Trouble is you cant just set up a Nike footwear factory and train people to make sneakers, at minimum wage overnight (assumimg minimum wage make them as affordable as they were previously)
Probably quicker and cheaper to send your trainers into a third, non-tariffed, country and import them into the US from there. Unless you extend your tariff to the entirety of SE Asia, then the chances are that manufacturers will make arrangements to dodge them. The only issue here is the speed at which tariffs have been introduced, but even then, Chinese firms have been 'outsourcing' their production to countries like Malaysia etc for a while in expectation of a more hostile trading environment between the US and China.
Either way, US workers are paid so much in relative terms that the level of tariff would have to be absurdly high and universally applied before those jobs would come to the states.
Probably quicker and cheaper to send your trainers into a third, non-tariffed,
Don't imports have something like "country of origin" I don't think it is that easy to circumvent the system, legally at least.
Not looking good now is it trump
That's exactly what Trump wants to see happen. It gives him an excuse to declare an emergency and deploy the National Guard to restore "order".
Yeah, I think he would especially like to declare martial law in California.
It's a few hours old now but sadly it how it all starts. Murica pulling it's self apart while the swamp drains all the cash out to the few.
Don’t imports have something like “country of origin” I don’t think it is that easy to circumvent the system, legally at least.
I'm sure there will be plenty of efforts to circumvent tariffs, perhaps not by big firms, but even so, it's cheaper to move your entire factory to another SE Asian country than move production to the US.
One month pause on Mexico tariffs.. Trump apparently speaking to Trudeau again this afternoon. Are we backing away from the precipice..?
Wouldn’t be at all surprised to learn that his henchmen dumped a load of stock prior to this announcement and will be buying it all back up again prior to the next one.
I suspect that's the entirety Trumps game plan.. As simple as that..
He just wants to make more money and become more powerful. Being president of the USA is nothing more than an administrative vehicle to achieve that.
He doesn't give a shit about anything else, he says that pretty plainly, to his credit.
Maybe Trump read No Logo by Naomi Klein to learn how those SE Asian economies lured all those companies from the US
Exemption from all taxation and employment laws, huge bungs and bribes, oh, sorry…. ‘Subsidies’
Maybe that’s what he fancies doing in Murica? It wouldn’t surprise me. I can’t see that coinciding with what those voters think will Make America Great Again, by turning it into a sweatshop
In the longer term the best hope for US workers is that it brings manufacturing jobs back to the US
It will never work in the short, medium or long term
Average hourly wage for someone making an iphone in China is less than $3 an hour
Average hourly wage for someone working in manufacturing in the US is 9.5 times higher than that
These jobs are never coming to America. No reduction in income taxes will ever make it affordable to make electronics, clothing etc in the US. That ship sailed long ago
my hot take: there'll be some kind of deal where some of Dons cronies will get a sweetener but not much else changes. He and his new meeja pals will blather on about how its the best deal ever, making america great again, and only Donalds 'mad dog' attitude could have got it. Actual analysis of the deal will be published in the FT etc, where it will remain, untroubling the public perception of the past couple of days.
Sounds very much like he’s backing down
Obviously that is not what he will say
That's the problem with Trump.. He says so much crap it's almost impossible to figure out what he will actually follow through with.
It's almost like a tactic of his.. Drown the narrative with torrents of bull crap on a continuous basis.. Keep your opponents guessing whilst you do what you want in the confusion.
If anything it only demonstrates that he's totally untrustworthy, which isn't a good look for the leader of a country. Not that he gives a crap as long as he's making bank.
I think it's a case of watch what he actually does, rather than listen to anything he says.
The neoliberal globalist policy of outsourcing manufacturing to other countries…
it would make more sense if the policy was to build the infrastructure needed to move production to the USA before introducing the tariffs. All that will happen here is that companies will see looses and people will loose their job and food prices will rise. Anyone with money will be free scoop up the bargain basement stocks before the policies are reversed.
If the super rich wanted to save America, they would be building factories and investing in education and sorting out the cost of healthcare, but they aren’t because they are only interested in themselves.
I am not sure that this sounds like backing down.
Mexico had agreed to send 10,000 members of its national guard “to prevent drug trafficking from Mexico to the US, in particular of fentanyl”. In return, the US had agreed to work to prevent high-powered weapons crossing the border into Mexico. The tariffs – which had been scheduled to come into force on Tuesday – would be paused for one month as a result, Sheinbaum added.
Trump has repeatedly made it clear that he intends to use tariffs to influence the policies of foreign governments. He seems to have had an element of success in the case of Mexico.
Stopping the supply is good, but fentanyl deaths have actually been decreasing for the last 2 years, whether trump/musk cuts funding to the treatment programmes could reverse that
meanwhile US guns sales to Mexico are worth $millions, not sure the gun industry will be happy!
stopping the flow of weapons from usa to Mexico has been one of sheinbaums major policies
Slightly off topic, but is that much Fenatnyl really smuggled via Mexico? I was under the impression that the Mexican cartels game was mostly coke/crack and Meth? and most of it (Fenatnyl) comes from the far east, as it's so strong, even 1 kilo would be thousands and thousands of doses...so it's easy enough to just mail it direct rather than try to smuggle it ...but I honestly don't know.
