There's an election just around the corner and it is high campaign season. To many trump voters are being hurt by his 'fantastic' policies. trump is a fake and a liar. Always has been. Always will be.
14
When I finished reading this article, I realized that we clearly are so far embedded in Trump's swamp that we have moved into the zombielike world of Orwell's novels. Every day, he dominates the headlines, every action he does gets parsed using his name. He has finally achieved his monarchdom. I think maybe the media needs to start reporting on the daily upheavals in a less personal way. Let us know what came out of the White House, and don't memorialize the trash that comes out of his mouth. Note that in just the last week, with the exception of the pundits overreaching on their hypotheses, the fact that we are in a Constitutional crisis of mammoth proportions with our laws and governmental structure are being severely challenged has given way to his daily news flashes.
Trump's base listens, and as long as there is SOMETHING he is doing, he can put a spin on it so that they will gladly offer their wrists so he can further bleed them.
Trump's action are like that of a maddened animal, and we shouldn't spend too much time parsing his "strategy" or pronouncements. As we have witnesses, often in less than 24 hours he has 180'd his direction, and has stolen the headlines again.
We need to protect our democracy, so let's have intense coverage of the candidates for 2020 to America will know who we are voting for.
And let's have the news with less Trumpism in it. We know he sits in the oval office, so how about just "the White House" or "the administration"?
15
Once again, Mr. Trump is rewarding his favored sectors. What about other sectors like retail? One in four US jobs is tied to retail.
1
Good thing Donald Trump took this step with Mexico and Canada, otherwise he would've had a hard time explaining why he's allowed the Russian aluminium company, Rusal, to invest $200 million in a aluminium plant in Ashland, Kentucky -- which also happens to be Mitch McConnell's home state and nicely coincides with the fact that he's up for reelection in 2020.
There's also no doubt Trump faced any resistance from the Republican Senate.
Just follow the dots.
14
"they are likely to bear the brunt of auto tariffs"
when bearing the brunt
of disasters man-made,
the poor folk, it seems,
get the worst of the trade.
those with the money
are cushioned okay,
but those without means
have but little leeway.
tariffs are playthings
for millionaires, natch;
but the poor they reduce
to just living by scratch.
7
Very smart move by Trump to avoid a multi-front trade war over cars (while also lifting the Canada-Mexico metals tariffs today). Clearly he recognizes the much bigger problem is with China, because the deficit is far bigger and there is also a national security threat, not to mention rampant IP theft. The struggle with China is going to be far more difficult and important to the US than these squabbles with our allies over cars.
8
Not only has the self-proclaimed "world's greatest negotiator" failed to make any progress after months of trade talks with China, but he also ceded huge influence to China in the Pacific rim when he arbitrarily and unilaterally withdrew from the TPP negotiations. He thus left China as by far the dominant voice in subsequent regional trade talks with no counterbalance from the US. Brilliant strategy? Not to my way of thinking.
13
Another Trump stunt goes South.
13
I'm so happy and relieved to know that the threats to our national security from Canada and Mexico have abated. If you recall, threats to national security was the legal basis for imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum. I can now again sleep at night.
17
@gbb: The planned invasion of the USA by the Canadian Army had been call of and Boston was one of the target. So one more reason to sleep at night.
6
Justin Trudeau's characterization of the USMCA as "pure good news" is so much rubbish. Canada's Prime Minister apparently doesn't understand that the main importance of such an agreement is to provide long-term certainty to markets, such that investors can feel comfortable investing in any of the three countries with assured access to the continental market. The USMCA provides no such confidence because once American imports of steel, aluminum or autos exceed their current levels, the US will be entitled to impose new trade restrictions on these items. Nobody in their right mind should treat this kind of provisioning as "pure good news", because it isn't. It's an agreement with flawed provisions designed to cast protectionism in stone and prevent investors from thinking in continental terms about their investment strategies. Very poor outcome for anyone interested in the efficiency benefits of free flows of investment and trade, which are in the ultimate interest of producers and consumers alike.
7
Brilliant move on Trumps part, open up the alternate supply chain as he squeezes China's shut with tariffs. Chinese sourced raw materials will be replaced Canadian and Mexican materials. I understand the one dimensional thinkers here who hate all things Trump will never understand this but this move creates jobs in Canada, Mexico and the US.
2
What raw materials does the US import in significant quantities from China that will be replaced with imports from Mexico and Canada? The vast bulk of China's exports to the US consists of manufactured goods, principally machinery, furniture, and plastics. Your analysis of the impact of Trump's decision to rescind the tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from our neighbors is pure fantasy.
10
Back to Square One...this entire experience was a moronic and ridiculous display of very poor brinksmanship on the part of Don the Con.
There was no need to have created this irritation with Canada and Mexico. Trump's posturing (again) wasted a lot of time and energy. With all of the real problems we could have worked on with our neighbors, a stupid food fight was selected by this very incompetent administration.
21
When trump announces exclusions and exceptions from his tariffs that creates his opportunity receive kickbacks and monies under the table from the likely benefactors.
He and his playbook are corrupt from top to bottom.
16
One step forward, one step back. A lot of energy wasted in the wrong direction. No direction. Vote him out.
19
Trump continues to play with people's lives with nary a care. It is all about his misguided ego and the power he enjoys in being able to keep the world focused on him. He loves the game. Politics, politicians, the media, his base and the rest of us have to put up with his nonsense and childishness. This world is a crazy place and we are all watching this circus with bewilderment wondering what is going to happen tomorrow. In these trump times, nothing surprises me anymore.
5
"On Friday, it became clear that pressure to reach an accord with Canada and Mexico before the 2020 elections outweighed the president’s affection for the steel and aluminum tariffs he imposed last year."
That's the real gist of the issue. A president who puts himself first before anything else.
12
"Both Mexico and Canada “had agreed on the removal of all retaliatory tariffs imposed on American goods by those countries.”
This statement from the US Trade Representative says it all. The only reason Mexico and Canada imposed tariffs was because of Trump's ill considered tariffs on aluminum and steel. He created this situation which cost US auto companies (consumers) over a billion dollars and then had to back off, achieving nothing.
11
Willy-Nilly. Will he-won't he. React. Retract. Then spin it as the best ever. It is just tiring.
13
he just didn't care for the acronym "NAFTA" and wanted his own made up one....
4
Poor Trump- he had to retreat again.
8
Ill-informed or outright ignorant cheap shots continue to get slung at our President in this extended trade negotiation in which we obviously have the upper hand.
In the interim, media ignores the incredibly critical new immigration initiative the President announced in the Rose Garden this week. Pelosi already is stumbling and back-tracking. Even Schumer's lost the ability to publicly represent the face of Democrats in the Senate.
Also at the graveyard whistled by is the unearthing of new evidence on a near-daily basis that DNC, HRC and the previous administration's DOJ conspired to overturn the election of President Trump, as well as the ever-tightening grasp we're getting on Comey's lies. Or Clapper's lies. Or Brennan's lies.
3
@JBC Has anyone actually counted the lies told by Trump?
15
@David
What a tired, hapless and impertinent old way to measure the opposition to our President in his first term. All the numbing diatribes have done nothing to dent his spirit, his support or his re-electability.
4
The Washington Post has, they’re way past ten thousand...
4
The word is out, Trump will threaten you, throw a tariff or two at you, but if you wait him out, he'll give in. These Canadian and Mexican "taxes" were retaliation tariffs against Trump's steel tariffs, he removed them and they removed theirs. Our two neighbors have always subside certain industries and will continue to do so. I'm sure the President will, as always and for the benefit of his political base, claim a victory. He will, in time, "bend the knee" to China..
9
Trump's trade rhetoric in 2016 was a large factor in his election, but almost 2.5 yrs later, he has nothing to show for it except an inconsequential trade deal with S. Korea and a lot of downside for US agriculture and American consumers. Yesterday's walk back of the silly steel/aluminum tariffs is just needed clean-up along his path towards a China deal - any deal - which he desperately needs before 2020. I am confident that behind all the president's bluster, it will be a great deal for China because Xi can play the long game. The western world and America would have been much further ahead with TPP which Trump kicked to the trash can.
15
So does that mean that Whirlpool will roll back all of those appliance price increases? How about automobiles? What was gained with these tariffs? Price increases that the Fed and the BLS don’t recognize in the economy!
4
This President lurches from one ill-considered deal to another and accomplishes nothing but chaos and uncertainty for U.S. farmers and manufacturers. How can any of them plan for a future where tariffs are imposed, lifted, re-imposed and on and on?
As with all of the bluster about Iran, North Korea and China—we just end up more or less than where we were under Obama’s policies.
Trump then claims great victories and a triumphant future where our erstwhile allies and rivals are no longer “laughing at us”, and we are fools no more.
Great for his base and too confusing and exhausting for the rest of us to understand, let alone explain. Perfect.
12
The US exports more steel to Canada than it imports from that country. Yet under the pretext of nation security concerns slaps import duties on Canada giving that country no choice but to retaliate.
How is this a great strategy ?
What do I not understand ?
Than after one year and gaining not a single concession the US drops the tariffs .
So what was the whole issue all about ?
Does anyone know ?
Simple bullying ?
19
The Canadian government may have agreed to concessions in order to remove the steel and aluminum tariffs doesn't mean Canadians are going to buy your inferior dairy and pork products. In Canada we still have at least some inspectors protecting us from dangerous food products. Your milk and cheese are full of hormones and almost everything else is genetically modified. Export all you want, it doesn't mean we are going to eat or drink it.
15
“Meet the new deal. Same as the old deal...”
With apologies to The Who
11
I feel great.Ex P.M. Brian Mulroney and myself are no longer security threats to Americans.
6
I am hoping that the NYT assigns someone to do a rundown of what, in the end, has or has not changed in the tariffs applied.
7
This is the ultimate Transactional Presidency. A fall in his poll numbers in rust belt results in steel tariffs lift. Farmers, can you learn from this?
6
The damage done a year after vulture capitalist turned Commerce Secretary held two aluminum cans like hand grenades in his hands. For what? Helping the domestic steel industry? And this is against America's allies.
There is a good chance that same with China, after sowing long term destruction of the independent farmers - real farmers, not corporate farmers - of this country. Trump destroys not only their livelihood but also their pride.
Now he is using 323 against autos as if the industry is not facing its cultural obsolescence. Trump corrupts people and destroys long term prospects like what he did to his casinos to cover his own problems. His MO. Yes, the stock market is sky high now but he is sacrificing long term worldwide peace and prosperity for short term gain and machismo.
Good luck, America. Good luck, World. You will need it
9
As with most things Trump, his only ‘wins’ seem to be the ones he has bumbled and stumbled into - getting huge tax cuts for the uber-wealthy and lots of GOP approved Federalist Society endorsed judicial appointments, when handed a GOP dominated Congress to work with, hardly requires ‘statesmanship’ of any kind. Even with a firm majority in both houses, Trump proved himself incapable of accomplishing anything over on the Hill unless he stayed the heck out of the way.
Everything else he’s been up to involves stirring the pot to cause trouble by unwinding well-established deals previously negotiated by ‘all those stupid people’ who preceded The Great Orange One — especially those implemented by his nemesis Obama — and then flailing around in an effort to get back to where things were before he started ‘fixing’ things.
All accompanied by much fanfare, self-congratulation, and barking at enemies real and imagined, in Grand Guignol style.
It’s all just reality television, which is, after all, the only real success Trump has had during his career as a ‘businessman.’ Just one more chapter in the long-running series: “A Legend in His Own Mind: Donald Trump.”
9
Trump should lift a few mental tariffs as well.
4
I am getting tired of winning all the time - aren't you?
6
The steel and aluminum tariffs affect everything from cars to soft drink cans. The US does gain access to Canada's dairy market. But Canada's total population is roughly the size of California's. And Canada had already given up it's dairy protection in trade deals with Europe and the TPP.
Seems Trump expects the same loyalty from his base he demands from his staffers. They're required to take a hit if necessary in order to make him look pretty.
But in reality Trump's wars with America's trading partners was starting to reflect the predicted price increases at home. And Trump didn't want to risk a softening of the base resolve before an election.
So the new deals? Basically the same as the old deals. With a few updates. And don't be surprised if China gets done pretty soon now that Walmart and Target have announced they'd have to raise prices if it continues.
15
It is true that there are not many cows farmed in Manhattan, but still, the level of economic illiteracy in the comments is huge.
Canada and Mexico had for decades big tariffs on US milk, pork and cheese, harming our farmers (and protecting theirs.) Previous US presidents did nothing about it.
Trump started a mini trade war with steel tariffs, and we won. The big tariffs on US milk, pork and cheese are there no longer.
This is very good for our farmers.
You can certainly rant against Trump, but the downside is that you will not understand why farmers vote for him.
7
The article said that Canada and Mexico had only agreed to remove retaliatory tariffs, not tariffs that had existed before the current tariff war.
If that is correct, then there was no benefit from Trump’s tariffs. But I’m sure that Trump will take full credit for accomplishing something, and his supporters will believe him.
31
@novoad
The only ag tariffs being removed are the retaliatory ones. You might want to do something about your own economic literacy problems.
