Trump's Trade War Escalates as China Retaliates with 34% Tariffs

Post by tzs » Fri, Apr 04, 2025, 7:57 PM UTC

alephnerd wrote: post #38

TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Half of Americans say they live paycheck to paycheck, so no - the majority of households will not be able to survive for long if they have to spend an extra few thousand to stay where they are today. Those that can will be cutting spending, which will ripple across the rest of the economy. There's no sign that negotiation is even possible, never mind likely. One tell is that tariffs have been applied to the Heard and…

> the majority of households will not be able to survive for long if they have to spend an extra few thousand to stay where they are today. The median American household has an income of around $78,000 [0]. They can survive the blowback. The Trump admin on the other hand will not. As a Sullivan, Raimondo, and IRA supporting Dem, it's a win-win for me. Harsher policies against China have been enacted which will not be…

Post by amirmi78 » Fri, Apr 04, 2025, 8:59 PM UTC

Matthyze wrote: post #190

TremendousJudge wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can the rest of the world just absorb the ridiculously high levels of consumption of the US market?

The less they're able to, the lower prices will be.

Post by ethbr1 » Fri, Apr 04, 2025, 9:40 PM UTC

mppm wrote: post #198

tim333 wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure the 'true value' is that important for trade. Taking the example of antibiotics, they may be worth 1000x the cost of production but if country A stops selling them you can just make them in country B. We got by fine without Chinese exports until they started becoming a thing from around 1990 on.

Long-term -- yes; short and medium-term -- not necessarily. For example, during and after Covid, Germany had a very severe antibiotics shortage. I think it is still ongoing to some extent. On one hand, it seems ridiculous to suggest that Germany is incapable of producing all the antibiotics it needs. On the other hand, ramping up production that has been offshored is not that easy, and is a lot more expensive initial…

Post by iteratethis » Fri, Apr 04, 2025, 9:57 PM UTC

surgical_fire wrote: post #119

alephnerd wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Manufacturing isn't returning to the US due to these tariffs. Just like before the tariffs, the US is still too expensive. On the other hand, it has killed cost-competitiveness for Chinese exports directly from China or via transshipment from Vietnam. The tariff regime has now made Latin America (Brazil, Colombia), Turkiye, Philippines, parts of the EU (Poland, Czechia, Romania), and India cost competitive. And NAFTA…

> Manufacturing isn't returning to the US due to these tariffs. Even if it did, is it even desirable? Countries that actually tried to keep manufacturing beyond its usefulness typically punch beneath their weight, such as the case of Germany. The US lost manufacturing because it was heavily automated and those jobs don't pay really well. They are great for poor countries, because working in a factory sweatshop is bet…

Post by ethbr1 » Fri, Apr 04, 2025, 9:58 PM UTC

_t9ow wrote: post #183

Tadpole9181 wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trump himself, out of his own mouth, with his own tongue, using the air from the breathe inside his lungs, has literally and explicitly with no ambiguities said on multiple occasions that he wants to violate the constitution and have a third term. Republican leaders are humoring the idea.

And many people seem to have collective amnesia about the January 6 Capitol riots, the Trump-Raffensperger phone call, the fake electors plot, etc. Trump has shown us many times who he is, and yet somehow many conservatives still refuse to believe the evidence that is right in front of their eyes.