Sounds like he is supporting special interest groups.
Little men tear things down and destroy them out of pique and small mindedness. It takes men of perseverance, vision, courage and integrity to build things that make life better for most people.
Whatever is decided in Singapore, Trump will proclaim it the best and the most tremendous, but as usual, he will be out of touch with the reality and so will his supporters -- blinded by their ignorance. But reality has a way of hitting you on the head or kicking you in the gut or the teeth or the pocketbook. It may take more than a week, but a reckoning will happen.
2
As an American who has lived in this country for nearly a quarter century, I wish to humbly apologize to Canada---and the rest of the world---for the crude and embarassing behavior of the dolt who was elected to the Presidency by a minority of our citizens. If you are offended and bewildered by his boorishly bizarre behavior, his ignorance of history and economics, and his arrogance about loudly proclaiming his half-baked opinions to the Twittersphere, imagine how we feel.
We who did not elect him are trying desperately to ride it out while at the same time working on all the options we have for removing him from office. We trusted too much in what we thought of as responsible journalism. Now we see some media pundits beginning to report on his outrageous conduct as if it were normal, if somewhat eccentric. Our future is growing more bleak every day.
Having lived through World War 2 as a child and having been completely bewildered about the ascendancy of Hitler's authoritarian regime---I mean, how was it even possible, I always thought---I now think I know exactly how it happened. And I do not believe that statement is in any way hyperbolic.
5
Good American, bad typist. That's "nearly a century"--not a quarter of anything. In any case, long enough to remember more civil times and more honorable leaders.
2
I am still trying to understand why the "booming" economy that Trump takes credit for needs tariffs. We already have more jobs available than people looking for jobs to fill them. Is he trying to balance things out by putting our farmers and manufacturers out of business?
1
I can't stand Trump and I know everything he does is in order to increase his own power, but I can't help but wonder if some good things could happen when Americans are forced to pay more for imported goods. Possibly like less waste and meaningless consumption and a decrease in global shipping, all good, in my view, for the environment. Now, whether future administrations will take those changes and run with them is anyone's guess. This administration won't. They're likely to reverse these tariffs if any such thing happens.
3
Historian Arthur Schlesinger, while Richard Nixon was the president, authored a much-read and violently-discussed book, “The Imperial Presidency.” Dr. Schlesinger’s principal theme was that the American presidency, as far back as F.D. Roosevelt, was becoming an office that was defined by its holder as pretty much beyond the purview of the legislative branch with only the Supreme Court to oppose it.
Donald Trump, ignorant of history, is taking advantage of a supine and ideologically-beholden Congress to trample executive precedents in every domestic political dynamic and, more importantly, his conduct of foreign trade.
This current president has no knowledge of—nor interest in—the achievements (or failures) of his many 20th-Century predecessors from which he could learn how what works and what does not.
Times and regimes change, meaning that the personalities of heads of state who have been displaced means that a president must always be studying trade trends and tariffs and obligations made to other nations with particular emphasis on our hemispheric neighbors. Donald Trump, by spending great portions of his day either in front of a television screen or on a golf course is not serving the country that he swore—with one hand raised high and the other on a Bible—to “preserve, protect and defend.”
By treating our G7 friends, particularly Canada, our staunchest neighbor, like some third-world backwater, is beyond irresponsible. Trump has learned nothing while in office.
5
Flushing 75 years down the drain.
Are we crazy to let this happen???
4
Have you read USA Today’s comment section? What is scarier than trump is his blind rabid supporters, who seem to be fine giving Russia a pass and alienating our allies that they think have cheated and slighted the US. Even with the fact Russia’s economy is too small to make up for trade with Canada or the EU.
5
Trump is a clueless moron, who puts the axe to the roots of American greatness and world-dominance. The US built the current order out of enlightened self-interest. The European dependence on American military might as well as free trade are the key features of the current world system and not a bug! The moment Europe build up a credible military alliance and establish an international payment system of its own America' goose is cooked.
And then there is the most inept trade war ever. Everything Trump has done and intends to do will only raise costs for American manufacturers in a free trade world, which will further erode their competitiveness. And it will damage American brands abroad. Who cares that German don't by Chevvies (why on earth would they?) if they buy Apple products, use Facebook, and consume Disney movies, American pop-music, and spend $3 billion a year at the Golden Arches. America's economic strength is build on service industries, not on durable goods.
4
I have to admit, Putin is even more cunning than I thought. In order to weaken America, and divide the allies, he did what was necessary to get Trump elected. Trump got the ball rolling by announcing he was trashing the Iran nuclear arms agreement, add in the tariffs and now the G7 fiasco and voila! Mission accomplished and the sad fact is Americans were dumb enough to allow it to happen!
America, by the way, has it finally sunk in now that this "Child President" is totally incapable of communicating and/or relating to anyone other than authoritarian leaders? You have a very bleak future ahead of you.
4
Trump is paying back Putin the same way Manaford was paying back the oligarch he owed millions too. It looks treasonous to many folks including our former allies.
4
I am a cancer immunotherapy researcher, getting ready to ink possible collaborative deals with researchers in Toronto, Madison, WI and Chicago. Based on what Trump did just yesterday to possibly upend the world trade order, I will now only be contacting the guys in Toronto. If he is going to take America out of all current trade deals and by sheer force of him now being a brutal dictator, unilaterally telling the rest of the world what the new trade "deals" will be, do you think any country with half a brain will cooperate? Nope. WHY in the world would I want to start a new drug company here, when I will be at a severe competitive disadvantage with all my competitors located elsewhere, because all of my foreign customers have to pay tariffs on MY drug products, and my foreign drug company competitors get off, scot-free? I would be an IDIOT to start my new company here. So, I WON'T.