7
Ahem... I admit that I did not study the tariff situation for US farmers but the article clearly quotes the US negociation representative stating that: Mexico and Canada “had agreed on the removal of all retaliatory tariffs imposed on American goods by those countries.”
Retaliatory... meaning that we are again in the case where Trump "kind of" solves a problem he and he alone caused entirely in the first place.
9
Trump has cobbled together the most unstable US administration in the past 100 years. We would have to go back to Herbert Hoover and his Great Depression to come close to Trump and this troop of incompetent sycophants. One day it is random tariffs, the next day it is mocking climate change, or else denigrating NATO, or back to kissing up to Putin, or Kim, or some other dictator.
Today's GOP makes me ashamed that I was a Republican for 45 years.
45
Trump bragging about his "great accomplishments" in front of the UN gave the UN delegates a big laugh. Trump probably thinks this was a one time thing. But we know, the world sees Trump for the empty vessel he is. He pulled out of NAFTA and the Iran accord and the Trans-Pacific Trade bill for basically NO REASON.
Perhaps he thought he could just rename those plans like he did with NAFTA, pretending to be a "hero" after he broke them?
How much longer are the supposed "grownups" in Congress going to let this go on?
57
You forgot the most irresponsible of his arbitrary pull-outs, the Paris Accord on climate change. As consequential as his walking away from other agreements may be, they are, over time, correctable. The total abandonment for potentially eight years of action on climate change, indeed the intentional reversal of carbon-reducing policies, will affect the future of every living being.
38
Worst president ever.
Impeach immediately.
61
"The United States trade representative said in a statement that the metal tariffs would be removed and both Mexico and Canada “had agreed on the removal of all retaliatory tariffs imposed on American goods by those countries.”"
So, basically, Trump had to walk back from his tough macho best approach and deal ever, and once he did, Mexico and Canada agreed.
For the time being. Final decision to be made. Maybe in 6 months, Maybe after the election.
32
Huge mistake—throwing away the Trans-Pacific Trade Bill. China was excluded from the deal bc of Intellectual Property Theft. Germany does not flood the US with Mercedes nor does Japan flood our countries with Toyota’s. Both companies have plants that assemble some of their cars here, in the US. Mercedes are assembled in the state I live in, South Carolina. Is the president aware of this?🤷🏻♀️
36
@Cat48
Probably not. Trump is profoundly ignorant, with the attention span of a butterfly.
28
Facts are not a core strength of the apprentice POTUS. Unless it's alternative facts.
4
Trump is backing down, because 'the market' and his "ratings" are starting to stop. Nobody believes that China is paying those Trump Tariffs, despite Trump's consistent lying about that... and as Trump does his incompetent best to scuttle the economy, he's finally waking to the realization that willful malice *will* destroy even the economic boom he inherited. Since that would be bad for his re-election prospects, Trump is backing off. Again. The only thing that he seems unwilling to back down on is his bigotry and racism, which has been consistent since he started campaigning, with his glide down the gilded escalator and launched his campaign with slurs Latinos: "The Mexican Government is forcing their most unwanted people into the United States. They are, in many cases, criminals, drug dealers, rapists, etc.” Pity he won't back down on being a bigot and a racist.
38
Trump is a huge joke. Impeachment or resignation is of the order of the day for this president because all the huff and puff about NAFTA was hot air and prove of Trump incompetence.
According to a joint statement from Canada and the U.S. sent Friday from Global Affairs Canada, the two countries have agreed to drop the exchange of tariffs within 48 hours, as well as terminating any World Trade Organization litigation underway in relation to the trade action under section 232 of the U.S. Trade Expansion Act. Canada had pursued the WTO legal avenue after condemning the U.S. tariffs as "punitive," and "an affront" to Canada-U.S. relations.
Last Updated Friday, May 17, 2019 6:42PM EDT OTTAWA –Canada and the United States have reached an agreement to lift steel and aluminum tariffs, a year after they were first imposed, reviving momentum for the renegotiated USMCA deal to be ratified. "These continued tariffs on steel and aluminum, and our countermeasures, represented significant barriers to moving forward with the new NAFTA agreement.
Now that we’ve had a full lift on these tariffs we are going to work with the United States on timing for ratification," said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a hastily-called media availability at the Stelco steel plant in Hamilton, Ont. on Thursday.
Trump is not only useless but a serious threat for the US economy. If I were American I would be embarrassed to have this man in the oval office to represent my country.
35
Millions of us have been embarrassed, from the early days of the campaign...
7
@Lisa
Yes, embarassing and humiliating . Wait until these tariffs are re-imposed yet again. That will be embarrassing for Trudeau to have had the football snatched away yet again.
2
Japan, imho, is one of the most dependable and trustworthy allies the United States has.
Hopefully, the wonderful people of Japan reciprocate this feeling.
The best friendships are never broken by occasional shoving matches like this, rather strengthened, ideally, by a newfound respect for each other.
I pray our two great nations will reach a deal that's fair and beneficial to both of us.
7
@SCPro
How can anything happen with a capricious, entirely ratings-motivated and chaotic U.S. President? Pray Trump is not re-elected, for we will never have a fair deal that’s beneficial for the both of us. For Trump “winning” is everything and it requires stomping the other side into the ground.
2
In the Sixties I worked for British Iron and Steel .which was a nationalised company at the time. There was a laser like focus on keeping the cost of inputs to manufacturing as low as possible. Ideology was not allowed to interfere with that goal and we imported iron ore from Murmansk USSR and exported rolled steel to Romania, USSR. Importing low cost ore and exporting high cost steel a win, win proposition. Today the USA would imposed sanctions.When President Trump announced tariffs on Steel and Aluminum which are vital inputs to manufacturing I was surprised that no one on his staff had convinced him that he was crippling manufacturing right at home in the USA. The mainstream media in the USA are woefully deficient in business know how and are overdosing on US exceptionalism.
25
How can we have any confidence in the economic policies of a phoney "businessman" who has been bankupted five or six times and taken over a billion dollars in losses over ten years?? Worse than his record is his refusal to be guided by advisors and to bully the rest of the world's economies. His ignorance of the interdependence of global supply chains in the manufacturing industry is fundamental to his stupid idea of making deals and creating these trade wars. He will wreck our economy with his zero sum win/loose mentality. Please please vote him out in 2020. He is illequipped to be the POTUS.
37
It's not Mexico and Canada that are punishing farmers, it is this incompetent president who makes rash decisions based on little or not facts and more likely the results of some opinionated TV talking head.
43
The inane proclamations uttered from the man who lost by 3 million votes make my cat look like a member of MENSA.
37
I see that Lindsey Graham has gotten some payback for his shameful support of Trump. The BMW, Volvo and Mercedes Benz plants in South Carolina have been rescued by Trump's six-month repeal of the 25% tariff.
25
As a Canadian it will take me a long time to forget Trumps steel tariff. A typical Trump move disrespecting a faithful ally and steadfast friend using what appear to be illegitimate rules. While he is in office I'll avoid US products where possible, particularly for states electing him. We are also getting badly hit on Trump's trade war by hold Hauwei's CFO for US extradition. Does anyone think if she were sent to the US now the trump would trade her back to get an small advantage over China leave us out to dry again.
46
All of the tariffs will be paid by the American consumer. If you don’t think this is going to impact the economy negatively maybe you are an economist.
16
Totally predictable...Trump always shoots his mouth off and then retreats...and everyone in the world now knows it.
39
Steel and aluminum tariffs were originally placed on Canada because they were a threat to national security. Trump is now removing these tariffs. Is Canada no longer a security threat or is he just giving in as a purely political move?
42
@Ron, The truth is that aside from Sour Patch Kids, poutine, and Gordon Lightfoot, we're never really trusted you guys :)
12
@Ron, my theory is that Canada is conspiring with Iran, North Korea and Russia. Time for all of us to wake up and smell the maple infused coffee. :-)
18
He honestly probably doesn’t know why he’s giving in now..
1
For all Trump's talk of being a brilliant businessman and negotiator, he has no idea how real big business works in today's world. Supply chains are global and specialized - you can't just pick up an operation and move it at the drop of a hat. American manufacturers of cars get parts from all over the world. Several international manufacturers actually build a substantial portion of their inventory here in the US.
The very stable genius has never managed anything more complicated than charging people to use his name and bilking the contractors who built the very few buildings his company actually constructed. He ran a two bit licensing operation and sold himself as a mogul, he has absolutely no idea how a major corporation functions in 2019. Nor is he interested in finding out, and his ignorance is going to hit us all in the wallet. These tariffs are moronic and 2020 can't get here fast enough.
Vote like your lives depend on it.
41
I read somewheres that HuaHwei uses paper to write down its plans, and that the Chinese know something about paper, so I think it should be declared a national security threat. Besides most erasers are made in China, so we won't be able to cover up our mistakes, so that is definitely a threat to my daughter in 4th grade, 'cause she's always erasing. Boy, if this wasn't so dangerous it would be hilarious. Never forget that every inter-imperialist war in the last 100 years, including WWI & WWII, began with tariff wars.
14
@AR Nazi Germany invaded Poland thereby started World War II, due to... tariffs? That's quite a novel theory about what motivated Hitler.
6
Another win for the president's policies no matter how you slice it this will result in thousands of new u.s. jobs and other economic benefits
6
Would you be more specific about exactly where these “benefits” will be manifested?
16
@Bummero What is your evidence for this conclusion? None.
11
Spoken like trump himself.
No evidence, no facts, just a lot of hyperbolic hot air with a large twist of self-inflated ego, and a big helping of narcissism on the side.
Nothing to see here. Move along.
13
The steel and aluminum tariffs unjustly placed on Canada and Mexico were finally dropped because Trump had no choice, he didn't win anything by putting them there in the first place! The fact is that although the domestic steel industry had some growth with the tariffs and the monopoly that was ultimately attained, steel prices overall began to skyrocket and the many thousands of ancillary industries who were significantly affected by the enormous price increases of their steel and aluminum raw material started to complain to the administration that these tariffs were severely affecting their business.
As far as the NAFTA(part 2) agreement, regardless of Trump's rhetoric, the final agreement has yet to be ratified by all THREE governments and with the democratic congress looking for changes and a federal election coming up in Canada in the fall, implementation is a long way off.
26
@Deus Actually, steel prices have fallen a lot in the US in the past year, notwithstanding the tariffs. The entire premise of your argument is incorrect.
5
@JB Tell that to your US manufacturers who liked the inexpensive Canadian aluminum industry. Remember--Canada matched the US dollar for dollar with tariffs--did you not hear the cheers when Trump announced the tariffs were lifted--they were coming from border states who have been hurting due to these illegal tariffs.
17
@Deus
Canada's taxes on American agricultural products was over 200%. Now its going to be 0%.
Please explain to us how this is a failure.
5
He will not stop until the economy is totally destroyed or he is voted out of office.
28
@Lotus Blossom
Lol. Yeah, that downhill slide should start any day, now.
2
Trump should not have the power to set tariffs, there is no national emergency that would justify such power. In effect he has assumed one man rule and we, as a country, are allowing him to do it. Congress and the courts must stop this or we will turn into a dictatorship. This is not a partisan issue, it is a question of democracy or no democracy we must choose.
48
@Lou It would be more "democratic" for unelected courts to decide the level of tariffs? Or Congress, which specifically delegated the task to the President through legislation? Hard to figure out your argument.
5
Trump vowed to keep everyone guessing
by being inconsistent, and by God he has kept that promise. I for one am flailing.
15
It's not complicated. You can sum it up in one word: submit! It's how wars start.
4
@seeker
Trump has one functioning neuron; it takes at least two to form a pathway of thought. This is how a dysfunctional brain works.
Welcome to the age of Trump!
13
After Dear Leader brings China to their knees maybe he can bring back all those rotary phone jobs lost in the ‘80’s!
Nothing says winning better than teaching China a lesson by having US consumers pay 25% more for products than only China can supply.
That’s called art of the deal!
46
I haven't seen a widow's hump that pronounced since I noticed the one my great-aunt had - in 1965. Evidently, the accidental President* hasn't had a glass of milk since about that same time. He's sure to break a hip before much longer and it won't be an easy recovery.
8
@GWPDA
This silhouette profile of trump really brings out the curvature of the spine. Whatever the cause, I think it's a great artistic photo compared to the other mundane photos of trump walking up/down these boarding stairs.
1
so when will north american automakers start making right hand drive cars for export to Japan?
9
@MEH
Or Hong Kong, India, Brunei, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka.
Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, Namibia, Swaziland, Uganda, and Tanzania, hristmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island) all drive on the left. New Zealand and its territories (The Cook Islands and Tokelau),Fiji, Pitcairn Islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu, and Niue. Nauru, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, and Solomon Islands, New Zealand. Any more?
7
Australia
5
Perhaps the US should concentrate on making economical and reliable cars as according to the J.D. Power dependency ranking Buick and Chrysler hold the number four and five position with the next American brand Ford at 18. Americans might then by home produced vehicles.
13
Trump is using his "business skills" with China. His tricks aren't working with them. Every change he makes we lose money, business are lost. We will never get the money back.
