Lots of cliche ridden thinking in evidence here. This chart might help some correct their thoughts:

 

 

https://tradingeconomics.com/france/exports/united-states

3 minutes ago, Rookiescot said:

What are you talking about? Go back and read my posts again.

In my example I said "how would you feel if the EU introduced tariffs on the United States because California had introduced a new tax"?

 

 

Is it now up to the USA to decide what sovereign countries can do with their own tax rates? Trump now owns the entire planet?

 

 

Trump has also introduced tariffs on Scotch whisky. Why? Because he lost a court case in Scotland.

 

You are not making sense anymore. Tariffs and taxes are two distinctly different things. California can not raise any tax, tariff or anything that is beyond the borders of the USA. They do however have outrageous state and local taxes with in California.

 

 

17 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

And given that in effect it's a consumption tax  it's the poor and middle class that are disproportionately paying for it.

 

The Chinese are paying, not the US.

 

Prices of goods from China have not risen since the introduction of the tariffs. Chinese manufacturers are bearing the brunt of the tariffs. If they increase their prices, they know that South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and others will step in and take over.

 

 

 

 

4 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

 

You are not making sense anymore. Tariffs and taxes are two distinctly different things. California can not raise any tax, tariff or anything that is beyond the borders of the USA. They do however have outrageous state and local taxes with in California.

 

 

Yes, and those outrageous state and local taxes have stifled the California economy!

https://www.statista.com/statistics/306775/california-gdp-growth/

2 minutes ago, nkg said:

 

The Chinese are paying, not the US.

 

Prices of goods from China have not risen since the introduction of the tariffs. Chinese manufacturers are bearing the brunt of the tariffs. If they increase their prices, they know that South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and others will step in and take over.

 

 

 

 

 

This has been reflected in the recent surprise of the earnings calls of retailers. Very strong. But this is no longer about tariffs on French luxury goods.

2 minutes ago, nkg said:

 

The Chinese are paying, not the US.

 

Prices of goods from China have not risen since the introduction of the tariffs. Chinese manufacturers are bearing the brunt of the tariffs. If they increase their prices, they know that South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and others will step in and take over.

 

 

 

 

What you are claiming makes no sense. Apparently, you think that because the tariffs hurt China's exports to the US that somehow that means it can't be hurting US consumers. Those tariffs are paid for by the importers and those higher prices result in higher prices for consumers. Only in the alternative universe of Donald Trump do American citizens not pay higher prices when things cost more.

17 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

What you are claiming makes no sense. Apparently, you think that because the tariffs hurt China's exports to the US that somehow that means it can't be hurting US consumers. Those tariffs are paid for by the importers and those higher prices result in higher prices for consumers. Only in the alternative universe of Donald Trump do American citizens not pay higher prices when things cost more.

I don't hear any Americans complaining about higher prices. Strong economy = more money in peoples pockets = Trump was/is Right. 

19 minutes ago, HuskerDo said:

I don't hear an Americans complaining about higher prices. Strong economy = more money in peoples pockets = Trump was Right. 

 

It's people living in Thailand who quite ironically pay much much higher tariffs on just about anything screaming the loudest. French Champagne is probably cheaper in the USA than Thailand even if 100% tariffs are imposed. A short play on LVMH might not be a bad idea.

 

Although they did open a factory in Texas so maybe they can keep the price of their bags down. The fact they did that is a sign of the strength of the American consumer.

 

https://americanmanufacturing.org/blog/entry/louis-vuitton-is-opened-a-factory-on-a-ranch-in-texas-yall

19 minutes ago, HuskerDo said:

I don't hear any Americans complaining about higher prices. Strong economy = more money in peoples pockets = Trump was/is Right. 

Whatever the state of the economy and however much it may be due to the President, doesn't alter the fact that what you've just engaged in here is an obvious deflections. American consumers are paying more for goods because of higher tariffs. And the manufacturing industry in the USA is now in a serious decline because of those tariffs.

US manufacturing contracts for fourth straight month as trade war drags on

https://thehill.com/policy/finance/economy/472603-us-manufacturing-contracts-for-fourth-straight-month-as-trade-war

3 hours ago, keith101 said:

More childish tit for tat <deleted> from the US .

How ? 
 