6
When people bow down to Trump and praise him...like his cabinet meeting lackeys...Trump likes them but when they are honest and protect their own interests, he is personally insulted and fires off a tweet storm of condemnation and calls people names just like in the GOP primary debates and his dealings with Sessions. It's all so boorish and infantile.
5
I know I can't be the only one unable to keep up at the dizzying rate at which this administration switches positions, but did I somehow miss the entire Republican party abandoning its tradition on trade? I thought it was always keen on free markets, but all I hear are crickets in response to this latest embarrassing hissy fit.
7
NYT, please ask US dairy trade associations, e.g., the International Dairy Foods Association or the US Dairy Export Council, for an on-the-record comment on whether they think that the President's behavior or Prof Navarro's declaration of a "special place in hell" for the Canadian PM will get their industry any closer to market access in Canada. Worst. Public diplomacy. Ever.
8
“But in his short tenure in office, he has scrapped potential agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership with Japan and Canada and a sweeping trade pact with Europe that would have slashed the tariffs he is now criticizing.”
This says it all. He has destroyed everything he has touched, including this country’s standing in the world for nothing than the sheer pleasure of it.
5
I wonder of Mr. Trump should delegate some of this responsibility to the Secretary of State while he is involved with other matters. Mr. T is very busy in the mornings watching tv and having breakfast. The Secretary is well spoken and receives the daily briefings on national and world events as does Mr. Trump.
1
The US economy is at an all-time high. Full employment, low inflation. Credit once again. What makes it possible? TRADE.
Trade, not tariffs, not Trump.
3
I think many of the other leaders were fearful that Trump would sooner or later be crazily slinging stuff in their general direction. He's like a cray cray uncle at the holiday table. Never unsure of what they're going to say or do next. Our reality show President exhibited his true colours and they were unfortunately on display here front and center in Canada. He doesn't care.
4
The Con Don is clearly working only for the International Mafia Top 1% Global Financial Elite Robber Baron/Radical religion Good Old Boys' Cabal.
The Canadian currency dropped significantly after Mr. Trudeau stood up to The Con Don. Carl Icahn and the other Robber Baron operatives are manipulating markets around the world to "punish" any person or country who tries to stop them - and WW3.
This must not stand in America or around the world. Institutional investors and people who value democracy must move OUR money to Canadian and other G6 country treasuries. It's time to forget short-term "profit" and stabilize markets around the world to stop the International Mafia attempts to take over the world.
NOW is the time.
2
The purpose of the meetings is to hammer out trade issues. Typically diplomacy and compromise is required to work out a reasonable trade agreement. Our POTUS seems to have pulled tariff numbers out of the air. The other leaders tried to reason with Trump about the consequences but he won't budge.
Launching a vicious personal attack against Trudeau is not a good diplomatic move. Navarro and Kudlow are apparently trying to get brownie points with Trump by going after Trudeau.
I really doubt that Putin has any complaints about Trump introducing chaos into the G7 conference.
3
That somehow the United States was taken advantage of in trade deals is delusional. The U.S. has been on a free-trade jag since the late 1970's. Big time in the 1980's with Reagan. The U.S. willingly and eagerly pushed these agreements. Until Trump the Republican Party was the party of free-trade. Free-trade was a key ingredient in their pro-business strategy that millions of Americans voted for. Cheered on by large international corporations that wanted to manufacture where the labor is cheaper. China, for example, has a vast population, estimated to be at around 1.4 billion people, or approximately nineteen percent of the global population. The work force is therefore also enormous.
The combination of this competitive job market with a lower cost of living than many Western countries means many Chinese workers are willing to work for less, which presents an opportunity for global companies to save on labor costs. It is not just the Chinese who are willing to work for less. In fact, companies often outsource to India, Southeast Asia, Mexico, and Central America because workers in these areas are willing to work for less as well. Because wages are smaller, payroll taxes are also smaller. There are far fewer unions in these countries, so there is a reduced risk of workers going on strike as well. There are also less work regulations for companies in these areas, such as required increases for overtime pay rates, which can save time and money. Our own doing.
4
Trump is acting in a traditional Republican manner. Take on eor two extreme cases and tout them as being the norm. Much like finding the California surfer who spent his SNAPs on seafood. The GOP made him the norm to drum-up outrage of their base. Trump singles out a few high tariffs from other countries and calls them the norm, but he fails to look USA tariffs. His call to ending all tariffs and subsidies should make his base shudder since they are the major recipients of government largess. There are better ways to fine-tune a system other than destroying it and trying to build from scratch.
1
"The president and his supporters argue that the United States must be willing to take drastic action to fulfill Mr. Trump’s promise to rewrite trade agreements to protect American workers"
Here's the thing: Trump's promise to rewrite trade agreements were to prevent imports and repatriate manufacturing for domestic purchases. HIs vision is protectionism and that what was popular. The vacillation of Trump in also offering a zero tariff free trade zone shows that Trump doesn't even understand his own patter. And the stock market likes it, because Trump is for some sort of war but not able to figure out which one he is going to fight.
2
Running a perpetual current account is not good for the country. We are gambling that we can have better returns on investments than the interest payments on the debts we accrue from borrowing to finance the current account deficit forever. What if that doesn't happen? The country will go broke.
Ignore the fact that it's Trump who is trying to rectify this problem, and that he is going about it in the wrong way, this is still a problem. The fact that Europe is being so hard-headed about this reveals them to be less than true friends. We are going broke paying for their defense and they refuse to cut us some slack. We complain and they threaten to go to the Chinese, our mortal enemy. Some friends they are! And if we don't have certain key industries related to national defense, we will never be able to provide for our own defense, let alone anyone else's. We don't want a war to break and and not have any kind of domestic steel industry, we can't count on foreigners to supply us with steel in such a scenario.