It doesn't really help that American 'doctors' were handing out Heroin in the form of Oxycontin tablets like candy on halloween to the general public, so there's a huge amount of 'accidental smack heads' in America that want/need cheaper gear. The market is certainly there.
Demand and supply and all that.
Well okay but stopping fentanyl entering the US from Mexico was one of the stated aims of Trump's tariff, pausing it for one month in response to Mexico committing 10,000 members of the national guard to tackling the problem doesn't really sound like backing down. It sounds like he might have a degree of success.
I reckon that his spat with Colombia represents more of a backing down. Trump wanted to humiliate and presumably frighten other undocumented Colombians in the US, whilst at the same time entertain his supporters, but he backed down. Maybe his coffee drinking SUV driving supporters didn't relish the thought of losing Columbian coffee and oil?
It sounds like he might have a degree of success.
Maybe, but the US 'tried' the same thing with the cocaine trade from Columbia...that turned out to be a total corrupt mess that actually increased the flow of hard drugs from south America to North America.
It doesn’t really help that American ‘doctors’ were handing out Heroin in the form of Oxycontin tablets like candy on halloween to the general public, so there’s a huge amount of ‘accidental smack heads’ in America that want/need cheaper gear. The market is certainly there.
Yep, so many people have such desperately shit lives they have to medicate themselves out of reality. Any US administration that wants to end the US drug epidemic they need to start improving peoples lives. Of course that is a problem that has to be tackled in a generational timescale, so easier to blame immigrants and foreigners while the oligarchs continue to profit off suffering.
Yep, so many people have such desperately shit lives they have to medicate themselves out of reality. any US administration that wants to end the US drug epidemic they need to start improving peoples lives. Of course that is a problem that has to be tackled in a generational timescale, so easier to blame immigrants and foreigners while the oligarchs continue to profit of suffering.
Mostly agree, but when your GP essentially gives you Heroin in tablet form because you broke your ankle or whatever...and doesn't really keep track and gives you repeat presciptions...all of a sudden your a smack head, and if you doctor cuts you off, what do you do?
You go to the street and buy it illegally.. be that Oxy, heroin, or worse, fentanyl.
I’m sure there will be plenty of efforts to circumvent tariffs, perhaps not by big firms, but even so, it’s cheaper to move your entire factory to another SE Asian country than move production to the US.
Harley Davidson did that when the EU last fell out with the US,the EU said it’s was an attempt at circumventing tariffs and kept the extra 25% on them.
The doctors were incentivised by the drugs manufactures to prescribe, and the legislative control is incredibly lax due to corporate lobbying, it really was/is a complete failure of neoliberal doctrine laid bare for everyone to see, but still the whole of the western worlds political class don't want to apply the lesson to the same things happening every day as they hand power to the oligarchs at the cost of their electorates lifestyles, welfare and happiness.
The housing market is treated exactly the same way, **** peoples need for affordable homes, drive the profits up at all costs, as long as the banks are getting their cut and the developers keep lobbying money flowing.
I’m not sure it’s clear yet quite how much damage Daiper Don, his enabler Muskrat, and Muskrats posse of tech goblins he’s got closeted in the government entity that actually handles all of the financial transactions for social, medical and financial services right across America. They’ve been demanding the actual source code of the entire system, something so complex that it’s possible there’s only one man who actually understands it, and he’s been put on enforced leave.
It seems like the intent is to get hold of personal information on everyone who has worked against and/or voted against Trump, and actually cut them off financially!
It seems impossible, but read this article by Rolling Stone, and see what you all think; I don’t believe it’s beyond the realm of possibility.
most of it (Fentanyl) comes from the far east,
Maybe so, but like Trappist ale, Tintin and Niels Albert, it’s (originally) Belgian.
With the way things have started off, maybe that 2nd amendment will come in handy after all.
Hoping that tariffs will backfire to some extent, tho this is probs a bit hopeful....
And fentanyl stats...... suspect this is legit #s
And fentanyl stats…… suspect this is legit #s
Survivor bias?
I'm not saying it's not a correlation, but it could also be an inverse correlation.
Pretty much everything he says at these huddles with the press in the Oval Office doesn't make sense. This eve I've heard that the EU is so mean to him, they have this unbelievable tariff called VAT (?), and that Canada doesn't allow US banks (quick Google, 'US banks can operate in Canada. Several major US banks have branches or subsidiaries in Canada, offering a range of services').
The mexico thing seems very much like Colombia, Mexico has found a trivial gesture that appeals to Trump's sense of the dramatic but which doesn't really mean anything. Course, Trump is instantly misrepresenting it because he wants it to seem like a bigger change than it is, so that doesn't bode well for it lasting.
