The US is throwing its weight around for the first time since Reagan. Last time it worked out pretty well.
Things have changed a lot since then with the rise of China and the EU.
With the new big players in the world it’s time the US put on its big boy pants and renegotiated its place.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_United_States_steel_tarif...
There’s a big difference between the two motives.
The US has a trade surplus with Canada, has a higher average tariff, has been the bigger beneficiary of trade, yet Trump has announced tariffs on Canada, to an enormous backlash (and Canadians seriously rethinking their integration in the US economy).
This isn't leverage, or masterful negotiating. It's a hamfisted moron bashing around with absolutely no clue what they're negotiating. Trump withdrew from TPP (you know -- one of those trade agreements that would remove most tariffs), and quickly thereafter announced that he would sure like to join TPP...only on the "US'" terms (which is hilarious because TPP was entirely at the US' terms).
At this point I marvel that anyone seriously puts forth an argument that Trump and his crew of misfits are serious negotiators. They're clowns in a clown show. Trump's great business prowess is that he fucked over so many people -- "negotiating" by refusing to pay them after they did the agreed work -- that anyone of legitimacy refuses to have anything to do with him. It's why his personal lawyer was a real life Saul Goodman. What a farce.
Before you think of Trump as some kind of economics genius maybe you should think about how much bile the Wall Street Journal had to swallow when they had to endorse Hillary Clinton for the presidency.
Trump is a legitimately great conman but nothing more.
Stop reading the headlines and start reading between the lines. It’s a skill that will serve you well in life.
Last time I checked most people in the US were against the TPP including Clinton.
A good trade deal doesn’t require 5,600 pages.
I’m not worried about trade imbalances in absolute dollars, I’m concerned with trade imbalances with tariffs and subsidies that make US exports unable to compete.
For Canada where did you get the higher average tariff from? What is that? A higher average of all tariffs on all goods? A higher amount of absolute dollars paid in tariffs? The number alone is meaningless without context.
"A good trade deal doesn’t require 5,600 pages."
A Trump talking point, like every one of your posts. But you're surely no Trump fan...
Yes, of course trade agreements are voluminous. Saying that it's suspicious because it's big is the sort of nonsensical claim that sells to idiots.
TPP was very unpopular, humorously because of sections added by the United States. Corporate rights, right to sue sovereigns, etc, were all at the behest of the US of A. Sections on extending copyrights and IP rights -- US of A. TPP was viewed as some new world order with some superseding power, and all of that was the work of the US.
>The number alone is meaningless without context.
Just as trade imbalances are meaningless because [waves hand], until they're what you want to argue.
When the US, with a large trade surplus, complains about a tariff in dairy, where the US has a large trade surplus, in an industry where the US has enormous subsidies ($22B USD per year in direct and indirect subsidies), the whole conversations turns to just farce. It is patter to sell to imbeciles.
Agreements that can’t be read and comprehended in one day aren’t good agreements. I stand by that, no matter what Trump says, no matter what you say.
I’m not arguing about trade imbalances on a surplus/deficit amount. I don’t care about the amount. I care about access to markets and a level playing field. There is no hypocrisy there.
The difference between you and I, is that I’m willing to admit where you are right. The US subsidizes farmers and other industries. I imagine those are up for negotiation too.
I also admit Trump acts like a horses ass. I’m just willing to let that slide if he’s an effective horses ass.
I also haven’t implied you’re stupid.
Because he isn't arguing merits, or what's best for the US. He's pitching a grand show for his base.
So the whole Trump narrative that you're regurgitating is a bit odd.
And it is already backfiring spectacularly, and is poised to get much worse. Those "big boy pants" turned out to have a smattering of urine and feces in them. Trump's ignorant, hap-hazard way of "negotiating" has alienated friends and foes, and made the world re-evaluate why it is playing the US agenda.
Another post noted that the whole thing has been unfair to low income earners in the US, as if the outrageous disparity in the US is really the result of those damn foreigners. Only that disparity has only gotten worse under Trump's ignorant policies.
What a strange claim. How are they going to lose their nation? The EU has a GDP 20x Russia's (not to mention having nuclear armed nations). Canada alone has a GDP 2x Russia. Any of these countries can fend off any imaginary assault, most of which are instigated by the US.
The largest market...wait, do you think the US is going to close its doors? Well say goodbye to Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft...well just go through every US company. GM sells more cars in China than they do in the US.
It's a very, very different world. US pull just isn't as strong as the post war world when the US was mighty and everyone else was rebuilding.
"Hey Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal, free trade if you exit the EU. We'll toss in protection from foreign invasion"
I think it’s unlikely Italy will actually leave but if it does it won’t be because of Trump. It probably depends on what happens to the UK and as the EU people know that, they aren’t likely to let the UK off easy.
What would be the point to sell products to USA with huge tariff on top of it to the point that local products would be way cheaper? Nobody would buy it.
What's the point to expect partnerships in military with USA when for example South Korea is left cold without any discussions about it?
What's much worse is that he has allienated friends (specifically when they refuse to kiss his ring, but I digress) and mostly for no good reason at all.
The US squandered their advantage of having been respected as a (mostly) reliable partner to a definite CAN NOT BE TRUSTED! in not even two short years.
You may argue that who cares? "We're America, Bitch" [1] But I really don't see any sustainability and long term gains in the current model for the world in general and especially for America.
[1] https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/06/a-senio...
In the not too distant past we had a president draw lines in the sand and dared others to cross it. Then they crossed it and we did nothing.
That did more to lose respect in the world than anything being done today.
Today we are saying we want better trade deals for US goods and we’re not asking.
But willingness to turn your rhetoric into action is more important so that others understand that you mean what you say.
For example, if you say nice things, but demonstrate that you don’t mean what you say, then what do all those nice things you said amount to? Nothing.
I think most countries are just trying to shield themselves from his damage until his term ends.
Trump has followed through on his posturing several times now. I think he’s shown the world he’s not joking around.
I think it’s legitimate to criticize his actions, but I don’t thing it’s accurate to say his posturing is empty.
You can’t change most of it by changing some of it.