The Europeans have a choice. Either they can allow us some breathing room or they can go it alone against Russia. Russia will be the richest and most powerful country in Europe within 20 years, two or three times as strong as Germany. Let's see how much Merkel's descendants will like dealing with that on their own.
Russia is an economically impoverished wasteland, ruined by years of pollution and two decades of government initiated theft of resources. Its treasury is empty and it has no way to refill it, and its vital roles of state have been suborned by the mafia.
There is no way Russia will be the most powerful country in Europe, unless Trump is left in power long enough to elevate it while attempting to destroy Europe. Europe is the America's greatest ally. It would be wise not to dismiss it.
8
Does anyone believe that trump went to the G-7 in good faith? He arrived late, left early and tweeted insults at his host from the safe distance of Air Force One. If he couldn't insult Trudeau, he would have found another excuse to renege on the joint communique; it was his intent all along, but he wasn't man enough to do it face to face with his equals.
9
GM manager here: When Mercedes sells a car in the US there is a 2.5 % tariff on it when we try to sell a cadillac in Germany there is a 10% tariff on it.....the price is pushed up to high and we sell fewer cars. Not sure why the article is not making that perfectly clear at the outset if there is going to be an honest discussion of what has been going on and where we need to go. Understandably Germany (and the EU) does not want to upend this current situation but maybe the US should.
1
How will steel and aluminum tariffs effect GMs Pricing? I bought an envision in 2016, very nice. I didn’t realize it was built in China, the dealer didn’t mention it , and I never thought to ask being at a Buick dealer. Trade is complex.
Oh, really, THAT was the reason GM sold off its Opel division? I don't think so.
GM was unwilling to accept the modest profits that division generated, which did have something to do with the characteristics of European cars, with their emphasis on diesels and small engines.
GM would much rather focus on the large domestic profits generated by US sales of SUVs and trucks.
Tariffs have nothing to do with it.
If we are going to have a vigorous manufacturing sector, we need markets to sell our products. And that means global trade agreements!
1
So if you are a manager you likely know that contracts are built up on balances. One party gets better off on one topic, the other on a different one.
Cherrypicking arguments and numbers like you do (and as trump did with the diary stuff) does never help to understand complexities.
For some reason the US agreed to this "imbalance" because it got better off on other topics.
That's exactly how complex (even more multilateral) contracts work.
And the agreements found on the trade rules apparently contain a stunning amount of balance; at least I was really surprised how levelled these 1.6% are.
What an embarrassment for the principles on which the United States was founded is this boorish President. That is not the only descriptive adjective I could use for his conduct but I will leave it politely at that!
2
The Donald is doing exactly what Vladimir has told him to do. Donald won't cross Putin because Vladimir has the "goods" on him.
Trump's a sellout and a traitor. He's Putin's step 'an fetch it errand boy.
5
Trump really is like Andrew Jackson. Neither has any sense of the sacrifices made by the U.S and its western allies in World War I and World War II to create a peaceful world order based on free trade and mutual defense, and its benefits, with the U.S. at its core.
Hey Russia and China, if you are listening, the United States is done and you are winning the new 21st century Cold War. Feel free to overturn the Bretton Woods system in favor of economic nationalism. And maybe abolish the United Nations while you are at it, as Trump and some other ignorant Republicans have suggested.
1
If Trump believes that isolationism is good for the American economy then he makes the rocks in the rose garden look like the smartest things in Washington D.C.
This is a world economy today and depriving or costing the American public of those items more is not helping this country.
As a person who has made a fortune by importing, investing and building in other countries he shows the world that he is the biggest hypocrite living.
The sooner we get rid of him the better we are.
3
The ugly truth is that Trump's type of mental illness forces him to see EVERYTHING as a threat.
He is perpetually aggrieved. That is his default setting.
Under the circumstances, Trudeau was remarkably restrained.
Apologies to our Canadian friends, and please, Mueller, begin to release your findings. I believe they will be hair-raising.
8
How many more episodes of outrageously crazed behavior and wild attacks on our allies does the WORLD have to witness before Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell stand up and take action against this unhinged president?
How can this cowardly GOP congress support this madman? How can they face themselves in the mirror each morning, as they witness a Putin-directed Trump systematically dismantle our trusted institutions (Justice, FBI, Intelligence, Healthcare, EPA, Immigration, Education) and completely destroy long-time alliances with our respected allies?
Vote every single Republican who is running out of office in November. Vote like it's a matter of life or death.
5
Get a grip America. If I’m a security threat no wonder you went raging across the world after nine eleven. Is that it? That all you know how to do, rage, kill, lie, steal. Narvarro, Trump and that other know nothing Kudlow. Weak and dishonest.
7
Can a US President be an Anarchist? Well if a definition of an anarchist is a person who promotes disorder or excites revolt against any established rule, law, or custom I guess our President is qualified.
4
Yes, Comrade Putin, I have done all you asked me to do at the G7 to cause problem. Is there anything else you desire for me to do now at the NK Summit Meeting, anything as I am here to please your every whim. And thank you for not releasing the stuff you have on me. And did I thank you enough times for helping me become President. I am beholden to you forever. Your wish is my command.
2
Since American banks quit financing Trump after his six bankruptcies, China and Russia have been bankrolling him. Why? He just showed us why in Canada.
5
Europe, Canada, Japan: hang tough! We promise we are trying to get rid of this clown.
4
How does laundered Russian money affect the trade deficit?