23
If Trump had imposed tariffs on European and Japanese cars today, you can be sure many of the same commentators below would be criticizing him for it, just as they are criticizing him for not doing it.
5
@JB Who's criticising him for not doing it? People are criticising him for his actions with China - even those tariffs are being done in a stupid way. Aside from the broken clock fact, everything else Trump does stems from stupidity and ignorance.
15
@RamS I imagine you would consider Obama to be a deep thinker compared to Trump, but in what specific way did he actually rein in China in his 8 years in office? (If your only answer is the TPP trade agreement that never had a chance of passing the Senate and that Bernie and Hillary both disavowed, please give another example). You consider Trump's approach "stupid" but I would argue that Obama did nothing at all -- certainly nothing effective -- and simply ignored the problem.
3
@JB Trump hasn't "reined in China." Upon what evidence do you base your statements? Whatever Obama did or didn't do has nothing to do with Trump's ignorance-based policies, if one can actually call them policies.
12
Another flailing move by Trump the Destroyer. He just realized his stupid tariff policies are costing him votes. Duh!!!
29
Typical Trump bully act.
He punches our allies in the mouth, robs their lunch money and wants to make up when he needs them for something.
Pathetic
39
I assure you, the mere removal of metal tariffs will not eliminate simmering tensions.
28
The world economies have taken note of Trump's trade tactics like the school yard approach he uses on every issue. The USA alone in all deals as the world has ripped us off and now they are going to pay. Trump may not be around for the payback when we need allies Trump only has his fanatical cult and AG Barr biggest toady in the legal profession what a legacy Roy Cohn stand in. The world's school yard bully will put a target on America's back and the American people will pay the price as Trump hangs out with fawning billionaires in Mar-A-Lago a tax free billionaire. THey did get Al Capone on tax evasion perhaps another crime boss can go down despite his henchman protector Barr.
28
@REBCO
He will. This Don will fall just like all others, and wind up keeping them company behind bars or worse. Barr will be his roommate if he does not immediately rise to the position which he holds.
10
Isn’t it apparent there is absolutely no method to his madness?? He is all impulse and knee-jerk response to whatever happened five minutes ago. A dangerous man.
41
Delay - deflect - lie - delay - deflect - lie - rinse, repeat...
28
I love my BMW. Thank you Germany.
14
@George Me too!
1
As a Canadian, I would like to know why Canada is no longer a threat to the US "national security" so that the aluminium and steel Tariffs imposed for this reason by your Stable Genius a year ago may now be lifted. Canada did not change anything or in any way... A pity you cannot ask this question to your "leader", as he is not accountable to anyone it seems...
61
Maybe he figured out Canada is in North America not next to Turkmenistan like he thought.
11
Another headline for this article:
Trump delays unforced error of creating another boondoggle, further roiling the US economy.
20
Trump is chaos personified. He has Navarro and Lighthizer destroying world trade agreements. Bolton is looking to make war on Iran, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea. Barr says the FBI is a spy organization. Wheeler is dismantling the EPA while working for the Kochs.
Why is the US Congress allowing this wanton destruction of American values by this criminal administration to occur?
40
@Joe Miksis
Because they see their chance to run the government all the time. It’s all about winning.
6
Because the Republicans prefer power to American values or even prefer power to the Constitutional role of Congress.
20
@Joe Miksis A Russian friend Serge, with whom I taught at in a private university in China, who was serving in East Berlin as a translator whilst I served in a more nefarious way in the West, told me that people get the President they deserve. Trump is a symptom of the American political malaise.
13
No country even thought of putting tariffs on US exports before their own exports were hit in Trump's genius negotiating ploy; a vicious sucker punch thrown at unsuspecting friends and allies; a dirty deed that has done terrible damage to the US's once fine reputation for trustworthiness and fair dealing.
28
@Leigh didn’t your country Canada impose massive tariffs on US dairy exports long before Trump came into office? There are a million examples of countries imposing tariffs and other trade restrictions on US goods, including many purported US allies.
3
@JB, you're joking, right? the US has had a trade advantage over Canada for decades, with trade surpluses, and illegal penalties over softwood lumber, again long before Trump. Leigh is pointing to the fact that Trump's trade actions occurred precisely because he failed to see that he was always and already at an advantage. There was no need to apply the kind of pressure he did. But as a result, Canada has actively been diversifying its trade partnerships, which has permanently disadvantaged the US.
25
@JB No, they didn't - what happened was something more complicated and it more has to do with the dairy industry in Canada than what is imported from the US. You should read up on the nature of the dispute:
https://www.factcheck.org/2017/04/u-s-canada-dairy-dispute/
10
All of his blathering, threats, lack of consistency and zero overall vision for the economy is designed for one purpose, to prop up the stock market until the 2020 election is over.
Market worried about car tariffs? Let's delay those. Canada still mad about the entire steel and aluminum deal, and being classified as a threat to our security? OK, let's forget those. Korea's mad, too? Throw 'em a bone.
What's the strategy beyond idle threats? Nothing but another cynical exploitation of his duped base.
18
Trump is so lost. There are so many foreign auto companies manufacturing in the US. Better be csreful what you ask for. If they decide the leave with feelings of nationalism it could get ugly.
13
@Ralph Petrillo Why would they close their US plants and leave due to tariffs? The exact opposite is likely to happen - they will open or expand US plants to avoid tariffs on imported cars.
1
@JB
Why? oh maybe international car makers are against having their executives arrested for daring to visit their investments on USA soil.
Our mob-boss/president still doesn't understand how international trade works, but it doesn't matter because his motives are corrupt - It's what the republicans who follow him have in common...
18
no one wants or needs a gas guzzling USA car - even the Asian countries are seen as a threat in that area as well.
If there's a USA tariff on it then you can be guaranteed that other nations are more up to date with the state of the global nation and what the ordinary bloke in the street wants.
6
@CK Recently it has been reported in the press that the made-in-USA Ford Mustang is the most popular and best selling sports car in Germany. Who knew?
2
@JB
Yes, they appear to have outsold the Porsche 911. Not to besmirch the Mustang, but it turns out that the Yugo outsold Rolls Royce in the United States practically every year it was sold here. About the only thing the Mustang and European sports coupes have in common is that they both run on four wheels.
3
@JB What press?
6
Hey Trump, if your listening, American's and the rest of the world buy German and Japanese cars because they make better cars.
Maybe American car manufacturers need to lift their game if they want to compete in a global economy.
11
@Joseph B Wow. "if your listening". "American's and the rest". Stanford has really deteriorated. But then again, not everyone can be at Caltech.
3
@Joseph B If you're correct, why has the made-in-USA Ford Mustang recently been the best selling sports car in Germany? https://money.cnn.com/2016/04/08/autos/ford-mustang-sales-germany/index.html
2
@JB the article you cite has numbers for just for one month - April - and no mention of sales for the first four months of 2019 or some other period that would suggest it is a real trend, not a one-off. Sales in April: 780 Mustangs, 752 Porsche 911s. Ford wins one month. Do you have more data?
Oh, totally new Porsche 911 series hitsGerman dealers this summer.
Why are we reading about Trump doing this tariff, Trump negotiating that trade deal from a press that doesn't seem to understand when this president is usurping Congressional power with "emergencies"? Usurping regulation of international commerce and the levy of Imposts and Excises by "emergency national security" powers, usurping the power of the purse by emergency military powers, usurp, usurp, usurp, and then defy subpoenas, defy oversight, appoint "acting" ministers with no advice and consent, pack the courts with incompetents and religious nuts.
But to the press, hey, we're just covering the presidency as the president conducts his trade war.
Except that the president doesn't have the authority to conduct a trade war. Is it that the only time anyone in the all to young and inexperienced press thinks that the president has overreached is when he brushes up against freedom of the press? Are you that insular?
This, right here, whether people think it's good for the country or bad for the country, is an abuse of power and an unconstitutional usurpation of power. And the press should cover it that way. Our democracy slips away while you all are too busy ogling your very unrepresentative twitter feeds.
13
Tariffs on automobiles just shows you that the ordinary bloke in the street prefers Asian made cars that are cheap on the pocket and not petrol/gas guzzlers.
Most nations around the world have been driving these cars for years as we want value on our pocket. It's only the USA that has an obsession with big showy petrol/gas guzzling automobiles. Once again, the USA President is only hurting his own citizens because the rest of the world will keep buying Japanese and other Asian imports.
7
@CKI had six brothers who worked at Ford. In my 58 years of life, I can honestly say that I have only had issues with Ford and especially GM automobiles. My son is now driving my 2005 Nissan Altima and I am driving a 2011 Toyota Venza. I have had very little problems with these cars. My 2 GM Vans and my souses Ford car had so many issues--we replaced an engine, a whole back end suspension, a transmission, and I won't even start with brakes, alternators, batteries, mufflers etc. Give me a foreign car over a North American--I will NEVER buy North American again.
5
@will smith I drive a 1993 Mitsubishi Mirage Saloon car and it never misses a beat. It's so reliable and every time I go to the garage for a warrant they say they're in awe of my mighty Mitsubishi. It just gets a service once a year and that's it, apart from changing tyres.
2
So next we should expect the foreign car companies with nonunion manufacturing plants in Alabama and elsewhere to start closing them to address markets elsewhere. Let us drive only gas guzzlers and show them!
4
President Trump seems to think that delaying or halting the tariffs that he and his Regime leveled against nearly all of America's proven and long time allies will gull them into supporting him in another ill conceived Middle Eastern War
11
If you want allies you shouldn't have pulled out of the Trans Pacific Partnership. NZ and Australia have bills to pay. China can buy their product from us without tariffs.
Way to go Trump. No plan or global foresight like the nation leading the way with their Belt And Road Initiative.
So you expect your allies to suffer pain while you and your neighbours gain. Aint gonna happen as NZ was the first nation in the world to sign a free trade agreement with China.
12
The trump administration wants to set up the US Auto Industry as a protected innovative oasis where money is devoted to build the best machines that can build the best cars, tractors, tanks or robots ( T-X and the T-800 series). But this new found money will come from the US consumer because trump will not let people buy auto imports because the money goes back overseas. [oxymoron? Or just ...]
2
The key problem, and “problem”’may read as a gross understatement, is that Trumpanomics are upside down. Firstly, as a priority, one has a vibrant, economically viable, socially vital, and unique, industry that deserves protection to maintain its charm and value. Secondly, one takes steps - through tariffs perhaps- to insulate that industry. Instead, Trump declares war to protect corporate interests that are stilted or bloated, essentially incapacitated in most of its areas of economic need, whacking taxes on the competition in order to protect the mediocre and to eliminate the competition of better choices.
North America has a turgid automotive industry that is veering away from environmentally friendly, technologically advanced vehicles, and wishes only to build pick up trucks and polluters to stave off research and development costs, cater to the choices of a fickle consumer, and maintain a tired status quo. How about a powerful, viable, attractive, greenly performing, pick up truck, reasonably priced and accessible to average citizens?
Nope. Too much work and why fix what ain’t broke?
7
Below today's 'decision' is a mindless process of announcing big policies with great fanfare and chest puffing buffoonery despite the fact that little or none of these 'policies' is researched, thought out, discussed. It's just about attention.
Instead of a process in which information is gathered and judged, then a policy decided and announced, the policy is announced, then criticized, evaluated, possibly changed.
In place of consultation is this fantasy that the president always has the right answer.
So policy is pieced together, stretched out, picked apart, altered ... redefined to appear more beneficial to his base ...
on and on.
Again, the only real objective:
Constant attention, with little or no consideration of or responsibility for negative results.
Some of these moves might have positive elements but to quote Stevie Wonder: they're 'like a haystack needle'.
20 months. Then he'll be tweeting as a private citizen; might have a lot of followers too. Can you tweet from jail?
8
@CD Forget jail just take whatever money he has in taxes owed and monies illegally made in office. Then jail him and his criminal family.
6
@David
Good idea; whatever works, and I agree; include his family. Sycophants at best, probably worse.
2
Why would Europe want our over-processed, antibiotic-filled chickens and less tasty, homogenized cheeses when they have better, healthier options? couldn’t they also frame it as a matter of ‘national security’ ?
In the case of cars from Europe and Japan, imports sell because they are better, or they fill a niche American manufacturers do not want to occupy.
9
I've seen many drivers that are threats to national security, but I doubt that cars are.
4
As long as Trump gives the pro-lifers and the evangelicals exactly what they want, then the economy and the environment are just background noise to them.
9
Is the president playing the market? It wouldn't be the first time that he's used his celebrity to influence a market move.
8
If the President of the USA wants a trade deal with Japan and Europe then it will have to be a free trade deal and the negotiations will have to last longer than his attention span.
The USA President seems to be bullying every nation, with tariffs, when they agree to disagree with him.
6
Donald, can you point to the US made car that competes with the Toyota Prius C? Although rated at 50 mpg, it gets about 60 mpg in practice and its small size is perfect for our needs. We rarely drive our other car, except for vacation trips. Which us automaker's sales are hurt by us driving something they don't offer and refuse to offer?