Aside but back to the "valve" which i posted about the other day, he followed that up with "Photo of beautiful water flow that I just opened in California. Today, 1.6 billion gallons and, in 3 days, it will be 5.2 billion gallons. Everybody should be happy about this long fought Victory! I only wish they listened to me six years ago – There would have been no fire!"
And the photo is a river in Vermont.
Tariffs on Canada paused for a month. A few meaningless concessions and he folds. Hopefully the Canadian people will stick with giving US goods the finger.
Hopefully the Canadian people will stick with giving US goods the finger.
I suspect they will. The Canadians i met were horrified by trump
Ireland could be a massive loser here, unless 'old country' politics plays its part
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxe4dy592vo.amp
I also suspect trump has done permanent damage to the us economy as customers look elsewhere
Are we going to see Amazon UK, Starbucks UK etc. finally get hit with the same taxes as UK based companies operating within our shores, ultimately meaning more expensive prices for us consumers, in response to Senile Orange One imposing fresh tariffs on the UK?
Or… that’s what they were so stupid to believe. It’s no coincidence that the less educated and less qualified typically more voted for Brext than those with good education.
this is a misunderstanding. It true theres a division along lines of eduction with regards to Brexit - but not to do with intelligence, or even eduction, but more a kind of eduction. Not all the people who go onto higher education are all that clever - not all of them pass or complete their course. We probably all met people at college who were a bit thick (if you didn't.... it was probably you 🙂 ). Not everyone who doesn't follow an academic path does so because they're not that bright - they may simply have ambitions which a degree isn't a route to. Its subtler than that. The dividing line isn't 'going to university' versus not. it 'going away to university'. Leaving home at young age to study - theres a cohort who go away and theres a cohort that stays behind (or is left behind) and thats the line that most closely tracks the Brexit devision.
All it really is - is a difference of how people feel about others and incomers.
Was listening to a YT vid the other day suggesting that a good way to get to Trump is to hit his backers. Musk for one.
As such Canada should put tariffs on luxuary goods,the type of which will have limited sales so not hurt the everyday Canadian consumer.
The example given was a 200% tariff on Tesla cars, or the same on other luxuary products coming from red states.
Tesla sales on average account for $3B annually.(60 thousand vehicles times the average cost of $50,000)
When it comes to EV's, there are other choices, and the Canadian public im sure would happily opt for something else. Especially knowing it would hurt Musk in the pocket.
I have no qualifications whatsoever. Born of a pretty crappy childhood, living with depression and having to get my own house and a job, any job at sixteen. Don't tar us all with the same brush please. Not being educated doesn't mean stupid, gullible or unable to reason. Not the thread for it but I do find it irksome when this gets rolled out. I have two uni educated associates, both voted for Brexit and think Trump is the bollocks. No GCSEs here on the other hand...
As such Canada should put tariffs on luxuary goods,
The framework is there as there's already a 10% luxury tax on vehicle's over $100k.. not that that's super luxury though as the average new car in canada is 66k
They need to increase the gwvr limit though so the cybertruck gets included.
Trump has repeatedly made it clear that he intends to use tariffs to influence the policies of foreign governments
1000% this. Tariffs aren;t about the impact that they have on the US economy (good or bad), they are just the stick that trump is using to get what he wants from foreign governments. The question is: what does he want, and why?
I think some things are going to be ego-driven. He doesn't give the slightest shit about drugs or immigration - beyond the fact that he wants to say that he's reduced/eradicated both. The concessions from Mexico and Colombia are great example of this, they were absolutely meaningless beyond Trump being able to present them to his followers as victories. I think he's probably going after Canada out of spite TBH. I think he doesn't like Trudeau.
I think there is a fair amount of direct corruption going on. As in: I want a trump hotel in X city. I'm surprised Scotland hasn't copped-it on day 1 - I'm sure they're on the list. Look at the whole Jared Kushner/Saudi investment "incident" in the dying breaths of his last term. I think this probably accounts for a fair amount of what's going on.
But mostly, I think this is about indirect bribes/corruption. Look at those folk (broligarchs) on the stage with him. Bezos, Musk, Zuckerberg, TikTok guy.... they all helped him get elected, and I'm sure have ongoing "donations" to Trump's interests (see above). What's the quid pro quo? Musk has obviously got his hooks in deep, and the spaceX/NASA relationship is hugely significant, and TikTok obviously got a reprieve..... but whats Bezos getting? I wonder if it's anything that helps see-off the threat to his business of Temu etc?
The concessions from Mexico and Colombia are great example of this, they were absolutely meaningless beyond Trump being able to present them to his followers as victories.
Exactly, the 'concessions' are purely performative. Canada doesnt export any meanful quanity of drugs anyway, and no amount of mexican border guards are going to compensate for US demand for narcotics. We've tried the war on drugs, and the drugs won.
So sure, he's got some headlines saying that 'he won' and 'canada / mexico backed down', which im sure he liked. I find it hard to believe that was the plan all along though. I guess we'll find out more when the 'deal' is actually done over the next few weeks.