1
The English have a saying, " Be kind to the people you pass on your way up. You may meet them again on your way back down." This of course is a lesson totally lost on Trump, but he may come to live it.
2
Congress this out of control bully needs to go, NOW. Impeach him.
6
It is time for the world to kick us Americans in the teeth and put us in our place.
2
Trump is fighting to bring the horse and buggy back while the rest of the free world has moved on. The future is in technology, renewable energy, and service. We have a fleeting opportunity, as a nation, to lead the world into that future. Unfortunately, half of the population refuses to adapt and they elected a leader who desperately wants to help us all make the horse and buggy great again.
8
All this amounts to just one simple thing: Trump doesn't have a basic grasp of economics in the geopolitical scheme of things. The only thing he grasps is the hype he can feed to his base.
7
The Global order is not working for Americans. That why he was elected President. We hired him to shake things up and get the American people equitable trade deals.
That global order was wanted, needed, established and fed by the US governments over decades. Irrespective of their party books.
The rest of the world is not responsible for internal US problems.
I have honestly no idea why so many people in the US think, an insulting, lying populist without honour and dignity (my personal perception) can actually solve complex problems he apparently doesn't understand - if he would, he wouldn't just - so obviously that anybody with internet can prove him wrong - lie about the trade balance with Canada which is, according to the objective facts and figures, very positive.
Stunning.
3
The funniest thing about Trumps ridiculous anachronistic trade policies is that the damage it could cause to German makers of luxury vehicles might be less crushing than he thinks. Indeed lower priced, higher volume models incl SUVs are made in US factories anyway. So these cars would not be affected other than suffering from higher cost for imported parts, which will equally affect US automakers. Hence, the latter will not affect price competitiveness of US-made German cars on the US market. Higher end card like the S-Class or 7 series are imported, but they do not compete on price, but on design and prestige. I doubt that the average S-Class buyer will shift to Cadillac or Chevy because of somewhat increased tariffs. Even if they do, the manufacturing systems by BMW in its South Carolina plant, Mercedes in its Alabama plant are highly flexible and these models could be made in the US replacing SUVs currently made in these plants for exporting ( of course the US would be no longer be an attractive place for making models for exporting, but this can be compensated by the German auto makers globale manufacturing networks).
And even if the EU would give in and lower tariffs for passenger cars (unlikely unless the US lowers tariffs for light trucks), it would not help Ford, GM or Chrysler, because US-made cars have such a low reputation in Europe that few people want them. So they will never make it beyond a niche offering.
11
The Ford Fiesta (a car Trump probably has never heard of - too small) last month was Europe's best selling car (ahead of the VW Golf). Ford has slowly been building a better reputation (and in Europe at least, better cars)- and since the Fiesta is designed and build in Cologne many people consider it a "half-german" car.
GM has abandoned the European Market by selling Opel to PSA, but that's their thing.
And Chrysler merged with Fiat and its word-headquater is now in Amsterdam and London.
It's all a lot more complicated than Trump thinks it is.
3
Side note: The Ford Fiesta is neither designed nor manufactured in the US...
Other nations have been taking advantage of the US in trade for years. It’s always difficult to try and set things straight when you’ve allowed others to take advantage for so long. Maybe this will actually help bring manufacturing jobs back to America. We were once the ‘Arsenal of Democracy’ but our manufacturing sector has been gutted by China and other low wage countries. Time for America to actually make things again and not just make money from money. It’s sad that the financial sector is the largest segment of our economy. Time for a change.
2
even if your supposition were true, the cows have already left the barn, so it's too late to try shutting the doors.
4
It would help if the US would stop blaming others. They were happy to buy cheaper stuff so people could live on stagnating (or decreasing in real terms) wages.
Overall, import duties are about the same across the G7.
Would you rather drive a Chevy or a Passat or Audi? Look at washing machines etc etc. Europe has high quality goods that more and more Americans appreciate. Instead of blaming others produce something that others want (as you do in Computer chips etc.)
9
One solution to our problems has recently been floated: cancel Brexit and make all British Commonwealth countries members of the EU. Then they would have by far the largest trading network in the world and with their superior values regarding the environment, ocean protections, et al., they would simply work around a country (ours) that is trying to turn back the clock on all progress, scientific and social.
Win/Win. The US gets to return to being an isolated backwater (what Trump actually means by MAGA) and the rest of the world saves the planet.
25
It is very hard to look at the substance of trade policy with a President who lashes out at our allies and their leaders with school yard language and taunts. Perhaps Trudeau should have responded to Trump's statement that he was weak with an appropriate school yard rebuttal; "I know you are but what am I"
How far the US has fallen under this administration.
22
The US dairy industry gets so much direct and indirect subsidies from local, State and the Federal government that we are literally dumping Milk in the fields.
I'm not sure why the President feels we should be able to dump milk in Canada instead of in our own fields when taxpayers are subsidizing over production.
I also don't know what milk and cheese has to do with National security.
45
Neither does Donald Trump.
9
Isn't Trump concerned that everyone is signing agreements with everyone else while we wait it out "knowing" they will come to us? Or, is he focussing on his upcoming Nobel Peace Prize which will make everyone jealous and want to be close to him? Trump has no clue that Kim is probably getting daily briefings about his nasty and threatening tweets. Although I have never met Kim I expect he is laughing heartily -- now recognized as a world leader by the U.S. he has exactly what he wants and will see no reason to give up any substantive part of his nuclear arms program.
15
tariffs are really simple: you slap a tariff on me and I slap a tariff on you, you ease the tariff on me , I ease the tariff on you, you want free trade then let’s make it truly free which means harmonized tariffs.
