America has emerged....as an international laughingstock

[Cameroni]

11 minutes ago, placeholder said:

What if he had invested that in index funds? And of course he has massively cashed in on the presidency. And is still cashing in. He's just so sleazy

 

Hindsight is 20/20. That's not how it works in real life. If he did the hard way it's still an achievement.

[placeholder]

3 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

 

Hindsight is 20/20. That's not how it works in real life. If he did the hard way it's still an achievement.

The point is, if his achievements didn't beat the markets, how good of a business person is he really? And, of course, his sleazy dealings continue up this day.

[Hummin]

8 hours ago, Cameroni said:

 

Global trade will be remodelled in the US favour. Many nations have already sent delegations to negotiate with the US and offered substantial concessions.

 

I suspect ultimately a Mar a Lago acord that will allow the Dollar to be devalued but will still retain it as the reserve currency will happen. That's what the paper by Bessent and his colleague outlines.

 

Social media is making big bucks of him, thats clear. Never seen so much memes and pages popping up in my feed ever before, even I try to avoid the noise from either sides, 

 

[RayC]

35 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

 

He could have done that. But then he would not have had the leverage he now has with the tariffs. Master negotiatior?

 

Master negotiator? What more leverage has Trump achieved by applying wholesale tariffs rather than by simply contacting his counterparts in the more traditional fashion?

 

35 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

 

I am not sure. Take China for instance. The tariffs are effectively a trade embargo on China. which China cannot afford.

 

The current tariffs applied by the US on China (and vica versa) will cause a massive decline in trade between the two nations but whether China cannot afford it is debatable.

 

The US accounts for 15% of China's exports which is a  significant number. However, the negative effects on China of losing the US market will be mitigated by the fact that the rest of the world will also be seeking new suppliers as a result of the tariff war. Moreover, don't forget that the obvious fact that a tariff war works both ways, and that US exporters to China will be greatly affected by Chinese tariffs on US goods (as will the wider US economy as the attached links indicate).

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0kxe1m1y26o.amp

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2025/04/28/trade-war-tariffs-full-blown-crisis-us-farm-exporters-say.html

 

35 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

I would suspect most nations when faced with considerable pain will do something to make that pain go away.

 

Indeed. And if the recent pronouncements from various countries are anything to go by that will mean a move away from the US market with countries seeking closer ties with more reliable partners. For example, Rachel Reeves has recently stated that the EU market is (arguably) more important to the UK than the US. Her's is not a lone voice.

 

35 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

 

I am sure that will happen anyway, but the operative words are "as much as possible". Many companies genuinely depend on the US market. They cannot just stop exporting there.

 

No doubt there are US produced goods which cannot easily be substituted but equally the reverse applies i.e. that US companies are dependent on goods produced overseas. 

 

Michel Barnier's comment that, 'There are no winners with Brexit' can be paraphrased and reused here: 'There are no winners in a trade war', which is why Trump's policy is in no one's interest.

[spidermike007]

1 hour ago, placeholder said:

Do you understand that the  reason he ever got to be big was because of all the money funneled to him by his father? How many people would have the inherited resources to fail time and time again.

In this world it is far easier to steal money through scams and gifting, bankruptcy, and taking small contractors for a painful ride, than it is to earn money in a righteous fashion. 

[Cameroni]

31 minutes ago, RayC said:

What more leverage has Trump achieved by applying wholesale tariffs rather than by simply contacting his counterparts in the more traditional fashion?

 

Pain he can take away, ie extra cards.

 

32 minutes ago, RayC said:

However, the negative effects on China of losing the US market will be mitigated

 

You don't believe that yourself. China is in deep trouble.

 

32 minutes ago, RayC said:

that will mean a move away from the US marke

 

Impossible, the EU can't absorb both  Chinese overproduction and all other countries who export to the US.

 

The fact is there are only two developed mega-markets, the US and Europe, and thus companies have to be in the US market.

 

34 minutes ago, RayC said:

Michel Barnier's comment that, 'There are no winners with Brexit' can be paraphrased and reused here: 'There are no winners in a trade war', which is why Trump's policy is in no one's interest.

 

I disagree. I think it is fundamentally different to Brexit. The US is not the UK. In the long run the US can benefit greatly from the trade war, already companies are coming in to build factories, offering the US to buy more  American products in an effort to avoid future tariffs. The US could very well come out of this trade war a winner.