If you want to go down the childish route surely you have to identify who started it. Here’s a clue it wasn’t the Americans.

 

I’m no Trump fan, or an American, infact every time he speaks my toes curl up but on the tariff front he is absolutely correct - Obama just never had the balls to address it. 

1 hour ago, Cryingdick said:

Why anybody would care if Trump taxes items that mostly elitists purchase is beyond me. 

Only ‘elitists’ buy Champagne ???

 

Bizarre comment 

1 hour ago, HuskerDo said:

The US economy is BY FAR the strongest in the world and it's due to one thing..... Trump. He has leverage and will continue to use it. French cheese and French wine isn't for the average American anyway and that's who Trump is sticking up for. The average American is more of a Joe Sixpack. Let the EU introduce as many tariffs as they want and see if they come out the winner.

Six pack as in beer right ? - surely not physique ????

 

1 hour ago, Cryingdick said:

 

Many Americans especially millennials are moving away from beer. However the USA has been winning the lion's share of international competitions for wine which involve French judges. If I am in France then sure French wine it is because it is very very cheap there. However the French do nothing that isn't replicated or bested by what Napa is producing.

 

Same with beer it used to be Germany and now there are so many American companies producing beer that is at par or superior for less money. 

 

There has also been a renaissance in cheese making in the USA. Most supermarkets will have a section of artisan cheeses. There is a place in town that only sells French cheese and wine. A pound of French cheese costs around $25. You get the same thing here for around $10 a pound made locally. Making soft cheese isn't that hard to do, pardon the pun.

 

The USA can't make taxes on tech reciprocal because the French do not have one tech company that is even meaningful. Try it name American tech... Google, Adobe, Salesforce, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Twilio, Uber, etc. I can name a French company because my husband works for them their client here is Fed Ex. That's Atos Syntel. Germany has SAP but after that you would be hard pressed to name more than a handful of European tech companies.

Ah but the US makes Budweiser which pretty much destroys your argument - by a country mile the worst tasting <deleted> on the planet. 
 

The Americans have never come close to replicating Peroni or quality lagers. 
 

with you on the wine though some very good stuff coming through. 

3 hours ago, keith101 said:

More childish tit for tat <deleted> from the US .

Can we be a little more specific - POTUS DONALD TRUMP & his Republican cronies

44 minutes ago, HuskerDo said:

I don't hear any Americans complaining about higher prices. Strong economy = more money in peoples pockets = Trump was/is Right. 

You totally disconnected with the real world. Who in the world will accept rising prices. 78% Americans are living paychecks to paychecks and most struggle financially.  The higher tariffs are being passed down by the importers, wholesalers and the retailers to the consumers and in your alternative world will lap this up and sing kumbaya in praise of Trump. Strange world you living. 

2 hours ago, nkg said:

I am no fan of Trump's trade negotiations, but nobody seems to mention that the US is collecting a lot of tax money on the back of tariffs.

 

The US collected $7 Billion in September, which would equate to an annual total of over $80 Billion by September 2020.

Yes but the US govt is paying out $16 billion in aid to farmers due to loses caused by Trumps trade war.

Good, boycott ALL EUSSR goods.

26 minutes ago, Bruntoid said:

Only ‘elitists’ buy Champagne ???

 

Bizarre comment 

 

My point was it is a tax on the well off. Over 95% of America won't notice. Of the rest 5% will notice and the other 5% are rich enough to not care.

9 minutes ago, Bruntoid said:

Six pack as in beer right ? - surely not physique ????

 

Ah but the US makes Budweiser which pretty much destroys your argument - by a country mile the worst tasting <deleted> on the planet. 
 

The Americans have never come close to replicating Peroni or quality lagers. 
 

with you on the wine though some very good stuff coming through. 

  Let's hope no one ever tries to replicate the swill that is Peroni.  (Or "Nasty Azzuro" and Moretti, for that matter.)  

Some off topic posts and replies have been removed. 

2 hours ago, otherstuff1957 said:

In this case it sounds as though the US is doing the right thing for the wrong reasons.  I believe that access to information is our most important freedom.  When countries begin to impose digital taxes, they are taking the first steps toward controlling freedom of information on the internet.

 

However, the US is not defending freedom, they are defending the profits of giant companies who will 'thank' the US government by hiding their profits offshore to reduce the amount of US taxes they pay.

