US imposes sanctions on key allies, EU + Mexico + Canada

[PeaceGen]

You don't have to make excuses for the USA, nobody forced them to sanction Europe.

Trump claims Europe has put trade-barriers on US products for a long time, creating a trade-deficit.
He wouldn't be saying such things if they weren't true, because the EU would discredit him in public for that.

So i'm going to sit on the side-lines for this trade-war.

According to basic economic theory, trade wars end up badly for both sides.

all wars end up badly if mis-managed.

all hands on deck for the economic guys i guess.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

Trump claims Europe has put trade-barriers on US products for a long time, creating a trade-deficit.
He wouldn't be saying such things if they weren't true, because the EU would discredit him in public for that.

So i'm going to sit on the side-lines for this trade-war.

So if Trump said it, it must be true right?

Since Trump has never lied before right? Like when he promised the American people that he would label China as a currency manipulator on his 1st day in office?

 

[PeaceGen]

So if Trump said it, it must be true right?

Don't twist my words.
Or i'm gonna ignore you.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

Don't twist my words.
Or i'm gonna ignore you.

This is what you said, "Trump claims Europe has put trade-barriers on US products for a long time, creating a trade-deficit."

Basically he is blaming everyone else in the world for the fact that the USA has the world's largest trade deficit. Not just Europe but also Mexico, China, India, Canada and Japan.

Trade deficits occur because a country imports more than it exports, that's all it is. If you want to get rid of a trade deficit, the solution is to be more competitive.

Starting a trade war makes no sense, for every billion dollars that the USA sanctions Europe, they will retaliate for exactly the same amount in return. The result is that both sides lose money and jobs. Nobody wins, everyone loses.

Whereas free trade creates the highest overall benefit to all sides, when countries specialize in producing what they have a comparative advantage in, and trading it with other countries. That's a fundamental concept in modern economics.

Maybe if the USA didn't drop so many bombs all over the world, and focused more on becoming economically competitive, they would have a trade surplus like Germany and South Korea do. How many trillions has the USA wasted on wars these past decades.

 

[Zibago]

Billions and billions and billions ...............

 

[MReynolds]

It's only a matter of time that tariffs would be placed on foreign goods. No one should be surprised by this.

 

[Tshering22]

Has Trump gone cuckoo?

He will end up isolating US in a way no one ever has at this rate. NATO and US/EU trade alliance relies on extensive trade trust, free market and low-tax environment on imports and exports to each other. Instead of attacking everyone, why doesn't he take fiscal measures to curb excessive spending by hiking interest rates and readjusting dollar value?

That would inhibit Americans from spending more, lower the unending increasing cost of productivity and pressurise American businesses to slowly recreate manufacturing base in US.

 

[rambro]

Dotard is surrounded and heavily influenced by zionists, no way his policies and actions are impromptu

 

[MReynolds]

Has Trump gone cuckoo?

He will end up isolating US in a way no one ever has at this rate. NATO and US/EU trade alliance relies on extensive trade trust, free market and low-tax environment on imports and exports to each other. Instead of attacking everyone, why doesn't he take fiscal measures to curb excessive spending by hiking interest rates and readjusting dollar value?

That would inhibit Americans from spending more, lower the unending increasing cost of productivity and pressurise American businesses to slowly recreate manufacturing base in US.

The jury is still out on whether Trump have lost his marbles or not. IMO, his method of management is the source of the confusion, and what works in the corporate world doesn't always work in the political arena. I don't recall a time when a sitting US President have received so much vitriol from everyone such as the media, both political parties, etc... He must be doing something right if The Establishment is acting all nuts. But, on the flip side, Trump is surrounding himself with "The Swamp". Unfortunately, there's too many interest groups running amok inside Washington. I'm not sure if Trump will be able to fulfill his claimed goals.

 

[Tshering22]

The jury is still out on whether Trump have lost his marbles or not. IMO, his method of management is the source of the confusion, and what works in the corporate world doesn't always work in the political arena. I don't recall a time when a sitting US President have received so much vitriol from everyone such as the media, both political parties, etc... He must be doing something right if The Establishment is acting all nuts. But, on the flip side, Trump is surrounding himself with "The Swamp". Unfortunately, there's too many interest groups running amok inside Washington. I'm not sure if Trump will be able to fulfill his claimed goals.