24
@Djt
Where is the Prius made? If it's made in Japan, I’m sure Toyota could switch production here, as it has with other models.
1
@Djt, yes that's the problem. Our President wants to wage war, but he's doing it on behalf of American automakers who have fled the battlefield. Recall how a few months ago GM announced they were laying off 14,000 workers, partly due to their decision to quit making small cars.
3
@Ron Cohen
US represents about 15% of Prius sales. Probably not going to happen.
2
How long will it take China to explain economics to the U.S. by cutting off all exports of processed rare earths?
That would be the end of all U.S. electronics manufacturing including automobiles and defense equipment.
32
@Biji Basi
In another attempt to simply cast our President in an unearthly glow, why use information that's nearly ten years out of date. Mines in Zambia, and Australia were major world market trades in REE as early as 2013, and according to Geology.com:
"Rare Earth Production Outside of China
Mines in Australia began producing rare earth oxides in 2011. In 2012 and 2013 they were supplying about 2% to 3% of world production. In 2012 the Mountain Pass Mine came back into production, and the United States produced about 4% of the world's rare earth elements in 2013. Production in Brazil, Malaysia, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam continued or increased.
New mineral resource assessments conducted by the United States Geological Survey identified significant resources outside of China. Although China is the world leader in rare earth production, they only control about 36% of the world's reserves. This provides an opportunity for other countries to become important producers now that China is not selling rare earth materials below the cost of production."
3
@Biji Basi
Guess which 3 countries other than China have extensive rare-earth deposits? They are North Korea (NK), Afghanistan, and Iran.
NK's immense potential for producing rare-earth minerals may explain why U.S. is so interested in establishing a cozy relationship with that country (see 1). Mr. Trump thinks that Kim Jong-un can be persuaded to make NK's rare-earth minerals available to US companies. But, given NK reliance on China for economic survival, China will not allow that happen if the outcome of the on-going US-China trade negotiations harms its interest.
There are also suggestions that US invasion of Afghanistan was in part for its vast mineral resources, in particular its rare-earth minerals. These resources were initially discovered by Russian geologists in the 80's but somehow the U.S. end-up with all related maps and collected data (see 2).
Iran and Afghanistan share similar geological terrains. As such it is not surprising that Iran has also vast mineral resources, including rare-earth minerals (see 3). The current Iranian government has been hit hard by the US sanctions and, therefore, is reluctant to work with the US; hence US push for regime change in Tehran.
1. Forbes article: "Why North Korea Is An Untapped Goldmine For Tech Companies, And For China," July 14, 2017.
2. The NYT article: "U.S. Identifies Vast Mineral Riches in Afghanistan," June 13, 2010.
3. financial Tribune: "Iran Gains Ground in Rare Earth Industry," June 13, 2016.
6
@Biji Basi
The stable genius hasn't thought of that. He hasn't noticed how much America needs China to keep the cash flow going. The U.S. debt to China is $1.13 trillion as of February 2019. That's 28% of $4.02 trillion in Treasury bills, notes and bonds. The stable genius has a base that doesn't know either. Maybe Trump can fix it up with quick decisions on twitter. He gets "beautiful letters" from Xi and is still madly (I mean that literally) in love with relatives- murderer Kim. He says he is in love with the little tyrant. Sorry to use a cliche but imagine if Obama had said that. He couldn't even wear a tan suit. This personality cult has to end... Kim's personality cult too. Watch out or America will have a president for life before you know it and an AG for life too.
7
Is he doing anything more than manipulating markets for his own benefit? Does the SEC monitor him and other insiders for their short sales?
49
Trump is hurting the poor and the middleclass with his tariffs. He doesn't care.
24
What would Trump have become without his daddy’s money? That’s the question everyone should have been and should be asking.
We need to know if Mueller would have indicted the president if not for the fact that he is president and, apparently, above the law.
18
@The Pattern:
trump is not above the law. Only his mobsterite bro's in the DOJ claim he is, when they wrote a simple MEMO, all by themselves proclaiming such a thing!
Our current laws do not say the president is above the law.
It is only the DOJ's internal "decision" (to believe) that he is, and their reluctance to bring charges against him. The situation's caused by corrupt political hacks hired by trump, to protect his guilty eminence.
7
What a fun trip as the "Times" reports:
"Mr. Trump is scheduled to visit Japan next week, and his hosts are planning a full slate of high-level hospitality, including a state dinner with the new emperor" --- which Trump should fully enjoy --- because with the two Emperors attending, he'll be the only World Emperor.
9
@Alan MacDonald
Donald has a habit of snatching silverware from dinners like that.
He did it when he had dinner with the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
1
What appear to be halting, haphazard stabs in a game of blind man’s bluff are actually deeply thoughtful, brilliantly conceived tactical steps by a genius of trade issues, foreign policy and inter-governmental negotiation.
Or not. What's your sense of the situation?
9
@Jonathan
I believe the goal of Mr. Trump is to put United States citizens under prolonged extreme stress. He may cause many companies to go bankrupt. I believe he wants to hurt our economy and that he takes direction from top officials in Russia. If that is not his goal, he surely is bumbling around doing whatever he is doing.
6
@Jonathan
Not so much (cubed)
5
Trump believes in a zero sum trade policy. It's a product of his NY real estate background. It's another glaring example of his unfitness for office.
21
There is no national security threat. little t uses that excuse to close the border with Mexico, he uses it against his political enemies, he uses it against our allies in Europe, he threatens the mid-east. Tariffs are a particularly loathsome tax and one that will hurt America's industries from car manufacturing to agriculture. More and more I feel the need for impeachment. Somehow we've got to get this country and our economy away from this crazy man.
14
How far is this administration willing to go using increasingly thin national security excuses as reasons to impose tariffs, the Army needs boots made in America with no foreign components, boot tariff time. Let's not open up a can of worms with our historic allies before the administration has yet to bring to completion the lingering trade wars on this continent and across the Pacific. Surely there is enough destabilization of markets now to go around. Maybe I am wrong and the American consumers and businesses want to pay more because of tariffs (call it a sales tax) on the products they use.
12
If this plays out as usual, the stock market will bump up after the news gets out that Trump’s plans are on hold. We now live in a country where many of Trump’s current supporters are relieved to see him stopped in his tracks.
11
@Bill Kowalski He is arbitrary and contrarian
4
Trump and his malevolent sycophants are working to destroy the world order with their illegal use of "tariffs" based on a false claim of American Security. Why isn't the US Congress taking appropriate steps to to stop this Trump chaos? Why does McConnell and the GOP want to destroy our country?
20
Are you using the word illegal in reference to tariffs just for fun, or do you have a basis? I’m no Trump fan, just want to make sure people aren’t just throwing the world illegal around without reference.
1
@Joe Miksis : Now that's the question. "Why do McConnell and the GOP want to destroy America ?" I fear that the answer is venal : Money & Power.
2
@Joe Miksis
I suspect they may have been given an offer they cannot refuse.
2
Trump, after it's brought to his attention that he has toilet paper stuck to his shoe, screams, 'A TARIFF ON TOILET PAPER MADE IN CHINA!"
And while he is wondering when he's going to meet Frederick Douglas, Mitch McConnell says, "Wow. I wish I were a counter-puncher like Trump. But I don't have enough bodyguards to hide behind while I threaten and insult people so I guess I'll just stick with tabling bills."
9
As I see it, the closer to the 2020 pres election we get, the less likely any foreign country will deal with Trump at all. Six months here and two months there and suddenly your term is up. And no agreements with tariffs in place may seal the voters’ deal
against him. Don’t think our trading partners aren’t thinking that.
11
Thank God our Great Leader has solved another problem of his own making! Citizens Rejoice!!!
17
So if Europe will just let us send more cheese, then the importation of their cars to the US will no longer be a "national security threat"?
Like everything else Trump does...makes perfect sense to no one.
13
To avoid tariffs, companies should source components from countries with a good trade practices, preferably countries with democratically elected government. It’s possible that India is a good match for the US. No business needs to be limited to China.
2
@rjs7777 How about North Korea, their leader is Trump's best friend?
1
America does not need Huawei despite the self-serving op-ed piece by its board member Catherine Chen. Keep the ban on Chinese telecom vendors and tariff focus on China only for the foreseeable future. Pursue trade war only with adversaries, not allies. Thanks.
3
@nat Does the USA under Trump still have any allies?
1
Cars assembled in the United States are made up of foreign made parts. These tariffs are a tax on the American people.
13
Just buy a Tesla. USA!
1
@WATSON
that runs with batteries made by Panasonic
1
“Mr. Trump has determined...”. How does he “determine” anything? Does he get an in-depth economic briefing? Or does he roll the decider dice and count the dots?
13
@EW
I think he gets a lot of assistance from Mr. Hannity on Fox News Network. It is a sad and disturbing relationship that they enjoy.
2
The more I hear about the tariff ups and downs, the more it looks to me as though trump is negotiating with himself. He puts them on (or threatens to), he takes them off, and the rest of the world moves on. Nothing of consequence occurs.
trump calls himself the 'great negotiator' and it turns out he may be the only one playing this game.
10
Instead of consolidating our ties with allies that share our values and confronting China as a unified West, the Trump admin has decided to declare economic war on everyone at once. It's pure stupidity. Is this news a glimmer of hope that we are coming to our senses? Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
15
@Jesse
Well China could just end up selling us stuff through other countries supply lines.
@Jesse While preparing for the worst is a prudent policy, it can also be costly. Do auto companies shift their supply chains to less preferred vendors in order to avoid the tariffs? Or will they incur costs in preparation for tariffs that, in the end, are cancelled? These uncertainties are damaging to the orderly planning of any business. I imagine investment will be withheld until a clear policy is formulated.
Your point about working in concert with our allies, in a unified front, to confront China’s unfair trade practices would have been a much wiser strategy than attacking friends and foe simultaneously.
3
Trump is playing chess and the democrats really have no clue what to do
2
Right. As I see it he can’t pull off any deal. He lies and he renigs on promises, and he lies, and has low approval at home so other countries have decided just to wait him out...and he lies. Did I mention he lies?
5
Please tell me you realize that, when it comes to international trade agreements, we’re all in the same boat. A tariff on wheat is going to affect every consumer in America regardless political party.
1
@John S Are you kidding? Trump is playing Chinese checkers and he's losing.
11
@JL22 most “foreign” cars are made in the good old USA. And the vehicles with the most protectionist tarrifs are light trucks made by american carmakers.
10
The squib on the home page says Trump 'stepped back.' No, he flip-flopped. He is the Flip-Flop King and the Times should be updating the Flip-Flop count on a daily basis. It's way past due that you calculated all the flip-flops starting from his entry into the primaries for 2016. The number must be in the thousands. Counting flip-flops would be better than counting lies. Saying 'you lie' is a statement of powerless, saying 'you flip-flop' is the opposite. It should be obvious that the flip-flop charge will make him squirm indefinitely, and will be a constant reminder that as president he is a fish out of water.
49
@seriousreader
Good point. I Googled "trump flip flops" and got quite a few returns, but most were at least a couple years old and referred only to specific periods, for example, the first 100 days, etc. But no totals.
I even searched inside the factcheck.org site and was surprised to find nothing on trump's total flip flops. I agree with you that having these stats would make a huge statement on trump's unfitness to lead - anything.
Factcheck.org, if you're reading, please do this. I promise to donate.
9
Good point. Fish out of water, so funny, but so true.
1
@seriousreader
I don't understand why changing your mind is so bad. I think Trump is a big mess but flip flop may be because the person sees better way. I seems to me we are not allowed to change our minds without being called a flip flopper. Seems only very rigid people see it this way.
So, what’s to stop these car makers from idling their plants in the USA and putting a lot of Americans out of a job? If the tariffs get passed its gonna have an impact on prices.
7
Of course he backs up,he is realising that the alliance he thought he had are melting like the Polar Cap.
10
His daily song and dance to avoid the truth that he is a liar and a criminal and that he’s been caught.
24
Great news for the auto industry! They must have a more powerful lobby group than the American farmers.
18
@JL22 most “foreign” cars are made in the good old USA. And the vehicles with the most protectionist tarrifs are light trucks made by american carmakers.
3
Oh, God, it’s already bad enough a guy can’t afford a new work truck.
3
Trump is taking the politicians to school. They've had no clue about how to deal with China in the past 30 years. The NYTs is simply continuing to dig a deeper hole.
2
@Dixon Duvall: Is he really? Sure; he talks the talk, and maybe even walks the walk; only to do an (even partial) about-face.
Boy, does he know how to bring those sinister, double-dealing Chinese to their knees, or what?
Say what you will about the Times, and Democrats. But, no matter how long or how slow, Trump will find out in the worst way, "what goes around, comes around."
6
@Dixon Duval Let's hope your Trump even knows his way around a school as it has been shown that learning wasn't his strong suit. Why do you guys insist on repeating, time and time again, what even you don't believe? Trump is as ignorant about foreign policy as he is about telling the truth, a challenge he has yet to meet. China to Trump is a huge country that speaks another language and has strange food. That's it! End of story! It's time for all Trumpers to reassess their support of a man who will, if allowed, destroy us to shreds and that includes his supporters.
