of the above would start of with 'the G7 attacked the trump administration'.  but many journalists have to take an extra shot when one really isn't needed.

I think the way you want it is "Out of the blue and for no reason, the G7 attacked the Trump Administration"

What exactly did you find false or misleading in the headline?

[bristolboy]

On 6/2/2018 at 9:51 PM, maximillian said:

 

Countries don't have friends or allies. Countries have interests.

Only if you think ally and friend mean the same thing.

[buick]

3 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

I think the way you want it is "Out of the blue and for no reason, the G7 attacked the Trump Administration"

What exactly did you find false or misleading in the headline?

not sure if you saw post #9, what troubled me was equating the G7 to be the same as america's closest allies.  i don't believe that to be true and i've seen several media reports that say 'G7 finance ministers criticize .....'  and also 'trade partners and allies criticize....'  i'd even accept 'trade partners and close allies criticize'.  germany, japan, and italy as closest allies doesn't quite fit for me.  and i imagine quite a number of americans would feel the same.  there are a couple other posts in the thread where this is discussed a bit further.

[bristolboy]

23 hours ago, moontang said:

 

 

I can go years without buying anything made in the EU...or Canada.

Maybe you should look up the issue of supply chains before you make such a blanket statement.

[Grouse]

25% on all Boeing and Lockheed Martin aircraft and 50% on iPhones and 1000% on Harley Davidson. Now.

 

(And cancel F35; it's rubbish. OK against Palestinians with catapults but no match for a Eurofighter Typhoon)

Edited June 4, 2018 by Grouse

[buick]

8 minutes ago, Grouse said:

25% on all Boeing and Lockheed Martin aircraft and 50% on iPhones and 1000% on Harley Davidson. Now.

 

(And cancel F35; it's rubbish)

does airbus have the production capacity to cover the demand for aircraft worldwide ?  a 25% tarriff on boeing seems a bit harsh.  that number and your others are a bit off base. as i noted in a previous post on luxury items (such as porsches), i like taxes/tarriffs on those and iphone could be considered a luxury.  a 5% tarriff probably wouldn't change the volume of unit sales for iphones all that much.  i don't know much about motorcycles but i know riders are harley fanatics and i imagine they'd keep buying with a modest tarriff in place.

Edited June 4, 2018 by buick

[Grouse]

2 minutes ago, buick said:

does airbus have the production capacity to cover the demand for aircraft worldwide ?  a 25% tarriff on boeing seems a bit harsh.  that number and your others are a bit off base. as i noted in a previous post on luxury items (such as porsches), i like taxes/tarriffs on those and iphone could be considered a luxury.  a 5% tarriff probably wouldn't change the volume of unit sales for iphones all that much.  i don't know much about motorcycles but i know riders are harley fanatics and i imagine they'd keep buying with a modest tarriff in place.

Does Trump do modest?

 

Airbus can easily soak up all orders from EU, Canada and Mexico.

 

Remember, USA was going to stick 100% on Bombardier before that was struck down.

 

I would happily subsidise Gentlemens clothing from USA as it is laughable. And as for Bourbon, is that saleable?

[Grouse]

11 hours ago, mikebike said:

Curious as to whom you would include in a list of USA's 5 "closest allies"?

Good question

 

Israel

Saudi

Australia

Kuwait

North Korea

[buick]

2 minutes ago, Grouse said:

Does Trump do modest?

 

Airbus can easily soak up all orders from EU, Canada and Mexico.

 

Remember, USA was going to stick 100% on Bombardier before that was struck down.

 

I would happily subsidise Gentlemens clothing from USA as it is laughable. And as for Bourbon, is that saleable?

trump is rarely modest in any department but as far as i know, the proposed (and now somewhat in place) tarriffs are not large.  i do recall a spat of some sort with bombardier but i'm not sure what drove that to be.  maybe subsidies such that they could sell at a price below cost ?  i'll look into it. 

 

there are industries that will get hurt by tarriffs, those that are barely making it as it stands (like US farmers).  often, the media would lead you to believe that any tarriff on any product will drive the company into the ground and layoff everybody.  there is an intelligent way to go about it and i understand trump is not doing very well in that department. 

 

one interesting one i noticed was blood, plasma, and vaccines from italy to the US (and i think back to italy also).  blood would be a critical item that would hopefully not be part of any addtl price increases.