1
So what your point? According to the article:
Among the developed nations that make up the Group of 7 that met in a resort town near Quebec City this weekend, the United States has tariffs that are slightly higher, on average, across all its imported products than Canada or Japan and exactly equivalent to the four European nations in the G-7.
This means that Japan and Canada should increase their tarifs so they get even. Is that your point?
5
president Trumph tweets Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada as "Very dishonest & weak"
Per Wikipedia - Psychological projection is a theory in psychology in which humans defend themselves against their own unconscious impulses or qualities (both positive and negative) by denying their existence in themselves while attributing them to others.
39
Buried here is one of the main problems with free trade as currently implemented. The purpose of trade should not be to improve the economies of developing nations. The wealth to improve their quality of life comes form somewhere (see: us...Perot figured that out) and it forces the least skilled Americans to compete with developing nation wages.
Perhaps we should pursue a different policy of supporting whichever dictator wants to take power in these nations to keep the populations under control and let us plop down a military base then call it a day. It seemed to work pretty well during the Cold War.
2
In the days when the Republicans were a political party rather than an ideological ranting mob, one of its key figures, Teddy Roosevelt, came up with his famous 'speak softly and carry a big stick.' It is a supremely intelligent approach. You get what you want with less embarrassment for the loser in the argument.
The problem with Trump is that he shouts, in person or by Twitter. The animosity generated by his shouting does not fall only on Trump, it affects how America is seen abroad. There is a lot of anti-American feeling in many parts of the world, particularly less-developed countries. It takes a sort of genius in reverse to start generating anti-American feeling in countries where it wasn't predominant.
15
This was just Trump being Trump. But is this puerile behaviour what most Americans want from the leader of their country? Perhaps Americans were getting the short end of the bargain in many international trade deals, but there are civilized ways of re-negotiating those trade deals and there is Trump's way. America is worse off in the long run for having this foul-mouthed bully as our chief negotiator. It will be interesting now to see how this simple minded bully negotiates a nuclear deal with North Korea. I hope for the best, but fear the worst.
11
Based on Trump's "art of the deal" I doubt he will be able to negotiate. He wants instant gratification and everything is all about his ego. Most countries are recognizing his ignorance on foreign trade, policies but mostly his belligerence, disrespect toward everyone. Scares me that he is trying to deal with another bully whose threat of nuclear weapons could be their solution. Trump's bullying and mouth are already leading American down a bad path. Guess this was the latest "Friday" bombshell. Who is to believe Trump's figures? Everything he says is a lie. Reading other economists analogy, USA is not being treated unfairly nor robbed as Trump has somehow conceived. and his figures are way off. he has no clue.
2
I truly hate to say it, but Trump has a valid point about trade relations beings skewed against us, as well as the disproportionate defense burden we bear for the West.
These are hangovers from agreements reached during a period of American world hegemony after WW II. We correctly saw it in our interest to help Europe rebuild (the Marshall Plan) so that stable democracies could be exist instead of regimes that provoked the two greatest wars in history in a period of barely a quarter of a century.
However, this emphatically does not mean that government by an exceptionally stupid and ignorant man throwing infantile hissy-fits is an appropriate response. Hopefully we can vote in grownups who make some of Trump's correct points in a rational manner.
Dan Kravitz
3
While we have some of the lowest tariffs internationally, they are still more than twice those of our neighbor Canada (with whom we have a trade surplus)…
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/03/22/u-s-tariffs-are-among-th...
However, we also are recognized internationally as having substantial non tariff barriers in place....
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-us-is-the-most-protectionist-nation-2...
In the end, we are experiencing the hidden costs of our trade imbalance as a result of our addiction to cheap imported goods with their "too good to be true" prices. In our "consumer comes first" society, Americans want everything "on the cheap".
You are correct. It will take reasonable people to find a solution. This includes both government and American consumers alike. The price of goods must reflect the costs (and a nation's needs) for healthcare, education, infrastructure, and worker/environmental protection. We have neglected all to fill our homes with cheap stuff.
12
How is dragging our Allies into wars of choice bearing a disproportionate defense burden? The cost of US wars of choice has been a huge cost to not just the US but our Allies.
What do you think the cost to Europe of the refugee crisis out of Iraq, Syria and Libya has been?
8
I agree with most of what you said. However, regarding defence spending the US has chosen unilaterally to have and maintain an economic-military empire which for a long time has been beyond its means, not to mention the costs of long overseas wars. That needs rethinking, too, although the military-industrial complex is obviously a powerful lobby.
2
In Trump's twisted mind, he probably feels that allies are "weak" and can be disregarded. Thus, his comment that Trudeau was so "meek and mild." Good manners are a deficit. So go through life bullying, insulting, and pushing people aside. My question is how long is Congress going to let this nut run loose in the world, putting the US at risk both at risk for the economy and national security. Peter King and McConnell have obviously signed on for the blow up.
16
The wannabe dictator is not just upending global trade, he has destroyed American credibility and is endangering the future of humanity. This narcissistic monster is the ultimate exponent of the banality of evil.