7
Trump is forcing us to join him on a daily roller coaster ride that nobody wants to be part of. We've all got whiplash as he swings from one bad decision to another, listening only to the incompetent voices in his head.
21
The notion that major automobile manufacturers are simply going to close their entire operations and move back across the Pacific in response to this Administration's actions is simply absurd. Firstly, the end of the Trump presidency (whenever that comes) will almost certainly mean the end of these stringent tariffs imposed on our partners abroad. Thus, it would clearly not be economically wise for businesses to relocate their operations to American shores to avoid tariffs for a matter of several years, and then move their entire operations overseas again under a new Administration. These tariffs are simply temporary taxes that American consumers absorb the brunt of.
Trump's approach to business has pretty much always been to simply disintegrate the entire agreement, and hopefully force the opposing side to then renegotiate toward a more beneficial deal. However, practicing that method with the world's largest economy can have severe unintended consequences for businesses and consumers alike, and unfortunately the Trump Administration appears to be ignoring this obvious threat.
115
@Kyle What our allies has learned over the last five years is that the U.S. is bipolar and therefore not to be trusted. Based on whoever wins the latest election, policy will swing wildly and promises will be reneged on and contrary promises made. This is what erosion of soft power looks like.
25
Well, I think multinational companies are looking at moving from the US, yes Trump is the idiot in charge....and he will be removed at sometime...hopefully soon....but the problem the US has now, is that he was voted into power by Americans and he continues to be supported by like minded Americans!! Who would invest in this type of society....just like the UK the US has lost its status in the world !
12
@Ivor Kealy He was not voted in by Americans. He lost by 3.2 million votes. It was the
ill-proportioned, not to mention ridiculous, Electoral College that put Trump in the White House and our country in shambles.
11
Tariffs on steel with Mexico and Canada have been lifted. This is great negotiations and strategy by Mr atrump. Well done sir!
1
@Chuck - Are you trying to be funny?
@ChuckCanada is the largest export market for the US taking in over twice the value as China and Mexico is next. Between them they take in 5 times as much as China. The Mexican folks were in Ottawa this week fine tuning the additional tariffs to be imposed on US goods (they both had already matched Trumps nonsense $ for $) and said unless the Trumpian nonsense ceased the new NAFTA was doomed for neither country had ratified the treaty. Trump said his imposition was based on nation security, an especially galling comment for Canadians who had smuggled out/ freed US Iranian hostages, took in 30,000+ frightened travelers then fed, bedded, clothed, medicated and housed them while taking no compensation whatsoever on 9/11. In Afghanistan Canada spent an estimated $18-billion fighting in Afghanistan and trying to reconstruct the country. The war took the lives of 158 Canadian soldiers and wounded more than 1,800 others.
2
Good move.
German, Japanese, and Korean automakers now know that they’ll either need to make more cars in the U.S., or at least increase the domestic content of what is already made here. They’ll get a six month extension on making this happen.
In the meantime, this clears the decks for the much bigger trade disagreement with China.
2
Welcome to the "Art of the the yes-no-haven't-got-a-clue."
21
The real purpose of Tthe Trump tariffs is for getting the Joe Blow general public to provide more positive cash flow to the US Treasury's coffers to help finance the tax cuts he gave himself and his rich buddies. The few got the tax cuts but everyone will pay the tariffs.
19
How smart is it to punish our neighbors, Mexico and Canada, and our finest ally in Asia, Japan. It would be a test of political resolve as millions of Americans, myself included, have a strong preference for Japanese and German cars. And does the U.S. really want to exclude itself from the Chinese market, the largest car market in the world and getting ready to expand exponentially?
5
Senator Grassley "boldly" speaks about the phony excuse of 'national security" that Trump has been misusing in all the tariff wars.
The mouse finally speaks up. A slight improvement over the boot licking that Grassley and his fellow Republican Senators have been doing for the past two years.
15
Has anyone informed Mr. Trump that manipulation is not the same as negotiation? Perhaps, it's time.
13
Tariffs are easy to understand as a concept - I get why Trump us using them.
Solid international economics to compete is a global economy requires nuance, patience and intelligence - something our dead leader is sorely lacking in all respects.
Is anyone really surprised this man, who can't even bother to read a bullet-pointed daily security briefing, can't be bothered to understand the implications of his feckless decisions?
Vote in 2020 - we owe it to the next generation to not let this madness continue any longer than it needs to.
11
If automobile tariffs were imposed for all countries, except Canada and Mexico—the latter exempted to protect the integrated North American car market—and tax incentives were thrown into the mix, we might actually see significant numbers of new jobs in the U.S.
But this won’t be tried because, as we can see from the reader comments, most progressives have bought into the neoliberal view that tariffs are, and always must be, bad.
What is the intellectual basis for such opposition? It is the theory of comparative advantage, which supposes a free and fair international trading system. That theory is given lip service by most governments, but in practice they all put their thumbs on the scale. So, this theory is bankrupt. Something new must be tried.
Economists of almost every stripe have long preached the doctrine of comparative advantage while turning a blind eye to the human suffering and political turmoil it causes in practice. One wonders, how quickly and substantively would they revise this theory if their own jobs were suddenly at stake?
9
@Ron Cohen I suggest you do some reading on the aftermath of the McKinley Tariffs.
19
@Ron Cohen Why should I have to pay more for my car just so some other guy in another state who does inferior work relative to the global competition can have his job propped up?
31
@Ron Cohen
That's right. Tariffs are always bad in theory. Actually the theory says that if all countries had tariffs except one, that one country would have an advantage.
Open borders (by the way) works the same way. That one country with open borders will win - even if all the rest have closed borders.
But tariffs, or the threat of tariffs, are useful to apply negotiation pressure when the terms of trade have become skewed. That's what Trump is doing in his blunt way.
The ultimate goal of tariffs is not money into the Treasury or protectionism leading to more jobs (which are political goals) but to rebalance trade, ideally getting to no tariffs at all anywhere.
The difficulty is that tariffs have unintended non-trade consequences - and these unmanageable effects occur in different time frames. And since trade is complex with adaptive effects, one also cannot project the trade-only effects.
There is so much uncertainty one should only use tariffs when the terms of trade are obviously unfair (which they are not now) and only do so in a limited way because, like war, there will always be unknown consequences that subtract from any imagined benefit.
But Trump likes to break things and does not evaluate risk as he should. He's been apparently successful through six bankruptcies and using (losing) other people's money. Now he's decided to risk the country on a game of dice.
Luckily, tariffs can mostly be reversed and Trump has no problem changing his mind.
13
I think the principal reason Japanese cars made such an inroad into the United States market was they were so much better than American made cars. My American cars ran for barely 60,000 miles before needing major repairs. Japanese cars didn't need any significant repairs for more than 100,000 miles. Even today, American cars aren't as reliable as Japanese cars. The U.S. Auto industry doesn't need protection from foreign imports. It just needs to build better cars.
29
@Frank Panza The real reason was mpg and using less gas. There was a time when people wanted the cars so much that they didn’t get to pick the color and paid over sticker price.
6
Guess who just blinked?
27
The most protectionist nation in the world was the "Former" USSR.
4
More Magic-8-Ball economic policy.
"Let's see, what will my position be today!?", says Trump, turning the little black ball upside-down to peer into it's Magic window...
24
When Ronald Reagan imposed tariffs on Japanese cars in the 1980's, the price of most cars leapt above $20K and never came down. The US automakers used the tariffs as an cover to increase domestic prices as the tariffs forced imports costs higher. I have never purchased an American car and most likely never will. I convinced my father (WWII veteran) to buy a Honda which he then pronounced as the most reliable car he had ever owned. He never bought another American car the rest of his life.
If you plan to buy a vehicle and the sticker price has gone up, blame Trump. He's taxing Americans with his trade follies.
51
@me
Ha,
My father went through:
1960 DeSoto Fireflight. (What a beauty)
1966 Oldsmobile 98
1972 Buick LaSabre
1979 Oldsmobile Delta 88
Each car was worse then the one before.
The Olds 88 started falling apart in 2 years.
Power windows failed. Dash rattled. Car would not hold a tune. Always pulled to the right no matter how many times we balanced the tires. Pure JUNK.
A few years later GM started running ads in TV saying how they have turned a new leaf and wanted the public’s trust
in their cars again.
I must say I did love the DeSoto, what with power push button transmission and the incredible body.
You tapped the gas and she would leave rubber.
11
@New World
I lived just north of Detroit for almost ten years. It was a joke. I drove a European and Japanese car during this time. What was amazing to me was that every saw me as unpatriotic. Gradually more and more foreign cars appeared as people caught on that they were better cars. I said why would I drive a car that spends most of its time in a repair shop. Then I moved to CA and you know what everyone was driving foreign cars.
6
"The Art of the Scam".
Bluster, make nonsensical threats that the threatened know will only harm US interests and claim victory long before the skirmish is over.
The Trump playbook may have yielded minor results in its very early days but it has become stale. Opponents have adopted a simple but effective response, ignore, ignore and ignore.
Every sports team adapts their playbook to deal with every competitor. The alternative, lose, lose and lose
13
Whats next? Make cars and phones from overseas illegal to purchase?
13
@Ryan
It could be called the "Alabama treatment ." Perhaps give the foreign car dealers 90 years for each car sold.
8
As a red state progressive who hears here that the poor farmers are always suffering, I wonder if the leadership and base of the republican capitalists actually care for farmers. They seem to care for the Auto makers and Tech industry moguls who are not Terrified to death by this administration. The base is the farmers to a degree in this state, so I would guess they care about themselves, as do most republicans.
8
“Smoot and Hawley ginned up The Tariff Act of 1930 to get America back to work after the Stock Market Crash of '29. Instead, it destroyed trade so effectively that by 1932, American exports to Europe were just a third of what they had been in 1929. World trade fell two-thirds as other nations retaliated. Jobs evaporated.”
Elaine Chao, Trump’s Transportation Secretary and Mitch McConnell’s wife.
16
So, in effect, despite all the bluster, he's done next to nothing. I guess in the end, that's better than him actually accomplishing something, but it also exposes what a sham he is. How sad for our country that this is our president.
Trump should also start reimbursing taxpayers for all the time government employees spend on his go-nowhere initiatives. The cost of all this about-facing is starting to be real money.
23
@Joe Agreed, but I call it flip-flopping. Even 'about-facing' is too gentle and respectful.
3
@Joe
He may possibly be doing the right thing. First this, then that - or trial and error. Trump is a world-class flip-flopper and that's good when you don't know what you are doing. Everything is complex and connected, not one of us know what we are doing especially when we think we do. Like Bolton, for example. Humility become even more valuable when living in a complex world and wielding weapons of mass destruction.
Strange we don't call it flip-flopping with Trump, maybe because it gives us hope.
Why are we allowing this man to tax us all on things we need?
The Constitution says only the Congress can levy a tax or tariff--and only the house can start one.
10
@mike
Very true, but I find it unsurprising as this President has consistently chosen to bypass the legislative branch and erode our Constitutional norms. He is simply unconcerned with adhering to precedent when it becomes inconvenient for him in advancing his own impulses and personal interests.
7
@Kyle He is unconcerned with the US Constitution, which I suspect he has never read. And if he has indeed tried to read it, he comprehended none of it.
If Congress wanted to do so they could easily stop any of these tariffs. The power to levy tariffs is clearly a duty of Congress, as provided in the constitution. Unfortunately over the years Congress has ceded this power to the executive branch in a number of laws, allowing the President to levy tariffs during wartime and national emergency. Cue Trump declaring car imports from Japan and steel imports from Canada a matter of national security. Silly, yes, but that’s the only way the President can justify the unconstitutional use of his powers.
If only we had a legislative branch willing to enforce the intended separation of powers. That would however require the GOP to put the interests of country over party.
22
@Jeffrey, We do. The Democrat-controlled House is trying to keep Trump under control. The Republican-controlled Senate is paving the way for Trump to destroy the U.S.
9
Trade resentment by Trump's supporters fueled by a weakening middle class in the US has caused Trump's misguided mercantilist trade policies.
8
Why would the Europeans want OUR chicken? Gigantic birds with absolutely no flavor and the texture of spaghetti.
17
@dogtrnr12
You forgot the tantalizing aroma and flavor of chlorine.
2
@dogtrnr12
Heck - why would WE want to eat our chicken?
- A 2011 study conducted by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) found 48% of the 120 chicken products tested were contaminated with E. coli, commonly found in feces. The following year, repeat testing revealed the exact same result: 48% of chicken products again tested positive.
- PCRM filed a petition for rule-making with the USDA in 2013, asking the agency to regulate fecal contamination as an adulterant. PCRM has now filed a lawsuit against USDA over the agency’s failure to respond.
- Poultry is a major source of Campylobacter, which has been the most commonly identified infection since 2013. It causes diarrhea and 18% of those affected require hospitalization.
1
Aren't Trump's political returns from threats and actions (all of them, not just tariffs and sanctions) diminishing? As the costs of doing business or co-operating with the US increase, countries will find cheaper altenatives. Trump's policies are gradually isolating and weakening the US economically and politically.
