Trade war suspended, for 90 days at least

[Kyyle23]

11 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

I have zero expectation that this man could figure out a two step plan, let alone something with the complexities of taxation and tariffs.

He cant, sure, but the people in his administration can.  And they just send him out to talk about it and handle their business in the background 

[LittleHurt05]

On 12/4/2018 at 10:30 PM, pettie4sox said:

My retirement account has taken a beating.  MAGA!

Yet its probably still is on the positive as opposed to two years ago.

[Soxbadger]

2 minutes ago, LittleHurt05 said:

Yet its probably still is on the positive as opposed to two years ago.

But it should be a lot better. A lot of unnecessary self inflicted wounds. 

[southsider2k5]

35 minutes ago, Kyyle23 said:

He cant, sure, but the people in his administration can.  And they just send him out to talk about it and handle their business in the background 

If my back of the envelope math is correct the dollar figures are no where near close enough to work.  We are talking about a 25% tariff on 250b worth of goods.  That is $62.5b if it were to ever happen. 

[Kyyle23]

1 minute ago, southsider2k5 said:

If my back of the envelope math is correct the dollar figures are no where near close enough to work.  We are talking about a 25% tariff on 250b worth of goods.  That is $37.5b if it were to ever happen. 

Oh i totally concede that these guys are in way over their heads, my point was only that Trump isnt the one figuring things out.   When you have Kudlow, Mnuchin, and Ross trying to manage all of our money, of course its gonna be shady AF, illegal, and most likely about to fall on its face

[bmags]

I don't believe there was any justification of the tariffs as a revenue raising technique, it was about shoring up manufacturing and decrease trade deficit. Deficit has increased, manufacturing appeared to be doing fine on its own. It may shore up specific, very specific groups, and cost many more others.

 There are some protections vs China worth having but to me its clear TPP was a better strategy to just ensure non china markets were as westernized as possible.

[caulfield12]

https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/06/opinions/arresting-huawei-exec-is-a-case-of-spectacularly-bad-timing-andelman/index.html

[StrangeSox]

 

[wrathofhahn]

On 12/7/2018 at 12:13 PM, StrangeSox said:

 

Did you read the article at all? It said imports are down 13 percent and US companies are started large scale plans to modernize and expand.

Both those things will lead to lower prices and competition of US MADE steel. Seems like the tariffs are working as intended despite some shortterm pain.

[caulfield12]

America’s trade deficit with China reached a new high — $34.1 billion — in September. That’s a 13 percent increase compared to last year and is the second-straight record month after a deficit of $31 billion in August.

That takes America’s trade deficit with China for the year to $225.8 billion — about $30 billion more than at the same point in 2017.

...

• The US trade deficit hit $55.5 billion in October, the highest since October 2008. 
• The increase in the deficit is the result of continued growth in imports, while exports actually fell. 
• The trade deficit with China also hit a record level. 
• One of President Donald Trump's goals for the trade war was to reduce the trade deficit, but the president's own policies are likely in part prompting the widening gap. 

 

Shrinking the US trade deficit has been a key goal of President Donald Trump's trade war. 

But the US Census Bureau announced Thursday that the US trade deficit grew to $55.5 billion in the month of October, the highest in exactly 10 years. That was a 1.7% jump from September, as imports rose by 0.2% and exports fell by 0.1%.

 

https://www.businessinsider.com/us-china-trade-war-record-trade-deficit-trump-2018-12

[pettie4sox]

On 12/9/2018 at 8:11 AM, wrathofhahn said:

Did you read the article at all? It said imports are down 13 percent and US companies are started large scale plans to modernize and expand.

Both those things will lead to lower prices and competition of US MADE steel. Seems like the tariffs are working as intended despite some shortterm pain.

I'll believe it when I see it.  Watching GM get rid of workers and close plants while receiving a yuggge tax cut shows time and time again that trickle down is complete and utter bullshit.

Edited December 10, 2018 by pettie4sox

[StrangeSox]

On 12/9/2018 at 8:11 AM, wrathofhahn said:

Did you read the article at all? It said imports are down 13 percent and US companies are started large scale plans to modernize and expand.

Both those things will lead to lower prices and competition of US MADE steel. Seems like the tariffs are working as intended despite some shortterm pain.

Quote

U.S. tariffs on imported steel are delivering higher profits for steel companies but haven’t changed the country’s dependence on foreign-made steel.

Quote

U.S. steelmakers don’t produce enough steel to meet domestic demand. Imports fill more than a fifth of the nation’s steel supply. The tariffs have made steel more expensive in the U.S. than almost anywhere in the world. The benchmark price for hot-rolled coiled sheet steel is up 22% in the past year at $760 a ton, 70% higher than the price of sheet steel in some other countries. That makes selling steel in the U.S. appealing to steelmakers in Europe and Asia, even after tariff and transportation costs.

Quote

The higher prices have revived profits for U.S. steelmakers. Net profit at North Carolina-based Nucor Corp., the largest U.S. steel producer, was 84% higher in the first three quarters of this year than during that period in 2017; sales climbed by 24%.

Quote

Some industry analysts say steel companies are at risk of adding capacity that is dependent on steel prices staying at current sky-high levels. 

 

Some US companies have made some plans for modest expansion. Those expansions will only be profitable if steel stays at it's current high prices. If steel stays at it's current high prices, steel-containing consumer goods will also stay at higher prices. There is nothing in the article about those things leading to lower prices for steel in the future. Backstopping the US domestic steel industry via tariffs may help steel industry jobs, but it will very likely hurt steel-reliant industry jobs.

Trade wars are good, and easy to win!

[caulfield12]

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pension-fund-managers-poured-emerging-markets-right-tumbled-162434266.html