20
This opinion writer fails to grasp how much the world has changed since the giddy, utopian days of "Free Global Trade created by Pax Americana"........Cold Hard Reality.......just like free lunches, free rides, free beer tomorrow.....free trade is an illusion, a trick used by wealthy men to fool the citizen into thinking there's a reward for cooperating with somebody else's profit motive. Just as uni=cellular organisms begin to join together and form more complex organisms......Global Free Trade has changed from being a simplistic 18th Century Adam Smith mechanism, run unilaterly by the USA....into a much more complex network of Trade Alliances that alternately cooperate and compete with one another. NAFTA being the most important one for the USA.....sadly, the Bush-Clinton(Obama) Axis cynically paid lip service to NAFTA all while sabotaging it and kow-towing to Most Favored Nation China and TPP. Pres. Trump, a loudmouthed NYer, is very forcefully attempting to shape NAFTA into something positive and beneficial for USA, and Mexico, and Canada....instead of allowing this vital organization to simply be a tool used by Mexico and Canada to sap the US economy. Further, it is extremely important that we incorporate our other neighbors, Cuba, Haiti, Dominican into NAFTA......and further on Guatamala, Honduras, Nicaraugua......as this also solves the ridiculous "refugee-illegal immigrant-undocumented alien" contrived controversy. Make Central America...America Again.
4
Beyond dumb...Hoover-the last ‘outsider businessman president—at least he built a profitable company—tried the same thing 1928-29...it ended badly
6
The same people who screamed about the projected one trillion dollars that the tax cuts would add to the budget deficit are strangely mute about the half a trillion dollar a year trade deficit we run. That we hand 4% of our GDP to foreign nations every year doesn't bother them in the least. Nor does the fact that our trade deficit with China pays for their entire defense budget.
Do the people defending current trade policies out of animus toward Trump realize that by doing so they are aligned foursquare with the US Chamber of Commerce, the Davos globalist elites and the American corporatocracy? In fact, per USA Today, "...conservative billionaires Charles Koch and David Koch on Monday announced a multimillion-dollar campaign to oppose President Trump's tariffs."
Think about it, when you're on the same side of an issue as the Koch brothers do you honestly think you are on the side of working and middle class Americans?
5
That is fine and a defensible position, but is this chaotic half-baked and erratic response by Trump et al. really the way to address the issue?
All so ludicrous and pointless. The US trade deficit is of our own making. We spend more on imports than we earn in exports. That is a problem to be solved here, by financial discipline. Grant our exporters $ trade credits that would-be importers must buy on a regulated exchange (or through their banks) before releasing equivalent $ to pay for imports. No other country targeted or maligned. No specific products or services targeted as well. Just plain common-sense financial discipline -- which others should feel welcome -- indeed advised -- to copy with our blessings.
4
So true, as long as the unwashed masses shop at Wal-Mart and buy their low-priced foreign-made trinkets what did you expect?
1
Hey, Trumpists, are you happy now? No more allies, apart from Bibi. Fortunately, you don't need a passport to visit Disney World.
20
How do trade deficits running hundreds of millions help Main Street? Trade deficits represent LOST jobs! We've given them away to try and build allies and friends in our phobia over and dislike of Communists. The result - the Communists (mainly China) grew stronger (developed new and valuable skills; built massive currency surpluses) and we became the world's greatest debtor nation.
1
You simply do not understand how trade works. Trade deficits are often compensated by capital surpluses. American investors make ample returns abroad and use that money to pay for the trade deficit.
5
But that is entirely your fault and your making. If the US is really upset about trade deficits - and it really should not be, because they don't actually matter - then it needs to save more money, not spend it. Don't blame others for selling you goods that you want. As for lost jobs - the fact is that far more jobs (about six times as many) have been lost to automation than to FTAs. China's entry to the WTO cost the US maybe 500,000 jobs directly, 2 million indirectly. But far more jobs have been created by FTAs overall, And, as I said, none of that accounts for the reality of technology. The US became the world's biggest debtor nation of its own accord, but the national debt is not the same as the trade deficit.
12
Trump hasn’t upset World Trade. He has simply removed the USA government as an agent for it. International corporations will adapt and work around this awkwardness, and corporations ultimately will continue to profit. American citizenry will not.
15
Donald Trump's trade policies actions are primarily motivated by enhancing his personal and family profit from him being President of the United States.
Unless and until Vladimir Putin is willing to disclose to the American people whatever Trump is hiding from them in his personal and family income tax returns and business records will we know what global trade order Trump is trying to preserve and protect.
14
We could hope for an end to the Trump Presidency that is more dramatic and final than the drip, drip, drip oh so gradual realization among his supporters and enablers about the truth of this man and the horrors to come that he is bringing increasingly into focus. But I fear we are not going to be that lucky. Relative comfort breeds complacency which leads to disbelief even as that relative comfort and complacency makes too many believe that it should be better and can't get much worse. Just wait. This of us who can see it coming are both aghast and feel powerless. By the time enough of the others see it, it will have been too late. Hence, the hope for a more dramatic intervention.
9
What horrors do you speak of? World peace, fair trade, lower taxes. Heaven forfend!
Increased tariffs will of course fuel inflation which will lead to higher interest rates. None of this bodes well for the economy.
8
Trump, apparently borrowing from the Vietnam Nam experience he so successfully avoided, believes we have to destroy the economy in order to save it.
14
Wait a minute, I thought the tariffs on aluminum and steel were for national defense reasons. Isn't that what the President told us? Now they are due to squabbles about milk?
Is anyone at the Wharton school embarrassed that someone with a master's degree in business has such a sketchy grasp of economics?
77
He doesn't have an MBA: Wharton undergrad. Even so, he should know better.
13
I'm pretty sure he just got a Bachelors, he likes to make people think he got a Masters. Obviously did not pay attention in class.
9
His degree would not be the first or the last bought by a rich daddy from a university.
1
Read Krugman's excellent column on the unimaginable economics his Highness is employing in his deluded rationale. He's inviting a huge negative global response to satisfy his equal huge ego. Someone needs to punch him in the face and knock that condescending, indignant smirk from his face once and for all.
48
He needs to be evaluated for his mental fitness which seems to deteriorate as his imagined power escalates. Who now does not think he is dangerous? A sane person does not create this kind of drama everyday, not caring which way the dice rolls, in order to be the center of attention. Where are you Republicans?