11
@PeterE
How so? Please give facts that show weakening of our economy and our political status. To the contrary our economy on any measurable statistic is strong and politically, since we ceased Obama’s apology tour, we have standing again in the world
@Chucksay thanks to Obama, Chuck, for his putting a strong economy, unemployment rate , and stock market for Trump to coast on .
Trump has cut costs for big corporations by trashing all controls on environmental protection. Frankly I would prefer to get my uncompromised planet back rather than have Trump’s fat cat CEOs increase their bottom line. A destroyed earth can only survive so long.
7
@Chuck
Curious Chuck, how do we measure our standing in the world?
3
The sad truth is that President Trump learned his economics listening to Talk Radio and watching Fox News.
Neither of them has an understanding of how the global economy actually works. Kind of comparable with Trump University teaching real estate.
95
Companies that moved production to China to take advantage of cheap labor accepted conditions China imposed. Apparently the higher profits made it worthwhile. China didn't force anyone to move there to have their intellectual property stolen.
17
@Doug Lowenthal, a lot of companies that moved to China did so because China is a big market and they want to be part of that. Building in China and selling in China makes sense.
4
@Doug Lowenthal-
Chinese consumers buy more cars than any other country in the world.
Apparently having customers matter to Car manufacturers.
1
@jim True. However, the comment Doug made is valid.
Can I offer some cheese to go with the incessant ‘’ whine” I hear from the Left? With millions of job openings going un-filled, unemployment at record lows, startup companies re-emerging as strangling/onerous regulations have been removed & returns on investments continuing to soar along with Corporate earnings, one would think from the Left’s perspective that Chicken Little was in the room.
Thank you Mr Trump for your actions and stewardship!
1
@Chuck It's not the "Left" that is supporting Corporate welfare for those who get profits from manufacturing overseas. What economics lesson are you learning from your internet buddies?
13
May all those un-filled jobs be then filled by immigrants looking for a better circumstance?
8
@JH3
If they come here legally, why nor. The emphasis is on legal!
Protectionism works, but requires long term strategy with targets and specific long term end game in mind, one no preceding administration or congress has been able to pull off in my life. The likelihood of such a success with this administration is zero because of the conflicts and the frightening lack of talent in the cabinet.
We've watched hundreds of auto & aerospace companies fail in and leave the USA in the interest of higher and higher profitability elsewhere. These are big names too numerous to call out. And while this was happening, laid off Americans were assured better and more desirable jobs in tech were coming. We had no idea a large population of foreign engineers would be imported to the US to do those tech jobs and if you don't believe this, look at the H1b visa program and who is working where for who.
Personally, I'm watching the Tech sector with bemusement; cheering for it to fail from the same exact forces that took down shipbuilding, steel, autos, rails, and aerospace in the USA. There is nothing in this administration or anything you can do yourself to stop that. Name tech products designed, engineered, programmed, and built right here in the USA. Right. Thought so.
I never in my wildest dreams thought the very best career opportunities I'd ever have would be as a young technician in the military, because even with an engineering and masters today, there's nothing close to what I did as a young enlisted man, its all overseas.
Angry vet? You betcha.
11
Apropos of Trump but not his tariff nonsense (more important):
A judge ordered the White House to un-redact sections of the Mueller report. Those sections tell us that people with ties to the White House and Congress contacted Mr. Flynn in order to attempt to obstruct the Russia probe. Flynn gave Mueller a recording of one such attempt.
In a memo to the court, Mueller wrote: Flynn "informed the government of multiple instances, both before and after his guilty plea, where either he or his attorneys received communications from persons connected to the Administration or Congress that could have affected both his willingness to cooperate and the completeness of that cooperation."
See:
https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2019/05/17/world/europe/17reuters-usa-trump-flynn.html?searchResultPosition=2
16
Maybe Trump should just levy his tariff on the auto industry and then gift the US auto industry subsidies like he did with farmers after his tariffs hurt them, then the tax payer can pay for the higher cost of cars due to the tariff and also pay for the bailout subsidy. Sounds like a plan. Oh, and all for national security.
17
Be prepared folks, we are headed to the Trump Recession! Why is it that every time a Republican president is elected....America ends up in an economic recession?!
Let’s FIRE every Republican, we can, this year. In 2020, if he hasn’t been impeached....FIRE Trump!
VOTE!
33
How did the Biggest Loser in American history become a champion for the working people? Why would anyone support a liar and tax cheat with a combover and spray tan?
I’ll tell you why: pollution from cars has made us too stupid to think straight and independently. If he succeeds he’ll save us from ourselves as nobody will be able to afford a tank of gas let alone a car to put it in. Thus cleaning the air.
Stupid like a fox!
16
I certainly hope that Trump doesn't take us back to the bad old days, when the USA made mediocre cars at best. They have gotten better only because of foreign competition. Here in this area, Toyota Prius cars are incredibly popular. Our family owns two. When we bought them, nothing made in America came close in terms of efficiency and cost. They are by far the least costly cars to operate and maintain any cars that we have ever owned. It's astonishing that Trump is brazen enough to make the claim that these and other imported cars are a threat to our national security - a threat posed to us by our allies, Japan and Germany, no less. As far as I can tell, penalizing American buyers of these cars with tariffs is the only threat to our economic security.
As far as trade balances and barriers go, we have a different problem with our agricultural exports: While many Americans want to buy the superior manufactured products that we import, many Europeans don't want to buy what they regard as inferior GMO agricultural products. I personally think that most GMO phobia is the result of ignorance, but I'm not a European consumer. So when the USA tries to jam our GMO exports into some foreign markets, their consumers regard us as pushing truly dangerous products. I think Americans can understand those opinions if they consider how they feel about dangerous products ranging from pet food to generic drugs that have come to us from China, where poor QC is the norm and fraud not uncommon.
9
"Automotive technological superiority is essential for the national defense,” the White House proclamation said. “In light of all of these factors, domestic conditions of competition must be improved by reducing imports.”
Perhaps the dumbest statement of the year (in a strong field). Protectionism does not lead to innovation. By protecting the native industry, you are encouraging inefficiency and discouraging advances that would otherwise be needed to compete on a global scale.
One need only look at the fine automobiles from the old Soviet Bloc for an example of the impact of protectionism on an auto industry.
13
6 months in manufacturing is no time at all - he's just rattled the uncertainty cage again.
9
People do realize this is his entire strategy, right?
Start a ridiculous and unnecessary trade war, inflict enormous economic damage on both countries, and then make a terrible deal that reverts to the status quo just before the 2020 election, claiming victory.
I pray that the Americans who were swindled to vote for him will rethink their decision, which most certainly is NOT in their self-interest.
The wealthy coastal elites will be fine under basically under any president. It is the middle of the country that is being brutally taken advantage of by trump.
11
Going after German car manufacturers that employ thousands of U.S. workers in Alabama and South Carolina factory plants makes no sense at all. Those same manufacturers employ thousands of other American workers as vendors and contractors.
Some damage has already been done to the auto industry, just by the tariff threats alone. Expect the slowdown for the entire industry to continue and worsen.
Trump is clueless as he panders to his even more clueless base.
18
What Trump calls a deal, I say for whom. What we know for sure, he has no idea what he is doing, nor the long term ramification of his gut decisions.
6
Trumps advisers are fanatics, and while Trump plays politics with his voter base, even though it is they who will lose most in a trade war. What are mid western farmers supposed to do with their subsidised surpluses, perhaps the government will pay them to store or destroy them. A trade war makes absolutely no economic or political sense, and will end with everyone being poorer, especially those who can least afford it.
7
Trump said HE had determined . . . and HE had decided—
Sound familiar?
And the accompanying photo against a setting sun perfectly captures a pyramidal autocrat, head kyphotically jutted forward.
6
We constantly hear from economists and pundits of various stripes that tariffs won’t work if the goal is to bring jobs back to America.
True, by themelves they may not work, but coupled with tax incentives, such as the newly lowered corporate tax, and applied across the board to all countries, not just a targeted few, they may indeed bring jobs back. We won’t know until it is tried.
The doctrine of comparative advantage that these economists and pundits rely on to justify their denunciation of tariffs is bankrupt. It assumes a fair and free market for goods and services across national boundaries. That has always been a dubious assumption. In the case of China, it is blatantly and notoriously false.
For far too long, this well-educated and affluent class of policy mavens has trumpeted the virtues of a free market, while turning a blind eye to the human suffering they have endorsed. I dare say, if their own jobs were suddenly put at risk, it would be interesting to see how quickly they would abandon their corporatist, neoliberal views on foreign trade.
4
Hmmm. I think I’ll skip politics and stick w facts. Americans built the greatest economy the world has ever known. Since when have Americans blamed others while failing to prepare for the future. Are we victims, sir? Helpless victims that require government-issued pacifiers? It’s time for everyone to stop whining and start preparing for the future.
Besides GM and Ford US plants, here is a list of other American based plants and locations.
BMW South Carolina
Mercedes Alabama
Fiat Chrysler Michigan, Ohio, Illinois
Honda Ohio, Alabama, Indiana
Hyundai Alabama, Georgia
Kia Georgia
Nissan Tennessee, Mississippi
Subaru Indiana
Toyota Kentucky, Mississippi, Indiana,Texas
Volkswagen Tennessee
Volvo South Carolina
I guess someone showed this list to Trump!
13
@Peter Z
I should add that GM has plants and Joint Ventures in China, where they sell more cars than in the USA !
5
The automakers get a reprieve. The farmers get welfare. As a hard working middle class person, where is the bailout for my 401k losses?
13
There is an old saying "If you want to keep getting what you have been getting - then keep doing what you have been doing" Clearly Mr Trump doesn't get it. This is headed the way of his other six bankruptcies. He is digging his own grave.
6
Dear Americans,
first you were told that Mexico was going to pay for the wall. Now your president makes you believe that China is paying the tariffs.
What is wrong with your education? How in the world is it possible that only a few know better?
27
"President Trump on Friday said he would delay tariffs on imports of cars and car parts from allies like Europe and Japan for six months, essentially setting a tight deadline for the United States to reach trade deals that have so far proved elusive."
Once again, our self-proclaimed Master Negotiator in Chief demonstrates that he couldn't negotiate his way out of a wet paper bag.
Absolutely pitiful.
10
Nothing to worry about.
Trump knows best.
After all, he ia s very stable genius.
He said so himself.
11
Suddenly get another case of virtual heel spurs, there, Donny? Trade wars ...any wars... in Trumplandia, are supposed to be easy to win and good for America. A few months as a grunt in Vietnam would have gone a long ways toward disabusing you of that notion, Mr. President.
When was the last time you drove a car, Mr. President. Golf carts don't count. You don't need a license or insurance to menace the fairways and park on the greens. And, unlike being president, you actually have to demonstrate your capability to operate a motor vehicle before being allowed out in public piloting one. Is that why you believed running a country was a piece of cake? No license examination necessary?
And don't forget, most voters are car owners. Most of your base are car owners. A big percentage of those folks can barely afford their wheels, and now you find yourself in a quandary...and, no, that's not a foreign car. I'm guessing someone finally got your attention that this just might cost you at the ballot box.
6
So about 70,000 votes in the Midwest that won Trump the election are wreaking havoc in the whole world affecting billions of people and their lives. How about that Trump “butterfly effect”?
24
Obama just saved the US auto industry (through a smart combination of government loans and incentives to innovate so that American cars can beat competitors on global markets again), and as soon as the GOP takes over, the problems already start again.
We should thank the Democrats for having built such a strong economy and auto industry that even a "master in the art of bankruptcy" can't destroy it in a couple of years.
Nothing lasts forever though, so sooner or later we'll need a real president to take over and put us back on track again ...
18
@Ana Luisa
Trump is a fool but your adulation of Obama is a bit naive. I bet you support Biden, don’t you?
Maybe someone on his team told him about the "chicken tax", the 25% tariff that the US applies to imported pickup trucks and light duty vehicles. Any automotive tariff fight would immediately put this on the table.
Keep this in mind whenever you hear the US automakers say they are abandoning other car models to focus on the "highly profitable" trucks and SUVs.
From a consumer perspective, we pay far too much for light duty trucks and vans, while lower cost and more fuel efficient models available in other countries, like the popular Toyota Hi-Lux pick-up, are not sold here.
14
Put a Republican at the helmet, and the US auto industry gets in trouble. Put a Democrat in the WH, and he saves it - as Obama did, during the Great Recession, and against ferocious opposition by the GOP.
By the way, it's absurd to want to increase the export of US farming products to Europe. First of all, regulations in the EU are much stricter, so many of them won't be accepted simply because Europe already had this debate, and its citizens decided to not put their own health and that of the environment at risk, just to allow a handful of CEOs to increase their financial wealth even more. No threat from an ally country overseas will change that.
Secondly, especially when it comes to food, the 21th century needs to move to buying local, and because of the fact that many EU cities are situated close to farm lands, it's only a matter of time before this will become the rule rather than the exception. It's totally irresponsible to produce food on one side of the Atlantic ocean and then put tons of carbon into the air just to get it to Europe. American farmers will have to learn to produce real, healthy food for their own citizens - through subsidies for those farmers who do, if necessary.
