The Tariff Thread

[WideReceiver]

Originally Posted by opendoor

The primary goal is to devalue the US dollar against other currencies, which would theoretically improve the competitiveness of US manufacturers, increase foreign investment in US manufacturing, reduce or eliminate trade deficits, devalue US debt obligations, and allow lower interest rates in the US.

That doesn’t work when no country wants to trade with you because you’ve pissed off the world.

[Delthefunky]

Basically they're going to exhaust every other option instead of choosing the one option everyone knows is needed but is fooled into villainizing -- raise corporate and wealth taxes.

[combustiblefuel]

Originally Posted by Delthefunky

Basically they're going to exhaust every other option instead of choosing the one option everyone knows is needed but is fooled into villainizing -- raise corporate and wealth taxes.

Ding ding ding . We have a winner.

[combustiblefuel]

Originally Posted by direwolf

Ford just mentioned on CBC that their meeting with Lutnick was “productive and positive”, which probably doesn’t mean squat considering the clowns we’re dealing with, not to mention Trump earlier blathering on about not backing off tariffs and talking about how super cool it would be if we were a state.

Trade Minister LeBlanc will apparently be doing a presser in a little bit.

Originally Posted by chummer

Ya Ford said it was "extremely productive" and they're meeting again next week.

Ford needs to stop running his mouth. He backed off the electricity surcharge . You just can't trust his words.

Lest we all forget Drumpf use to be his pal. He sided with Drumpf heavily the first go round and even during the Biden era.

Drumpf is not misspelled. Drumpf hates his families ex sur name so I'm going to keep using it.

[Barnet Flame]

Careful now, he is known to hold a grudge.

[BloodFetish]

Originally Posted by Barnet Flame

Careful now, he is known to hold a grudge.

In his tiny little hands?

[surferguy]

Originally Posted by Delthefunky

Basically they're going to exhaust every other option instead of choosing the one option everyone knows is needed but is fooled into villainizing -- raise corporate and wealth taxes.

"You can always count on Americans to do the right thing, after they have exhausted all other possibilities“

-Churchill supposedly

[Nancy]

More Americans support (41%) Trump’s actions on tariffs than don’t (38%).

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...nge-rcna195860

[gallione11]

1000 registered voters is the sample size, so I'd call that pretty meaningless

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Nancy

More Americans support (41%) Trump’s actions on tariffs than don’t (38%).

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...nge-rcna195860

Not so fast

Every public opinion survey conducted in recent weeks supports this conclusion. For example, a CNN/SSRS poll released on March 12 found that 61% of Americans, and 72% of young adults, disapprove of the way Trump is handling tariffs. Fifty-nine percent of Americans without college degrees and 62% of those making less than $50,000 also registered their disapproval. Among white non-college voters, the heart of Trump’s coalition, the president managed only a 50-50 split. Of the Americans who voted for him in 2024, 20% disagree with his tariff policies. A Washington Post/IPSOS poll conducted in mid-February and a Quinnipiac poll released on March 13 produced nearly identical results.

It is not hard to understand why so many Americans are opposed to higher tariffs. According to the Economist/YouGov survey, only 24% think that foreign countries and companies bear the cost of tariffs, while 54% think that it’s mostly American companies and consumers. In a remarkable agreement across partisan, ideological, and demographic lines, 68% of Americans believe that tariffs increase prices, compared to only 5% who say that they decrease prices and 8% who say that they have no effect on prices. This helps explain a key finding from a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll: Only 30% of Americans believe that “when the U.S. charges tariffs on imported goods, American workers come out ahead.”

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/t...with-his-base/

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by Nancy

More Americans support (41%) Trump’s actions on tariffs than don’t (38%).

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...nge-rcna195860

Well, the tariffs probably haven't been fully reflected in price tags quite yet.

Give it a minute.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

Well, the tariffs probably haven't been fully reflected in price tags quite yet.

Give it a minute.

Oh yeah the time of enlightenment is right around the corner…

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Nancy

More Americans support (41%) Trump’s actions on tariffs than don’t (38%).

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...nge-rcna195860

Yes, we already know they are unimaginably stupid.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

Well, the tariffs probably haven't been fully reflected in price tags quite yet.



Give it a minute.

If you were to ask the same respondents which countries the tariffs were levied against, less than 25% could probably answer correctly.

[Nufy]

I am amazed how this guy thinks the world will bring everything to the US for manufacturing...and then buy everything from the US to spite their own economies.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Nufy

I am amazed how this guy thinks the world will bring everything to the US for manufacturing...and then buy everything from the US to spite their own economies.

What I also can't understand is the cost of items made in the US.

The US relies on items made by cheap off shore labour. If you move the manufacturing of those cheap items to the US, the companies will now have to pay a higher wage (in theory, who knows what this govn't will do next) and won't that drive up the price of the item?

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

What I also can't understand is the cost of items made in the US.



The US relies on items made by cheap off shore labour. If you move the manufacturing of those cheap items to the US, the companies will now have to pay a higher wage (in theory, who knows what this govn't will do next) and won't that drive up the price of the item?

It's not just cheap offshore labour, it's also efficiency, supply chains, and scale. Many things will never be as cheap to make in the US regardless of labour costs

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

It's not just cheap offshore labour, it's also efficiency, supply chains, and scale. Many things will never be as cheap to make in the US regardless of labour costs

Exactly

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by opendoor

If you believe what people around Trump have been writing and saying, tariffs (at least the ones on allies) aren't the end game, they're just a means to an end; basically they're a shakedown.

The primary goal is to devalue the US dollar against other currencies, which would theoretically improve the competitiveness of US manufacturers, increase foreign investment in US manufacturing, reduce or eliminate trade deficits, devalue US debt obligations, and allow lower interest rates in the US. At the same time, they would require other countries to commit to financing US debt at low rates by converting US Treasury and cash holdings to long-term low-interest bonds. And to achieve the acquiescence of trading partners in strengthening their own currencies and adjusting their holdings, they use the threat of tariffs and the prospect of reducing security.

The US did a similar thing in the '80s with the Plaza Accord. Unfortunately for them, the world has changed a lot since the 1980s and the chances of them being successful in twisting the arms of the other large economies to take such drastic measures are pretty low. It's more like to simply erode US power and reduce the US dollar's role in the global financial system.

They are unaware of course that no one wants an American made BMW or Mercedes, they buy it because it's German.

[Icantwhisper]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

They are unaware of course that no one wants an American made BMW or Mercedes, they buy it because it's German.

BMW makes almost all of their SUV's for the NA market in the US already, Mercedes also has a plant in Alabama.