7
"Read Krugman's excellent column on the unimaginable economics his Highness is employing in his deluded rationale."
You mean the same Paul Krugman who predicated that the stock market would crater and never recover if Trump were elected? That Paul Krugman?
2
Give it (the stock market) time.
The best thing Trump has done since coming into office is to leave the economy alone and let it function on its own. But now that he has decided to meddle with it (the Fed.,taxes, the banks, trade), it will start to fall apart. He has a golden touch to screw things up.
34
Everything that Trump touches dies.
I would like to see the Times do a piece on the successes that Crazy Man has had in his own "deal making" so we can judge for ourselves whether the "boy wonder" really knows what he is talking about or is a one topic person. That is a person that knows one thing -let's say sports -- and ties that to every other subject because he lacks intellectual capacity to do otherwise. It can work for a while until the audience realizes that he only knows one subject. The he can fairly be judged for the dummy that he really is.
18
The next time the US gets embroiled in another war (and it will happen) and our government asks for assistance from our allies they should respond with dead silence.
39
They pretty much already do, especially if you factor in how much of our military budget already guarantees their safety. Let's let Germany fend for itself vs Russia for a decade and see where things land.
They will.
1
germany, france, uk, they are all capable of defending themselves. so are japan and korea, and they have the money to do so.
btw germany is the second biggest investor in Russia. who needs war. it's all about trade.
It's assumed Trump knows what he's doing
The framework of Trade he's unscrewing
Untutored, unread,
With a swollen head,
The end result we'll all be ruing.
25
The sad thing is that Trump's summit with Kim J-U, if successful, will only further embolden him to act like a complete rogue barbarian in all of his future interactions (i.e. 'I achieved peace with North Korea, the greatest international relations feat in the history of man, and I can continue to be the schoolyard bully'.
20
As unfortunate as it is -- rural America needs some tough love.
They have a long history of voting against their own economic and social interests because of fear of the "other" and the only way enough of them will snap out of it to make a difference in 2020 is if they feel it in their wallets.
The best we can hope for is that the tariffs target Trump voters as much as possible; early tariffs have already resulted in some Trump regret from farmers in Iowa.
For better or worse, though, we're all going to feel it if this keeps going this way. Targeted tariffs or not.
The only "Americans" coming out of this on top is the .01%
They'll face short-term losses but they will prop up the DJIA until it is in their interest to let it go into a free fall (once they've moved their investments into safer areas for the 1-2 year period)... they'll come back when the DJIA hits 6-8K or so and buy up assets in bulk as they did after the 2008 fall (and countless others).
58
The only way those farmers will feel it, in the long term, is if Trump refrains from channeling subsidies to them to cover up what he has done. It has been reported that it is taxpayers that will fund the heavier reliance on coal and nuclear plants Trump recently ordered. He also said he would subsidized losses to America’s soybean growers if need be. The point is that Trump voters may be shielded from a direct hit.
10
There are two ways to look at this. One is to say: about time, old orders have to change but we wish it was someone other than Trump. The other is to say: the old order should go on forever. The latter is wishful thinking.
Things have changed, in the last 60 years...globalization and technology, among other things. What the Democrats should do is to present an alternate vision of both the situation, and the future. I have yet to see this.
11
The old order made America great and kept it that way for 250 years. True enough, we've had our internal problems but we've come through them successfully without needing to see the whole thing overturned by a single malcontent with a Halloween wig.
12
Sorry, Baddy - the old saying is: If it ain't broke, don't fix it! Things is broke now.
1
Why is the duty on the Democrats? Republicans control the House, Senate, and Oval Office. The Republican leadership in Congress are the ones that should be standing up to this insanity. But, like the cowards they are, you will hear nothing. But, when the chickens come home to roost, I'm sure the Republicans will blame the Democrats.
2
International trade policy is complex.
Tariffs are only part of the equation. Each country has internal supports and subsidies for certain products, which makes foreign competition on price difficult. And those subsidies are not apparent. American agriculture, like the dairy industry, gets federal subsidies ranging from favorable tax treatment to price protection to ready made government purchase contracts to federally subsidized irrigation districts. Federal protection of the food supply, of course, is essential.
And, as the article points out, having robust international trade helps the US. It creates new markets for American goods. And it promises economic growth and higher standards of living to developing countries (which makes it more likely that those citizens will stay home and not migrate, legally or illegally).
But Trump shows no understanding of these complexities. He would rather act the aggrieved victim and rage to his sympathetic friends and family. Amusing and somewhat tedious at the family picnic or the neighborhood bar, where no one wants to engage and enrage the ranter. But frightening and concerning in meetings of leaders.
30
The bottom line: The US has more to lose than to gain by a trade tariff war. Remember, a lot of our products owned by US companies are made overseas.
If the G6 elects to boycott US goods, you will hear cash registers ringing in China, Japan, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, etc. It would be like having a (economic?) wall around the United States.
Oh, wait. That's what trump campaigned on and that's what his base thinks it wants.
(I hope the G6 - and Russia - know that as soon as this administration is over, the next administration will come home again!)
18
Families have problems. There are fights and disagreements. Since they all live under the same roof, members usually work things out because it is much better to stay together and get along.
Global trade is similar. We are all family members that live under the same roof of international trade. It is better to work together and cooperate then build walls and destroy relationships.
This is what Trump is doing. He is destroying our trade family. What do you expect from a man who has been married three times and had numerous extramarital affairs his entire life. Trump wants what he wants regardless of the needs of the family. The family is now our family of trade.