12
How many Ford Ranger small trucks do you see here? It is subject to a 25% tariff and is not sold here despite it's past popularity. Now apply that tariff to other vehicles and tell me how many sales they will lose here also. It's a no-win scenario.
6
Trump and republicans look toward the stock market for answers. Things will settle down now and look pretty good for the next economic report. As long as the stock markets are good, their lobbyist will be happy and their coffers will be filled in the next round of elections.
Did anyone tell Trump and his clan that the little American dairy farmer is going extinct? Apparently there are less than 18000 left in the US.
He is running on the strength of the economy, which has to be pure cockamamie. There is no way that the devastation of farmers and these tariffs are not affecting our economy. The best I can tell is that the initial buyback of stocks from the huge tax break has contributed to a bloated stock market and the rollout of millions of low paying temp jobs has bolstered the monthly job report. People are just not feeling this great economy.
7
RE: "Mr. Trump said he had determined that imports of cars and car parts were causing harm to the American automobile industry"
The question is, how he did this? No domestic company asked for the protections - because it will hurt them as well. The comments from the public comment period were overwhelmingly against the idea with sound rationalization of how it will hurt the US and the US consumer.
So with all the evidence being the opposite of his "determination" how did he come up with it? What does he want to do it?
4
@Marie I suppose it is an example of more of his beliefs not based on evidence and even contrary to evidence.
6
Three German automakers, BMW, Volkswagen and Mercedes employ over 100,000 American workers in 4 separate plants. The largest BMW factory in the world is in, wait for it. South Carolina. Japanese automakers employ American workers in 11 US plants. Much of the BMW production in South Carolina is for export. I wonder if Mr. Trump is aware of any of these facts?
What is the purpose of threatening these allies and global partners? What is the end game?
24
Maybe I Economist Wharton graduate "president" is starting to realize that his tariffs are starting to have consequences; Wal-Mart raiding prices. Wal-Mart is where most of his base shops. Much of his base are also farmers, who are getting nailed. Auto tariffs will not get auto makers to make cars in the US; they will follow Wal-Mart and raise prices.
Eventually, all these higher prices will cause consumer to stop buying things. In an economy that lives or dies by consumer spending, that means first sky rocketing inflation, then higher interest rates to control inflation, then layoffs and finally a recession. Of course, what Trump is doing is what Hoover did in 1930, and that caused the Great Depression.
I guess Wharton degrees are not worth the cheap sheep sking they are printed on.
6
Amazing how few NY Times readers are aware that a 25% automotive import tariffs has been in effect since 1964 on pick up trucks and larger SUVs.
Nor how few NY Times readers are aware of the consequences of this 25% on the US automotive industry.
Or, its effect on consumers.
2
It is never clear why Trump pushes for trade sanctions against Allies. China yes. Megalomania appears to have a grip on Trump and his advisors. At this rate of attack against our trading partners, wherever they may be, isolation from them all becomes more of a constant concern in addition to great damage to our economy.
3
To George N. Wells, who writes
Tariffs aren't going to get auto manufacturers to design, build and tool a factory, recruit and hire workers to build cars in America
DEAD WRONG
From the NY Times
"Dropping out of the sedan business in the United States is a momentous shift for Ford. " ..Mr. Shanks said the business lines losing money were mainly smaller vehicles.
The reason is Ford is competing with imports made in low
wage countries that can be imported at 2.5 %
Ford is planning to introduce several new trucks and S.U.V.s over the next three years.
The reason, precisely is because US domestic production of pick ups and large SUV production is protected by a 25% import tax since 1964
1
@Woof Ford is competing against Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai and Volkswagen, all of whom build their cars here in the USA, or in Mexico/Canada. Ford also builds vehicles in Mexico and Canada.
4
Following the White House type of reasoning: I‘d say the military and defense superiority of the US also heavily depend upon the soundness of the president‘s advisors (and his decisions) in that area - maybe another reason to trigger a national security threat situation?
2
Bullying trade partners is going to backfire big time on Trump. Sooner or later they'll say fine, we'll do business elsewhere and the United States will be left with no trade at all. I don't think those unemployed coal miners would be willing to pay $130 for a shirt at Wallmart or $100,000 for a made-in-America pickup truck. As for our farmers, without export markets American agriculture would become extinct.
8
And now, in true trump fashion, Donald will claim he saved the auto industry from tariffs.
Destroy, fix, take credit, have a parade.
6
Why try to manipulate competition in the auto industry through added tariffs on foreign brands? Instead, why not reward innovation, efficiency and green design then make a concentrated push to urge American auto makers to follow that path. The simple fact is, American auto makers don’t really care about the aforementioned factors. In 2018 seven of the top ten best selling vehicles in the U. S. were trucks and SUVs. The remaining three were sedans made by Toyota and Honda, not Ford and GM. TRUCKS and SUVs! Have we forgotten the fact that a few short years ago regular unleaded was over $4.00 a gallon? Why has the American icon, Ford Motor Company, almost completely pulled out of the sedan market? Because Americans don’t buy American made sedans. And why don’t Americans buy American made sedans? Because sedans made by foreign companies are FAR superior! This administration is simply trying to enforce its will on the American consumer by raising the prices on foreign (better) automobiles thereby encouraging (forcing) us to “Buy American”. That amounts to bad policy, bad politics and bad economics.
5
The Trump presidency is becoming one big delaying tactic. You can only pretend there is some coherent strategy to smoke and mirrors for so long. Donald just wants to keep it going till 2020.
6
@Rick
Well, smoke and mirrors are reaping wonderful benefits in the Job Market, Corporate earnings and in the ability for new small start ups to jump in. Yes indeed, keep it going through 2020.
I stopped buying US cars during the oil embargo when I decided to buy a more fuel efficient Japanese car. I will never buy an American made car again.
After reading about the way Boeing is using defective parts on planes built in South Carolina and their abject failure regarding the 737, I avoid flying on Boeing Jets.
Trump brags about all the regulations he has removed. I know longer have any confidence in US manufacturing since the Trump administration has gotten rid of any oversight.
It's sad but I trust the EU to regulate safety more than I trust the government I pay taxes to.
12
Quit following what Trump is doing and maybe he will get discouraged and resign.
4
Good job Mr Trump. Keep the pressure on to deliver the message. We want free and open trade without the risk of our intellectual property being stolen! My retirement portfolio is up 41% since your election. My 2 sons are up 45% and, though libertarians, they have committed to help re-elect you.
@Chuck
I doubt your numbers since the S&P has increased 25% since Trump’s inauguration. Tariffs and Free Trade do not go together.
5
@Chuck - How nice for you. And then things start going south, then what?
I have a feeling he delayed the auto tariffs because he was to busy manipulating the stock market in other areas. There's only so much insider trading you can do when you don't come out of your bedroom till noon.
3
It is not like the USA doesn't have tariffs on Japanese and European good. Trump want to keep the USA tariffs, but have other counties eliminate theirs. He thinks he can just bully them into submission. This is not a game plan for long-term relations. Trump want to isolate the USA from the rest of the world. He and his followers think that a walled-off America is a better country. All we end up with is less for more.
2
The farmers have already lost their markets, done deal. Auto makers don't want to go down the same road.
7
From the Canadian perspective, 2019 is an election year and PM Trudeau has had a very rough last 6 months. A year ago it was a forgone conclusion that the Liberal party would continue with a majority government, now they are desperate to do anything that might cost them votes.
Normally that wouldn't preclude a trade agreement (it should even encourage it) but President Trump has demonstrated how important it is that in any negotiation he is the clear winner.
That extra level of pride and need to make his opponents look weak, combined with the Liberal parties recent PR problems, will effectively prevent our current leadership from accepting the USMCA.
Regardless of whether the bill passes the US Senate and Congress, there's no way it'll be approved by our Parliament.
19
@Chris. You may be right, but I believe Chrystia Freeland understands what is happening and will do the right thing to protect Canada's interests.
8
When will our trading partners tire of the schoolyard bully antics of Trump and throw up their hands and say enough and stop negotiating until he is willing to act in good faith?
In Trump's grand desire to "protect" our industries is it possible his "protection" is causing more harm than good? Perhaps we should talk to those farmers who supported him and soon the auto workers that could find themselves out of work. I seem to remember a couple of European auto companies in the southern states stating they would move rather than be subject to a Trump tax.
196
@Dan. They probably already have....not that The Trump administration would notice or care.
13
@Dan
His real desire is just to bully everyone for a momentary ego rush.
27
@Dan from Sandy Utah : I regret to say that your allies are already fed up. we are still hanging in because breaking up is hard to do and we remember the good times. but...
8
A fool's dream. Tariffs aren't going to get auto manufacturers to design, build and tool a factory, recruit and hire workers to build cars in America; or even produce components. The only thing that is going to happen is that the price of vehicles will go up and the American consumer will foot the bill for "filling the US Treasury" with tariff assessments. Perhaps Trump believes that he will get to keep the assessments for himself and his family - an executive order should take care of that minor detail.
There are those who cannot wrap their brains around the idea that there are no self-sufficient nations or people on this planet. Yes there are isolationist people and nations and both suffer from their isolation. Like it or not, all of humanity is in this, and on this planet together and a problem across the ocean will sooner-or-later be a problem for everyone.
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@George N. Wells
The ultimate irony / joke when it comes to ' Art of the Fail ' Trump's overall ignorance verging on stupidity on the subject ?
BMW and Mercedes Benz EXPORT more vehicles from their US factories than they import into the US . VW [ minus Audi / Porsche ] at present is just about 50 - 50 . Subaru builds the majority of its cars sold in the US .. with Toyota coming close .. and Honda coming up fast .
Not to mention only BMW and Mercedes provide FREE advanced automotive training and ADVANCED education .. both for new as well as existing employees . Something NONE of the US's ' so called ' Big Three ' ( in actuality two now that FCA is owned by the Italians ) offer or provide
And then there's the FACT that Ford builds cars in the UK/EU specifically for those markets ... with FCA .. owned by the Italians ... doing the same [ GM used to until they killed off their OPEL / Vauxhall divisions ] Negating any need for them to export cars from the US to the EU/UK
Ahh ... the facts .. like it or not what the majority of 21st century humanity chose to either ignore or not to believe
So here's the Blue hat for the 2020 Elections regardless of who the Democratic opponent ends up being . MASA .. Make America Smart Again ... assuming we ever were ... sigh ...
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@George N. Wells
The only thing that is going to happen is that the price of vehicles will go up and the American consumer will .......
Agree.
If imported cars were cheaper and therefore taking the market share from US cars, tariffs would make sense. Otherwise, consumers are the ones to suffer and pay the tariff.
9
@George N. Wells A distinction needs to be made between "isolationism" and "military isolationism, economic globalism." See: Switzerland, Singapore, Japan, etc.
4
All of the automakers are global operations. They make vehicles and parts there and sell them here and make them here and sell them there. They all have global supply chains. A transmission may come out of Mexico and an engine may come out of Germany. They mix and match drivetrains and parts to create different models. Levying a 25% tax on foreign made parts would be devastating to these supply chains. It would throw off all pricing structures. It would lead to supply shortages and disruptions.
The infrastructure to create these parts and assemblies was created to feed these global supply chains. They represent an enormous capital investment. If they are not fully utilized, then major losses will result, which will force layoffs.
It is not possible for any manufacturer to absorb a 25% increase in input costs. Margins in manufacturing are way too thin. Those costs must be passed on to the consumer.
The rationale behind this move will accomplish just the opposite of its stated effect. These tariffs will weaken US automakers instead of strengthening them. They will lose money and lose sales in the global market. Those losses will result in a reduction of economic output, reduce innovation, resulting is a loss of national security.
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@Bruce Rozenblit I at times ask myself if Trump and his merry band of advisors are attuned to the concept of global commerce including the sourcing of materials from different points of manufacture.
Should the grand icon of business impose his tariffs on the European auto manufacturers' parts that are imported for their factories will those manufacturers decamp to more favorable countries? I would given that Trump has no credibility and one does not know what he will waffle on next.
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@Bruce Rozenblit
totally agree, in production investment, scale is the key
31
@Bruce Rozenblit Let's finish your analysis: "Those losses will result in a reduction of economic output, reduce innovation, resulting is a loss of national security."...which will create the need for an autocratic demagogue to control the economy and national security. And who better to fill the role of autocratic demagogue than Dump, who told 'merica in plain sight: "I, and I alone, can fix it." As long as Congress abdicates its responsibility on trade and allows this buffoon to control trade, we are headed for disaster. One day Wall Street will wake up and realize this.
145
“No automaker or auto parts supplier asked for this ‘protection.’”
There is nothing more to say. Our currently competitive auto industry will suffer from this and China will expand faster into this market as a result.
31
Duh! Messing with some farmers that voted for him. is one thing. Messing with millions that are connected to the auto industry in blue or purple states is another matter. This is strictly political. We did not change any of our dairy tariffs in the new NAFTA, bullying does not work!
