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Is America really being "raped" on trade ?

I take trump pronouncements with a large pinch of salt. but i have not seen any evidence that the US is being unfairly treated.

Australia doesnt levy any tariffs on the US but has picked up 10%.
In the UK we are awash with US goods.

I rather think trump is confusing tariffs with trade imbalances. The US is the richest country in the world so of course it will run deficits with poorer countries.
It seems like trump wants the poor countries to subsidise Americas standard of living.

Its an immoral ezercise.

No. We the American people are (or were) buying things that we wanted at reasonable prices from across the world, and we were selling a massive amount of goods across the world in kind. Now were there trade deficits here and there? Sure. Were Europeans buying tons of our Ford F-150s to drive through their Medieval villages? No. Were Colombians buying tons of our washing machines? No.

But we are the largest consumer economy on Earth. We have the most money and productive capacity, and a massive population of consumers. Every other country is either poorer or smaller than we are (or both). Which country on Earth could possibly be expected to buy just as much, of if not more from the United States than the United States would purchase from any one individual country? It is insanity.
 
Agreed.


Yes, it's an untenable position, but I disagree with 'There’s practically nothing to buy when imports slow or stop'.


Also agree. Further, I think that tariffs shouldn't be confused with, nor include, trade imbalance. The two things are separate things.
The US is not going to suddenly build hundreds of new manufacturing plants because of trumps moronic tariffs. There isn’t any incentive to do so. It would cost companies hundreds of billions to do so. So they will simply continue importing the raw materials they need and pass some of the cost onto the consumer. Which is a tax increase on the middle class. This is the unhinged stupidity you people voted for.
 
The US is not going to suddenly build hundreds of new manufacturing plants because of trumps moronic tariffs. There isn’t any incentive to do so. It would cost companies hundreds of billions to do so. So they will simply continue importing the raw materials they need and pass some of the cost onto the consumer. Which is a tax increase on the middle class. This is the unhinged stupidity you people voted for.
Tha application of tariffs and their intended purpose is muddled as well, since initially they were about stopping illegal immigration at the US' northern and southern borders, and these cover bringing back manufacturing to the US and getting lower tariff rates. It's all over the place, which is why no one understands what the end game is.

Donnie Boy can't say tariffs are temporary with a goal of bringing manufacturing back because they would have to remain permanent in order create the economic incentive for companies to set up shop here. There's talk Vietnam is trying to sort out lowering tariff rates, which accomplishes nothing in terms of bringing jobs back. Sure, the tariff rate will be lower so there will be some gains for the companies exporting to Vietnam, but Vietnam is also one of those cheap labor countries where a fair amount of manufacturing has gone in order to reduce reliance on China.
 
Using Trumps own argument, the USA got most of it's wealth by raping the world for 100 years up to 1970. The US ran trade surpluses against the rest of the world from 1870 to 1970. So if you are an American born before 1970 you participated in a gang rape, and now suddenly you want to punish others for doing what you used to do. The US never had an issue with trade imbalances when it was benefitting from them to build it's middle class and make the nation the worlds wealthiest

In reality, a rape requires an element of coercion to be a rape. No one is twisting American (or other) arms to buy imported goods. No one is twisting the arms of American companies to offshore their production. It is all done because the Americans involved feel that they will benefit from not buying American products, or by not producing them in America.

The effect of these tariffs is that Americans will be buying made in America products at a higher price than other countries pay. That means two things. One is that the average American life stye will regress compared to those in other countries. And secondly the way that humans think and act means that Americans will find ways to access those cheaper overseas made products just like today they still access illegal drugs etc. Smuggling will become a huge thing for gangs, just like it was a century ago when we last had massive tariffs. Our gangs will have never seen such a good opportunity to expand and fund their activities. That is how humans are!
 
and we know why. President Trump renegotiated NAFTA into the USMCA in 2020.
The North American auto industry relies on USMCA for manufactory vehicles.

President Trump said:
"The USMCA is the fairest, most balanced, and beneficial trade agreement we have ever signed into law. It’s the best agreement we’ve ever made, and we have others coming. And, by the way, the China deal, two weeks ago, was just signed. And that’s going to bring $250 billion into our country. (Applause.) One after another.