Bullying, threats, accusations, and contempt usually end in divorce or estranged relatives. Looks like that is what Trump is doing to the EU and Canada. Except, our family, the family of our citizenry, will suffer, not his. He couldn't care less. His record speaks for itself.
41
A good way to explain what he's doing (undoing). Deliberately instigating irreconcilable differences, under the delusion that he will be able to walk away with "everything." He will eventually "walk away" and the US will be decrying its isolation.
20
The only real issue for Canada is whether Trump can survive politically. if he doesn't, then our country just grits its teeth until we get back to business as usual. If he does survive, the measure being the November election results, then, in my own opinion, Canada should determine an orderly exit from NAFTA and rely on CETA and TPP. We had a prosperous country before free trade with the USA, and there's no reason we wouldn't be so again.
In any case, the choice is America's, has been all along, and to chastise your fairly amenable long time friend and ally is just political theatre of the absolute absurd.
70
Henry my apologies from America. Trump has declared his own one man war against Canadians but many of us do not stand with him. This American thanks you for being our nation's best friend, we have hit a rough patch in our friendship but it will survive this bully.
6
Henry:
I could not agree with you more, but it is not political theater; it is malignancy. MALIGNANCY.
6
We are no longer a manufacturing based economy, so we don't have as much to sell as when we were. We import huge amounts of electronics and consumer goods from abroad because we cannot make those products here at competitive rates. Clothing too. We want to pay Wal-mart prices for everything, so we import. The "buy American" concept doesn't work because each of us has a budget to work with and a dollar only goes so far. One side of the trade deficit that Trump doesn't talk about is the prices we are willing to pay for goods, vs. the labor rates we are willing to accept if we were to make those same products here at competitive prices.
55
All true, but what's the solution?
4
Save more money, stop spending every cent we earn, and deficits will decrease! Pay higher taxes, invest in infrastructure, education and science. America will be better!
10
Clearly, manufacturing isn't a solution. Agriculture is what we do best, as far as tangible commodities go, so why impose tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum only to have the Chinese impose tariffs on pork and soy beans? This whole trade war tactic Trump is using is just counterproductive. I don't know what the solution is, but alienating strong allies, ones who have fought beside us and supported our global initiatives is not going to help.
1
It's difficult to describe the degree to which this administration is floundering, bewildered, in the face of a global system it clearly doesn't understand. This is why, despite Republican adoration for them, businesspeople tend to make bad political leaders--they come from a world of zero-sum, winner-take-all capitalism and are thrust into a world where you have to trade and compromise, often with delicate diplomacy, if you want to get ahead. Millions of Americans thought that because Trump ran a business it meant he could run a country. Now we're all learning the hard way that the opposite appears to be true.
80
Trump could not even run a business--most of his real estate deals resulted in bankruptcies, a failure to secure loans after he wore out his welcome, and ultimately moving his business to branding. Some dealmaker and businessman he is; more like operating between bullying and lawyering up is his M.O.
22
Agree, it takes someone special top go bankrupt with a casino - let's not forget the bank always wins.
He is just a trust fund baby that inherited money.
1
So much for trump and his "art of the deal", more like kicking sand at the beach.
3
Sick of this dishonest and unfair coverage by the media. What Trump is doing is good for our Country and its citizens. We have been looted by so many countries for decades. It is time to put an end to it! Doesn't matter whether friends or foes, looting is looting. we must demand FAIR trade. How can any American not support Trump on this? Go Trump!
1
"What Trump is doing is good for our Country and its citizens."
That remains to be seen and history definitely begs to differ with your opinion, Sam.
7
Did you read the facts in the article? In what parallel, paranoid universe do you think your longstanding allies and trading partners are robbing you?
10
"What Trump is doing is good for our Country and its citizens."
Except it isn't.
5
In practice, there is no such thing as 'free trade'. There is 'freer trade', i.e. fewer restrictions, less paperwork to fill out, fewer charges to pay, less specifications to meet. Then there is 'fair-trade': an attempt to match concessions, quid pro quo. All nations subsidize certain sectors to some degree. Especially agriculture; because its critical to have a domestic food supply, and it keeps people on the land and reduces over-urbanization. The US, EU and Canada are no exceptions. Where there are gross inequities, these should be addressed by specific; nation and industrial sector, and try to make some kind of compromise. Using one brush to paint all trading countries as bad actors, then slapping arbitrary trade tariffs across-the-board, may not address the actual issues and of course, create a trade war that will shrink all the economies.
28
Nevermind Mr. Trump's id-driven behaviour and self-validating simplistic view of the world and trade relations - that's just American democracy and its consequences in action.
The wake up call, loud and clear is this: when somebody tell you who they are, believe them. When the President of the USA and surrounding administration accuses Canada of stabbing it in the back and being a security threat, and in the same moment decries the exclusion of poor misunderstood Russia from the liberal democratic order, we need to take the hint/kick in the head that its time to make some serious and long-term changes to our world view and adjust our economic and security alliances. The time for cordiality and mutual interest had faded.
For Canadians, its finally time to bite the bullet and diversify our fundamental cultural, economic, and security relationship with the USA dependence to simple cooperation. This is an opportunity for Canada and Canadians to step up to a new socio-economic paradigm that strengthens new ties with other countries for economic and security relationships. While the deep ties we have had with the USA have shaped Canada's society and economy for generations, its clear now that our dependence has made us too vulnerable to its most transient and meaningless whims.
Canada, this is a chance to step out and up into the global community. Our relationship to the USA has been great, but if its no longer constructive, its best to just move forward with new alliances.
28
Rese: I urge you to give up on trump, but PLEASE, do not give up on America and millions of the American people who love Canada and Canadians.
5