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Trump exempts phones, computers, chips from ‘reciprocal’ tariffs

bloomberg.com

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Re: Trump exempts phones, computers, chips from ‘reciprocal’ tariffs

#581

Post by EliRivers »

AnthonyMouse wrote: post #484
jonplackett wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the only explanation that has made sense to me so far. And it makes even more sense based on these exemptions. https://www.instagram.com/share/_jW_V1hwM This is Senator Chris Murphy explaining it’s not economic policy, it’s an attempt to blackmail corporations into submission by making a deal with him in return for sanctions relief. Keep an eye out for what Apple and nvidia might have agreed to give.

> This is Senator Chris Murphy explaining it’s not economic policy, it’s an attempt to blackmail corporations into submission by making a deal with him in return for sanctions relief. Weirdly the same explanation works if you're being less uncharitable, i.e. Apple agreed to invest $500B in the US but everybody knows new factories aren't going to be built overnight, so they get a reprieve from the tariffs for now prov…

provided they continue to go through with the investment

I recall the Foxconn Wisconsin situation, and I have no doubt Apple et al are well aware of it. String out a pretense of building factories in the US for the next three and a half years? Easy peasy. President Trump will soon get bored of this game anyway and move on to the next one; he already looks like he's bored of it and it didn't bring him universal acclaim and admiration.

Re: Trump exempts phones, computers, chips from ‘reciprocal’ tariffs

#582

Post by timeon »

giarc wrote: post #52
victor106 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are right. Do you think all the tech CEO’s attended his inauguration for nothing? I never imagined I would see such public corruption in any western country. I am saying this as someone who supported some the current administrations agenda

The inauguration donations are pretty common across all parties, I think the Trump coin launching the day prior was the most corrupt.

> The inauguration donations are pretty common across all parties

Which is still corruption.

Re: Trump exempts phones, computers, chips from ‘reciprocal’ tariffs

#583

Post by fjfaase »

jpster wrote: post #542

I suspect it would be a good idea if the US abolished the presidency and moved to a parliamentary system. Turns out that concentrating so much power in a single position is a bad idea.

The president has all the power that the congress and the senate gives him. Previous presidents were not given this much power. The bad guys are in the congress and the senate for not upholding the constitution.

Re: Trump exempts phones, computers, chips from ‘reciprocal’ tariffs

#584

Post by bayarearefugee »

righthand wrote: post #497
standardUser wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The tariffs from 8 years ago were a seemingly rational policy and were largely upheld by the Biden administration. These tariffs look designed to rapidly eject the US from the global economic order and hand over the reins to China. Though saying they were "designed" at all seems extravagantly generous.

Only on China, the rest were largely removed.

> Only on China, the rest were largely removed.

No they weren't. They were changed to 10%. Prior to all of this the average was 2.5%. So that's not a removal at all, but a rather large average increase even if you exclude the omglol China rate.

Re: Trump exempts phones, computers, chips from ‘reciprocal’ tariffs

#585

Post by safgasCVS »

grey-area wrote: post #567
safgasCVS wrote: post #565

May I propose a tinfoil hat perspective on tariffing China: America is prepping the ground for a full war with China. That's the only position that make sense to me other than the obvious "these guys are all corrupt idiots". I don't know which is which but at least the war perspective makes more sense to me. I believe we are at the propaganda stage where allies will be 'encouraged' into adopting similar positions and…

There is no grand geopolitical strategy here. Trump and his advisors really are this stupid and think that huge worldwide tariffs are a good idea. That they have kept 10% worldwide tariffs (also insane) shows they still think they are a good idea that will bring back manufacturing to the US. The damage to US soft power is irreversible unfortunately and the trust of former allies will never return. I suspect you’ll fi…

My view is a more charitable one assuming there is some grand strategy going on but I think you are more on the money. It's just hard to accept that the administration really is so comically corrupt and incompetent

Re: Trump exempts phones, computers, chips from ‘reciprocal’ tariffs

#586

Post by archagon »

t-writescode wrote: post #478
techpineapple wrote: post #431

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thing that’s really been getting to me, is that, I’m liberal, not pro-Trump, but the MAGA American heartland story has been really getting to me. I want to see small business, manufacturing, small town American succeed. And there’s some part of me that thought maybe Trump, as much as I don’t like him, is the thing that is needed to make that happen, but man it seems like he’s really fucking over the people who su…

Some of the biggest boons to small business would be universal healthcare and that's just ... you know, never going to happen under a Republican president (or a Democrat, for that matter). It would greatly ease the burden of employing others in small businesses and it would greatly increase the safety net of would-be entrepreneurs. It would also improve works-rights-as-capitalism because you could more easily quit ab…

It’s a common misconception that Republicans are pro-business. They loathe small business and love big business. If everyone could just be indentured to one of a dozen mega-conglomerates, that would be their perfect world.

Re: Trump exempts phones, computers, chips from ‘reciprocal’ tariffs

#587

Post by vkou »

timewizard wrote: post #327
djeastm wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a particular section of society has done very well from the status quo Name me a country where this is not the case. The only thing we've failed to do is educate enough of our people to prosper as a deindustrialized nation. That and failed to protect our democracy.

> we've failed to do is educate enough of our people to prosper as a deindustrialized nation What education did we give them to prosper as an industrialized nation? It seems to me that the population was able to discover that and benefit from it entirely on their own. Why do they need "education" to "prosper" in current conditions? Aren't we currently living in the most educated time already? That is we have more peo…

> What education did we give them to prosper as an industrialized nation?

That's an odd question, given that Prussian schooling was invented to turn children into productive factory workers.

Re: Trump exempts phones, computers, chips from ‘reciprocal’ tariffs

#588

Post by vkou »

relyks wrote: post #456
chvid wrote: post #18

What imports of size from China are then under full tariffs? Seems silly just to mess up a few toy importers.

Clothing. A lot of apparel and accessory retailers have significant portions of their items produced in China.

I'm sure middle-class Americans will be lining up around the blocks to take $3/hr sweatshop jobs to sew t-shirts for China.

Maybe not the manufacturing that they were hoping for...

Re: Trump exempts phones, computers, chips from ‘reciprocal’ tariffs

#590

Post by jpc0 »

mitthrowaway2 wrote: post #570
jmole wrote: post #513

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s ridiculous, there is plenty of confidence in US manufactured goods, the problem is that US manufacturers have impossible economics for anything that isn’t boutique or super high margin. Need an impedance controlled 16 layer board for your fancy new military radar? No problem. Need a basic 2 layer PCB for mass manufacture? No one in the US will make it at the price you need to be competitive.

"No problem"? It's not just that the prices are high; I can hardly get those guys to even answer the phone and give me a quote. I can get that board from China before I've gotten through to a local sales rep. Then when they do finally check their messages they want to fly out, meet me at my office, size up my operation and my budget, have a nice chat over dinner, and spend a few weeks pestering me with phone calls wi…

You are pretty confused about why this is.

When the only market you ever had was high touch high cost low volume production then that is your default business model.

The biggest issue is that Trump is pushing tariffs without first ramping up local manufacturing, the type of manufacturing you are looking for isn't _currently_ being catered for in the US. It may in the future depending on how things pan out, the bet Trump is making is that it can happen, time will tell whether he is true.

I don't think it will generate jobs for local US manufacturing since the only way to compete with low cost of labour markets is to automate more than the low cost of labour country.

Business is reasonably good at filling whatever niche is willing to pay. So far the evidence is that Trump is willing to over commit and then backtrack. Having a negative outlook doesn't help anyone, think positive about your country and shift with the times.

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