Now it seems President Trump does not believe his USMCA was such a good deal. Is he not telling the truth now or back in 2020?
The Chinese were taking advantage of the NAFTA loophole long before Trump's first term. In fact, that's one of the reasons he renegotiated in to the USMCA, which closed off that loophole.
 
The Chinese were taking advantage of the NAFTA loophole long before Trump's first term. In fact, that's one of the reasons he renegotiated in to the USMCA, which closed off that loophole.
and no comment regarding what Trump stated about the USMCA agreement. Why is that?

Your attempt at misdirection is noted.
 
The Chinese were taking advantage of the NAFTA loophole long before Trump's first term. In fact, that's one of the reasons he renegotiated in to the USMCA, which closed off that loophole.
'

Oh?

Can you verify that?

No.

Because its bullshit. A lame Tumpist excuse to hide behind.
 
The reason for the 10% baseline tariff that Trump has imposed on UK, Australia and others is to prevent countries with higher tariffs from selling their products to, say, Australia and then Australia turning around and selling the product to the US...as if they had produced it...with no tariff.
You think our trading partners are going to run their exports through that penguin inhabited island?
 
The reason for the 10% baseline tariff that Trump has imposed on UK, Australia and others is to prevent countries with higher tariffs from selling their products to, say, Australia and then Australia turning around and selling the product to the US...as if they had produced it...with no tariff.


BULLSHIT!
 
I take trump pronouncements with a large pinch of salt. but i have not seen any evidence that the US is being unfairly treated.

Australia doesnt levy any tariffs on the US but has picked up 10%.
In the UK we are awash with US goods.

I rather think trump is confusing tariffs with trade imbalances. The US is the richest country in the world so of course it will run deficits with poorer countries.
It seems like trump wants the poor countries to subsidise Americas standard of living.

Its an immoral ezercise.

Australia has VAT (GST) of 10%. The UK has VAT of 20%. Many in the US don’t like those regressive (unfair?) consumption taxes, yet seem fine with other countries having them.
 
It happened on a very large scale with Mexico and Canada under NAFTA.
It apparently happened with the system which some fool replaced NAFTA with as well.
 
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I take trump pronouncements with a large pinch of salt. but i have not seen any evidence that the US is being unfairly treated.

Australia doesnt levy any tariffs on the US but has picked up 10%.
In the UK we are awash with US goods.

I rather think trump is confusing tariffs with trade imbalances. The US is the richest country in the world so of course it will run deficits with poorer countries.
It seems like trump wants the poor countries to subsidise Americas standard of living.

Its an immoral ezercise.
Overall trade and services? No, the US is doing the raping.
 
The Chinese were taking advantage of the NAFTA loophole long before Trump's first term. In fact, that's one of the reasons he renegotiated in to the USMCA, which closed off that loophole.
Even with the 2018 tariffs in place, and suppliers outside of China acting as cutouts, Chinese imports have declined from the 2017 peak. Has this resulted in the reshoring of say, video card manufacturing, to the US?
 
The US is not going to suddenly build hundreds of new manufacturing plants because of trumps moronic tariffs.
Where in my post did I assert this?
Oh wait. I never did.

Is this going to start ANOTHER round of you sealioning me? I just want to forewarned.

There isn’t any incentive to do so. It would cost companies hundreds of billions to do so. So they will simply continue importing the raw materials they need and pass some of the cost onto the consumer. Which is a tax increase on the middle class. This is the unhinged stupidity you people voted for.
 
Where in my post did I assert this?
Oh wait. I never did.

Is this going to start ANOTHER round of you sealioning me? I just want to forewarned.
So are you best to answer the simple yes or no question now? Do you denounce trumps moronic tariffs which are tanking the stock market, costing Americans jobs and increasing domestic prices? There are only 2 possible answers. Yes or no.
 
So are you best to answer the simple yes or no question now? Do you denounce trumps moronic tariffs which are tanking the stock market, costing Americans jobs and increasing domestic prices? There are only 2 possible answers. Yes or no.
Aaaannnd back to sealioning. Why am I not surprised in the least.
 
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