Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
No one is arguing that the US cannot place tariffs. We do it all the time, in fact, and I bet you'd have to go back many decades to find a president who never once imposed a tariff. The issue is the WHAT and the WHY and the WHO.
The EU placed 13% tariffs on China
We just placed a 25% tariff on all steel from all nations, and most of our imports come from Canada, Mexico, Brazil, S. Korea, Russia, and Turkey.
so step 1 to understanding this is to understand the details of WHAT, WHY and WHO
I see a lot of talk about China, but I think the USA should be a little more cautious about their relationship with Canada - the country that provides the most aluminum. There has been a really strong relationship between Canada and the USA where both parties benefit. Since Trump took control, Canada is increasingly looking to alternate global markets, in part, because Canadians now know that a wild card in the White House has economic consequences for Canada. Canada doesn't want the crazy economic roller coaster ride that their neighbors to the south prefer, and the only alternative is to look to more stable global markets.
You speak as if the beneficiaries of this are not just another corporate media, another donor class, and another establishment.
This is going to slightly increase everyone's prices at the grocery store, at the gas station, etc., for benefits which are not well-defined and at this stage seem to mostly be steel company shareholders.
I agree that we are years away from knowing how this policy change will play out.
The fundamental economic strategy shift that Trump is implementing will take time, and will shift more investment into main street, and away from wall street.
As someone from Pittsburgh, I know the real cost of this "cheap" steel.
Rebuilding our manufacturing capacity will offset the higher prices in the long run.
We just need to wait, and allow the new strategies to take effect.
I agree that we are years away from knowing how this policy change will play out.
The fundamental economic strategy shift that Trump is implementing will take time, and will shift more investment into main street, and away from wall street.
As someone from Pittsburgh, I know the real cost of this "cheap" steel.
Rebuilding our manufacturing capacity will offset the higher prices in the long run.
We just need to wait, and allow the new strategies to take effect.
Why not. Quebec steel is high quality, cheap and easily transported to Eastern States. If the USA decides to penalize Canada for the willingness to export steel and aluminum to the USA, Canada will find other markets. The USA can then be satisfied with lower quality metals from countries like China, and presumably everyone will be happy paying more for all consumer products going forward.
Sounds like a win-win situation - Canadians go forward to establish new stable trade partners, and the cost of living to people in the USA goes up due to tariffs and higher import costs.
WTO spokesman Dan Pruzin told reporters in Geneva that the agency has never had to deal with a case challenging any member's right to invoke the organization's exception allowing tariffs in cases of national risk. The U.S. Commerce Department has described the situation as just that -- a national security threat.
I’d love to hear the U.S. argument at the WTO why buying most of its aluminum imports from Canada constitutes a national security risk. Maybe the U.S. should stop buying oil from Canada too and increase imports from the Middle East instead.
The WTO doesn’t really get involved until tariffs are actually imposed and countries make official complaints to the WTO. I vaguely recall reading it took 20 months for the WTO to issue a vertict that overturned the Bush II steel tariff imposed on EU steel imports.
The EU is now talking about retaliatory taxes on US Motorbikes such as Harley Davidson, Bourbon Whiskey and even American jeans such as Levi's. This could all end up being a total mess that hurts everyone as no one wins in a trade war.
The bad news is that you have Trump on one side of the Atlantic and Juncker on the other, so who knows where this will all end.
Let em.
It's not like the EU is an example of good government.
And Harley Davidson's and Kentucky Bourbon are one of a kind items that people will pay for regardless.
Why not. Quebec steel is high quality, cheap and easily transported to Eastern States. If the USA decides to penalize Canada for the willingness to export steel and aluminum to the USA, Canada will find other markets. The USA can then be satisfied with lower quality metals from countries like China, and presumably everyone will be happy paying more for all consumer products going forward.
Sounds like a win-win situation - Canadians go forward to establish new stable trade partners, and the cost of living to people in the USA goes up due to tariffs and higher import costs.
The flaw in your reasoning is this. The USA can make its own steel.
I’d love to hear the U.S. argument at the WTO why buying most of its aluminum imports from Canada constitutes a national security risk. Maybe the U.S. should stop buying oil from Canada too and increase imports from the Middle East instead.
The WTO doesn’t really get involved until tariffs are actually imposed and countries make official complaints to the WTO. I think I vaguely recall reading it took 20 months for the WTO to issue a vertict that overturned the Bush II steel tariff imposed on EU steel imports.
National security is indeed a weird justification. It serves for everything these days...
Meanwhile some of those steel exporters keep financing the giant US debt, which it seems is not considered a national security threat.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