48
When you have no idea how cars are manufactured you do things like this. Nothing, especially not as complex as an automobile is made all in one place. Common sense will show that if you have no idea what you are doing you will destroy stuff; this is like having a shoddy mechanic performing heart surgery.
60
"Mr. Trump said he had determined that imports of cars and car parts were causing harm to the American automobile industry and that other countries had 180 days to address the problem through trade agreements with the United States. If no such agreements are reached, Mr. Trump said he would decide “whether and what further action needs to be taken,” a step that could include imposing 25 percent tariffs on foreign cars."
So, in other words, once again we're making it up as we go along Mr. Trump, aren't we?
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@Mickey Making it up as we go along...Yes indeed. Everything that is presented by the comedy of horrors does not appear to have been subjected to critical thinking, or, any thought during the development of the inane policies.
6
The Republicans should be screaming about his. Picking winners and losers. If tariffs are necessary later this year, then they’re necessary now. Let the markets decide. Hippocrates.
11
Why is he doing this to us? Tariffs are a dumb, dumb, dumb idea. So is that cockamamie wall he is soaking us to pay for by robbing defense funds. This guy is one bad-idea piece of work.
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@DM
Because it's the only thing he can do. And he can do it unilaterally despite the Constitution giving Congress the power to tax.
7
@DM you forgot the socialistic bailout for soybean producers so they wont get mad at him!
10
@DM. He doesn't work for the American people. Never did. He is a Russian asset. He was inserted in power by this country's enemies to tear down everything that used to make this country great.
1
"a visit to a sumo wrestling championship, where Mr. Trump will award the winner’s trophy." If only someone could convince trump (to emulate Putin's "hockey" stunt) to take part IN the wrestling championship because it would get good ratings, the rest of the world would get a good laugh. But I cringe at the picture my imagination conjured up.
14
@mariamsaunders
Please no, that's not something I would ever be able to unsee.
1
Ahhh..... tariffs , fervent nationalism , strongmen coming to power. It takes you back to the "good old days" ( 1930s).
What could possibly go wrong from here on out ?
60
Trumps “national security” strategies and tactics which now include serendipitous tariff threats on automobiles convinces me that a madman is running the country from behind a green curtain.
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@Al It's more like under the green curtain where he plays with his toys, alone.
2
You could set your watch upon your waking on this more than predictable flip-flop, it is now a pathology.
25
Baby you can drive my car!
9
Trump flip flops all the time.. on everything.
Him delaying something he should not even be considering in the first place means nothing.... NOTHING.
If he wakes up with bad hair tomorrow morning, he will blame it on Democrats and then turn around and order auto tariffs on the EU immediately... because when he is upset (which is most of the time) he simply has to lash out and punish something. Since he cannot put tariffs on Democrats in Congress.. he will settle for smacking the EU.
American consumers of course suffer from all this nonsense.
29
Does this mean I shouldn't cash my Chinese Tariff bonus check?
25
@BKLYNJ: Maybe I should have voted for Trump. I haven't gotten my "Bonus Check " yet.
3
Ahhh, the consummate negotiator he is not. He needs to stick to his MO of bullying and filing lawsuits to get his way. He will be quick to discover that China and our allies won't play his game.
13
A mad man is leading the United States of America.
110
@Jack Selway. I wouldn't exactly call it "leading" . He's more like just "reacting" to his own self created crises while his criminal family sell this country out to our enemies and fills their pockets at the expense of our national security.
1
Mr. Tough guy is no more than a wimp. He has shown in every negotiation that he is all bluster and threat. And will back down at the first sign of trouble. You know the kind of guy who will say he will lead us into war, but , after he hears the first volley, sits down on the ground and says "I have to stop,. My bone spurs are acting up again. You go on without me. I got your back, though". I think the word you are looking for is....pathetic.
56
Trump's backing away from the tariffs is a purely political move as he knows it would be tantamount to throwing the election in Ohio and other midwestern states that will have huge job losses. The threats of massive layoffs right before an election year were the self-serving reason they were pulled. If Trump gets re-elected and then puts those tariffs in place, there will be no sympathy from this east coast liberal. I hope those that still think Trump is good for the economy and vote for him reap what they sow. Their children can enlist in the military to fight Trump's wars if they need a job.
19
Have I missed the Times publishing the definition of foreign made vs American made cars? My understanding is many parts and American cars are produced overseas and many foreign companies produce their cars here. Who makes the decision about how much of an auto’s production makes it a “foreign import” vs how many American components make it True Red, White and Blue?
4
Another giant tax on the American consumer. Between the GOP tax act which raised my taxes, unacknowledged inflation that has raised the price of food, and these trade wars, I am taxed out. Trump can raise the price of autos any way he wants--I have no spending discretion for large purchases or durable goods at this point.
18
Lack of automobile reliability and durability is what is hurting American auto makers. An American car is lucky to get 150,000 miles. Meanwhile Toyota and Hoda vehicles routinely go over 300,000 relatively trouble free. Trump should address that first.
25
@Andy: Even the Subaru that I own which was made in America is a far superior care than any American branded car.
My guess is that now he is faced with giving subsidies to farmers above what they already receive and he will have to do the same for the auto industry since 35 o 40% of the parts in US made cars are foreign.
Trump making America great again.
16
"The president has described his threat to impose tariffs on foreign cars and car parts as a necessary measure to protect the United States car industry and as a negotiating tool to extract concessions from foreign governments."
Most domestic automobile production in the US includes parts from many nations these days.
I challenge Trump to find one auto or SUV or truck manufactured in the US that does not have at least 25% foreign parts in it's bill of materials. Putting tariffs on these parts will simply raise the price of vehicles to consumers and is a form of taxation on an expensive product that he claims to want to protect. In other words.. he does not know what he is talking about.
And in other news.. Chinese companies are buying up old closed factories and putting manufacturing operations in place to produce auto parts closer to the end of the supply chain. Example: FuYao who produces more then 5 million pieces of glass (sophisticated glass for the newest of auto designs) for a range of automakers in the US (both domestic and foreign auto makers with factories in the US). FuYao also produces glass for Bently and Rover too.. so clearly this is not some cheap budget effort. But you know what... it's no picnic for labor... because Chinese companies are still learning about labor and worker safety requirements in the US... and... and... they buy factories and retool them in low labor cost markets...... just like every other auto factory or parts factory.
10
@Chuck
On average, automobiles assembled in the United States have a U.S.‐made parts content of 60 percent. So 40% foreign, on average.
1
Mr. Wells' and Mr. Rozenblit's points are very valid indeed.
Moreover, if one looks at the type of cars manufactured by "American" and "European" companies (supply chains and ownership aside), it's quite clear why Europeans do not buy many American cars.
Europeans favor compact, low-emission vehicles, such as cars with diesel or small turbo engines or electric vehicles.
Interior quality and design are also strong selling points and a Volvo or a VW is considered average in that regard. Most American cars are considered garish, obese and overpowered by European consumers. American cars are no more expensive than European ones, so if anyone starts producing what European consumers demand, they WILL be bought - just look at Tesla, they sell like hotcakes.
Besides, no one would ever attempt to maneuver an average American SUV or Truck through 500 year old, narrow streets. Culture and physical differences matter!
12
@Simon: Don't forget high gas mileage demands by European car owners.
3
Hah!
If auto prices rose and sales dropped, ( they dropped a bit year over year, in the first quarter of 2019), Trump would have hung the GOP's hopes of a comeback out to dry.
I wouldn't be surprised if even Lindsey Graham might wrestle him to the floor of the Oval office before he'd let jim sign THAT order..
4
So the idea is tariffs are an effective economic policy tool. Let me try to understand: under the Trump deal a Volvo S60 made in South Carolina that uses EU parts is levied a 25% tariff on all EU parts, but a Ford made with an equal % of foreign parts that is assembled in Mexico is not impacted?! No doubt those SC people Volvo (or BMW) employs have nothing to worry about as this sounds like “Free Trade” at its best!
What about this scenario for the current Chinese trade dispute: two tech companies compete 1 is CA based and makes its products in the U.S. while its primary competitor is EU based and makes its products in Europe. Both products have an equal number of Chinese made parts, but only the U.S. firm is impacted by a 25% tariff on the Chinese parts (which have no U.S. alternative). Guess which of the 2 companies is more competitive and can produce / sell their product at a lower cost: the EU firm. Sounds like sound an “America First” economic policy that reflects the global economy we live in today!
8
Wow! Trump determined the tariffs were bad for US auto, imagine that. Why didn’t he research the impact his tariffs would have on soy farmers? Here in Iowa, 4th generation farmers are facing bankruptcy. We have no idea what to plant because we have no idea if there will be a buyer for our crops. Typically, I rotate between soy and canola but Trump’s bailout mistakenly forgot to include canola so I can’t even “rest” the land.
I may just be an ordinary farmer, but my guess is Trump backed himself into a corner with Xi and is now mitigating this Trump-caused-disaster by providing relief to auto.
The 2020 election cannot come soon enough and, quite frankly, I don't care who the democratic candidate is. He/she will get my vote.
219
@4th gen farmer Do your fellow farmers understand the harm Trump is inflicting on them, and if so, will they continue to be Trump supporters?
43
@4th gen farmer: Ditto for the farmers in California. I wonder what my local US Congressman is thinking since he and his family are millionaire Rife farmers who sell 90% of their rice to Japan?
15
@4th gen farmer - "Trump determined the tariffs were bad for US auto,"
No he didn't. He determined that a tariff on autos would be bad for HIM at this time.
And, Trump, has already indicated that he is willing to bail out farmers to keep their vote.
27
I would argue this is already having an effect. Any large manufacturer will be looking outside China for supplemental capacity or new capacity and will factor in this cost.
What is clear in this Instagram-twitter world is that appearance and spin has more power than ever. As bumbling as this administration seems, they are the best the world has seen at this new game....so far.
1
I don't understand why the delay - after all, the tariffs will be paid by the importing companies. Right?
9
Trump needs to fight and levy tariffs like he needs an air supply.
That's the only explanation of why he'd start something like this now with a promise to revisit it again in the future.
It's no surprise the U.S. finds itself increasingly isolated on the world stage.
11
In order to be successful using a capitalist strategy, we need a consistent honest rule of law, not brinksmanship gambling in desperate search of how to become a monarch. Trump is leafing the destruction of our economy for generations to come. If Wall Street were forced to focus on long-term profits, none of this would be happening. It appears that Wall Street is full of greedy guts focused on short term profits for personal wealth aggrandizement - they’ll make their money and then leave the market at the optimum time...or so goes their fantasy and the rest of us...we’ll end up taken over and enslaved by our creditors...a predictable foreseeable capitalism failure for sure.
7
Hey, I thought Trump didn't like us driving German and Japanese and Korean and French and Italian cars! This is America! We should only drive American made cars. Is Trump abandoning us? America must be first, and don't forget it!! Just like all those "Made in China" goods. They don't belong in America. Actually, we shouldn't import anything. Then we will always have trade surpluses galore. We will be winners!
4
I find it hilarious that the same group of people that cry "Laissez-faire", "government is the problem", and "let the market decide" is the same group supporting tariffs, having government decide what products consumers should be buying, and also not allowing the market to decide what industries deserve to thrive or fail.
273
@Mike Perhaps many of those who support Trump and his inane war on trade are oblivious to free markets and also to the fact that tariffs are a tax, a hidden tax, on the goods they purchase.
But, Trump has been very successful in his gaslighting scheme.
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@Mike
Kinda like the "budget deficits are bad" when they're keeping the economy afloat during a economic disaster,
but budget deficits are now fine and dandy during the "greatest economy ever". A bit hypocritical at the least.
82
Made for prime TV and Wall Street. Bet Trump gets all warm when he see how he can manipulate stock prices !!
38
Mandated patriotic sacrifice for farmers; auto industry, not so much. Got it.
123
@Paul GR. Do not kid yourself: the Senate has already made provisions for paying farmers for those losses. Republicans can't afford to lose those voters out there on the prairie.
25
@Paul GR
The auto industry will be subsidized, just like when they were bailed out. Those are important Electoral College votes and that industry touches everyone.
4
@Paul GR
The farmers are getting billions of dollars in payments to cover this foolishness. This is on top of the billions they have already received. Their sacrifice is exactly zero. The only group that is making a patriotic sacrifice is the rest of us.
13
If US retailers were to pass on the tariffs, at risk of sales volume (instead of eating the margin to preserve sales), and put sales price tags clearly informing customers of the amount of tariff-increases, it would it Trump's target voters where they live.
93
@J111111: Brilliant idea. Why not extend it to all products with prices affected by tariffs?
And if the retailers/car dealers don't want to cross Trump so publicly, maybe activists could put up websites posting pre- and post-tariff prices. Better yet, a phone app that lets you scan the barcode at the store and get the tariff-induced price increase.
19
@J111111 Like Ford and the carbon tax? Does Trump own a label company like Ford?
1
@Bosox rule
I'm suggesting a voluntary true-facts program by retailers, not government propaganda. The falsification in the Ford label is that the final pump price has not been affected by squeezing the marginal cost balloon a little bit, and that taxpayers in Ontario are getting several hundred bucks from a federal "climate rebate" immediately after filing income tax.
7