Trump slaps tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China

Post by toomuchtodo » Sun, Feb 02, 2025, 12:45 AM UTC

llm_nerd wrote: post #9

A_D_E_P_T wrote: post #7

As I recently wrote on Cowen's blog, a lot of the electorate doesn't know how tariffs work. Say I manufacture a widget in [country]. At present, there is no manufacturer of that widget in the USA. We export to the USA, and now the US importer or distributor pays a ~25% tariff on the declared value to Fedgov. Then that US importer or distributor receives the widgets and sells them. Because its margin is down, it raise…

>The right way to go about things would be to shore up US manufacturing capabilities first The US has basically "full employment" (the economic measure when more employment is inflationary). In a vacuum the idea that you're "bringing home the jobs" makes sense, but it makes zero sense when you simply don't have the capacity to build more. If Americans thought inflation was unacceptable under Biden, they're in for a r…

Post by llm_nerd » Sun, Feb 02, 2025, 1:09 AM UTC

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #12

llm_nerd wrote: post #3

Canada was specifically warned not to retaliate in any manner, which is basically an acknowledgement that Canada has some powerful levers. This is farcical and of course Canada is going to retaliate. The $450B of American goods sold to Canada is going to collapse. The F35 purchase will be cancelled. Various other projects with the US will be abandoned. Oil will be export tariffed. Every American service -- Netflix, D…

China, Canada, and Mexico will all retaliate, there is zero consequence for the governments doing so and a lot of consequence for not doing do (Trump is very unpopular in all of these countries, so giving into him or agreeing to his terms won’t be seen as very viable). So get the popcorn ready, this weekend and especially Monday will be really interesting. I bet this concludes with a free trade treaty between China,…

Post by fuzzfactor » Sun, Feb 02, 2025, 1:34 AM UTC

llm_nerd wrote: post #13

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

China, Canada, and Mexico will all retaliate, there is zero consequence for the governments doing so and a lot of consequence for not doing do (Trump is very unpopular in all of these countries, so giving into him or agreeing to his terms won’t be seen as very viable). So get the popcorn ready, this weekend and especially Monday will be really interesting. I bet this concludes with a free trade treaty between China,…

>I’m actually sympathetic to the fent problem If this were limited to China and Mexico, the fentanyl thing might have been a rational argument. Adding Canada, which is the source of a vanishingly small amount, betrays the lie. He needed the excuse to claim an emergency, rather than the incredibly self-destructive "recreate federal funding through tariffs" policy, which coincidentally (and forebodingly) led to the gre…

Post by Marsymars » Sun, Feb 02, 2025, 1:52 AM UTC

llm_nerd wrote: post #3

Canada was specifically warned not to retaliate in any manner, which is basically an acknowledgement that Canada has some powerful levers. This is farcical and of course Canada is going to retaliate. The $450B of American goods sold to Canada is going to collapse. The F35 purchase will be cancelled. Various other projects with the US will be abandoned. Oil will be export tariffed. Every American service -- Netflix, D…

Post by pwarner » Sun, Feb 02, 2025, 2:40 AM UTC

llm_nerd wrote: post #9

A_D_E_P_T wrote: post #7

As I recently wrote on Cowen's blog, a lot of the electorate doesn't know how tariffs work. Say I manufacture a widget in [country]. At present, there is no manufacturer of that widget in the USA. We export to the USA, and now the US importer or distributor pays a ~25% tariff on the declared value to Fedgov. Then that US importer or distributor receives the widgets and sells them. Because its margin is down, it raise…

>The right way to go about things would be to shore up US manufacturing capabilities first The US has basically "full employment" (the economic measure when more employment is inflationary). In a vacuum the idea that you're "bringing home the jobs" makes sense, but it makes zero sense when you simply don't have the capacity to build more. If Americans thought inflation was unacceptable under Biden, they're in for a r…