https://www.yahoo.com/news/one-magnificent-photo-sums-donald-190229690.html
Trump, shocks U.S. allies over the weekend when he used a meeting of the Group of 7 industrialized economies in Canada to alienate America's closest friends in the West.
Lashing out over trade practices, he lobbed insults at the G-7 host, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
He left early, and as he flew to Singapore, he tweeted that he was yanking the U.S. out of the traditional group statement.
One Magnificent Photo Sums Up Donald Trump's G-7 Visit
Perhaps no other photo is in more need of a thorough caption than the one released Saturday by the office of German Chancellor Angela Merkel from the Group of Seven's annual meeting in Quebec. Tense and confrontational, it appears to sum up President Donald Trump's entire trip, which highlighted divisions among the global powers. The image dramatically depicts the German leader in an assertive pose, planting both hands firmly on a crisp tablecloth as she addresses President Donald Trump, who is seated before her with his arms crossed wearing a dispassionate expression.
G7 leaders scramble to find common ground after Donald Trump throws summit into chaos
https://www.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-says-russia-allowed-125837282.html
Trade is about sharing and exchanging resources, goods,and services
ReplyDeleteThe idea that raising the barriers to trade
( by increasing tariffs) would increase jobs in America is misguided.
The trade imbalance the US has with many countries has to do with the disparity in labour costs between the US and developing countries, and the eagerness of US businesses to exploit cheap labour by outsourcing manufacturing.
It is also because Americans are demanding (imported)products made in other countries...instead of making them themselves
Cheap labour is the main reason why America has trade deficits with so many countries.
American corporations outsource the labour-intensive manufacturing part of their business to China,Mexico,etc...from wch they must then import their manufactured products.
The biggest cost of running a business is the labour cost.
Private corporations offload the cost of running a business onto the workers ;i.e. by exploiting labour. (thereby increasing their profit)
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Why does the US have a trade deficit with China? Because it imports more from China than it exports to China. This means that the US is more dependent on Chinese imports than China is on imports from the US. If both countries completely stopped exports to the other. ..who would be the bigger loser?!
The cause of this imbalance is American capitalism whose aim is to maximize profits by exploiting labour, and America's culture of consumerism(American people's insatiable demand for consumer products). Balance cannot be restored by attacking the supply side of the equation without addressing the demand side.
Most US corporations take advantage of the cheap labor costs (no unions to protect worker rights and few government regulations)in China by outsourcing their manufacturing to China. If China is now required to pay a huge tariff on all the consumer products it makes to meet America's consumption demands there will be unavoidable repercusions: American corporations will see a decline in their profit margins (as their manufacturing costs increase),and American consumers will have to pay more for the consumer goods formerly imported ftom China.
Both of these (supply side management)consequences will have a depressing effect on the US economy. Trump's intention to stimulate the US economy(by revitalizingg manufacturing in America) by imposing tariffs on Chinese imports will have the opposite effect. It is more likely that profit-driven American corporations will simply seek out an alternative source of cheap labour and outsource the manufacturing part of their business to other low labour cost jurisdictions such as India or Mexico.
Trump's adversarial/combative/bellicose mindset and personality is manifested in economic warfare (even with longstanding allies):
Trump's attempt to start an economic war with China could backfire. In fact the escalation of this US-China trade war could trigger a global recession.
The unilateral levying of tariffs on imports from China will result in retaliatory tariffs
on American goods...thereby raising barriers to trade.
No country's economy is benefited by raising trade barriers.
How is it that the richest country in the world feels it is being taken advantage of?
It defies reason.
Such is the selective nature of human perception!
Tariffs and economic sanctions are a tactic of war
DeleteThe trade war is similar to the war on drugs: : if you do not manage/control demand, trying to control the supply side of the consumption is futile. Consumption cannot be controlled/reduced by restricting supply without reducing demand. Supply and demand are inextricably interrelated.
ReplyDeleteU.S. Chamber of Commerce says Trump's tariffs are bad for business
ReplyDeletehttps://www.wsj.com/articles/trumps-trade-policies-threaten-millions-of-jobs-u-s-chamber-of-commerce-says-1527792627
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-us-chamber-of-commerce-assails-trump-warns-of-global-trade-war/?cmpid=rss
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Tuesday that tariffs are taxes and are not the right tool to counter unfair trading practices by other countries, signaling opposition to President Donald Trump's earlier statement that tariffs were great.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.yahoo.com/news/ryan-says-tariffs-not-tool-countering-unfair-trade-150720003--business.html