How exactly is he doing something right by slapping tariffs on imports without creating supporting infrastructure for local and cost efficient manufacturing? Can he force buy only american products on US top CEOs? No. They'll hammer him.

Ultimately who pays for these tariffs? American steel and other companies, who will pass it on to the consumers.
You cannot run a country on a pure Financial Statements basis. The Elitist Establishment which you speak of is definitely foul, but the man is not creating alternates either.

Trump is used to taking instant hire-and-fire decisions as a Chairman but he cannot do the same as US president.
At this rate, he will antagonize the entire US-EU-Far East nexus.

 

[Chhatrapati]

From the article:

"US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced the sanctions from Paris, where he had been negotiating with EU leaders who were trying to avert the tariffs.

Mr Ross said talks had not made enough progress to warrant a further reprieve either for Europe or for Canada and Mexico, which are in negotiations with the US over North America's free trade agreement."

For the record, three of the most common types of trade sanctions are quotas, tariffs, and non-tariff barriers.

haha sanction is a strong word, tariffs are on a few items that target not just the countries mentioned in the title but every other country who export these materials, including China. Rather this sounds like a clickbait title clearly, you doctored the original title.
US tariffs: Steel and aluminium levies slapped on key allies

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

haha sanction is a strong word, tariffs are on a few items that target not just the countries mentioned in the title but every other country who export these materials, including China. Rather this sounds like a clickbait title clearly, you doctored the original title.
US tariffs: Steel and aluminium levies slapped on key allies

BBC changes their article titles a lot, I just went with the one I saw at the time.

The question you asked was, "sanctions or tariffs?"

What you failed to realize is that they are the same thing, in fact tariffs are one of the most common forms of trade sanctions.

The jury is still out on whether Trump have lost his marbles or not. IMO, his method of management is the source of the confusion, and what works in the corporate world doesn't always work in the political arena. I don't recall a time when a sitting US President have received so much vitriol from everyone such as the media, both political parties, etc... He must be doing something right if The Establishment is acting all nuts. But, on the flip side, Trump is surrounding himself with "The Swamp". Unfortunately, there's too many interest groups running amok inside Washington. I'm not sure if Trump will be able to fulfill his claimed goals.

Managing companies is microeconomics, managing a national economy is macroeconomics.

When it comes to a large and persistent national trade deficit (seen in countries like the USA and India), that signifies a systemic and structural problem, which can only be fixed in the long-term by becoming more competitive.

What does not work is protectionism, that just shelters local industries from international competition, and so results in them becoming LESS competitive.

Trade wars don't work either, because the other side is sure to retaliate. For example, Europe Mexico and Canada have all said that they are going to counter sanction the USA in retaliation. The result is that no one wins, everyone loses.

 

[LeGenD]

These are pressure tactics to extract concessions in ongoing deals.

Trump is not the sole decision-maker in these matters, he gives instructions to relevant experts to search for areas where tariffs can be/should be raised. And the experts do the needful.

US is a big market for the entire world with incredibly rich consumer base. No country can afford a consistent trade war with it. Huge amount of profits at stake.

US adopted protectionist measures in the 1930s and it led to severe global recession (i.e. great depression) and subsequent WW2. US should be discouraged from taking a similar course again.

Europe has moved WTO against Trump administration so far. China contemplating it.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

Trump is not the sole decision-maker in these matters, he gives instructions to relevant experts to search for areas where tariffs can be/should be raised. And the experts do the needful.

Yes, so why is the USA declaring a trade war on half the world?

According to basic economic theory, trade wars cause all sides to lose. Because the other side will surely retaliate with their own sanctions and tariffs, which is exactly the case here. In the end everyone loses. But the USA loses the most of all, especially when it comes to the trust of their allies and their image in the world, since the US started a global trade war with zero provocation.

 

[Asian.Century]

Why not the rest of world sanction USA for good.