These companies earn their money in France too, so it is very logical to pay tax there

Just now, FritsSikkink said:

These companies earn their money in France too, so it is very logical to pay tax there

 

The issue is that France wants to tax these companies in a new way. France wants to tax not only the profits but the assets IE data in a different way. This is unprecedented. 

5 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

These companies earn their money in France too, so it is very logical to pay tax there

What you don't understand is that for Republicans helping corporations avoid paying taxes is a religious principle. Question it at your peril.

3 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

 

Yeah there are going to be a lot of Chardonnay socialists crying about this. 

For this Chardonnay Socialist at least, our US West Coast Chardonnay is better!

 

2 hours ago, nkg said:

I am no fan of Trump's trade negotiations, but nobody seems to mention that the US is collecting a lot of tax money on the back of tariffs.

 

The US collected $7 Billion in September, which would equate to an annual total of over $80 Billion by September 2020.

I suggest reading this link for a better understanding of the negative impact of the tariff war with China. Enjoy.

https://www.npr.org/2019/08/07/749163931/trumps-tariff-bounty-how-much-the-u-s-has-brought-in-and-where-the-money-is-goin

2 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

 

The issue is that France wants to tax these companies in a new way. France wants to tax not only the profits but the assets IE data in a different way. This is unprecedented. 

Not so.

The French law imposes a 3% levy on companies with at least 750 million euros ($845 million) in global revenue and digital sales of 25 million euros in France. Of about 30 businesses affected, most are American, but the list also includes Chinese, German, British and even French firms. The idea is to focus taxation where users of online services are located, rather than on where companies base their European headquarters or book their earnings.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/how-europes-digital-tax-plans-will-hit-us-tech-companies/2019/12/02/f357b0aa-1558-11ea-80d6-d0ca7007273f_story.html

19 minutes ago, Captain Monday said:

For this Chardonnay Socialist at least, our US West Coast Chardonnay is better!

 

 

Wine from the Napa Valley has dominated the international scene for the past decade anyway. But for example let's pretend you couldn't get French wine. South Africa, America, Chile, Australia, Greece, Italy, Argentina, good wine isn't rare.

 

I guess most blue collar workers can still get their amuse bouche on.

Wait for the EU to retaliate, as 500 millions consumers are behind France and the EU will put the equal amount of tax on US products.

 

" Wine can make you fat, what will it be...red or white?

2 hours ago, otherstuff1957 said:

In this case it sounds as though the US is doing the right thing for the wrong reasons.  I believe that access to information is our most important freedom.  When countries begin to impose digital taxes, they are taking the first steps toward controlling freedom of information on the internet.

 

However, the US is not defending freedom, they are defending the profits of giant companies who will 'thank' the US government by hiding their profits offshore to reduce the amount of US taxes they pay.

Not sure if I really buy your first comment about digital tax.

 

Also, bear in mind that Ireland had to be bailed out when Apple Computer had skipped-off 13 billion Euros in taxes. Ireland has a corporation tax rate of 12.5%, Apple manages to pay 1% or less there

 

As far as access to information goes, I pay about £8 a month for access to a newspaper online anyway.

Apparently if there's a trade deal between the US & UK, Mr Trump wants it to be so that US companies don't pay taxes.

 

An old friend stated a while ago how great it was that he thinks he benefits from the fact that US companies are offshoring so much work to places like China, and that surely he must gain from this. I pointed out that he's forgetting that, for example, Apple Computer pays probably $100-$200 having an i-Phone made in China, they then sell it to him for $900-$1000, all the benefit goes in Apple's pockets, certainly not his.

2 hours ago, Thian said:

Well they can also buy California cheese....much cheaper and lasts forever.

???? .

9 minutes ago, Moo 2 said:

Wait for the EU to retaliate, as 500 millions consumers are behind France and the EU will put the equal amount of tax on US products.

 

" Wine can make you fat, what will it be...red or white?

 

Retaliate against what exactly? European companies are too dependent on American SaaS companies along with mega cloud companies. France has no clout and even LVMH is trying to build it's overpriced bags in Texas. 

 

100% of the central Euro Govs and banks can not survive with out American tech. We make better tech and overly acceptable cheese.