I never doubted that Trump would do the stupid things he said he was going to do.
His tariff gambit is as stupid as they come. There is NO upside, and likelihood of substantial and exponential downside for years to come.
Why is he doing this??? Best explanations I have heard are…from Paul Krugman…
“My guess is that Trump is imposing steep tariffs on Canada and Mexico just to show that he can — that it’s essentially a dominance display. And the many people pointing out that it’s a terrible idea probably only reinforced his determination to show that he’s in charge and smarter than anyone else.”
And Kevin Drum…
“Trump doesn't want anything. He just want the tariffs. He's convinced they can raise vast sums of money that will let him enact tax cuts later this year, and he likes that. That's it. There's no theory of the case. There's no underlying rationale. There's no 4-D chess. He just wants the money, and he either doesn't know or doesn't care that he's raising it from Americans, not foreigners.
And why Canada, Mexico, and China? For the same reason Willie Sutton robbed banks: because that's where the money is. Those three countries account for nearly half of all US imports, so they're the ones that got held up.”
Breaking news (not surprising at all) is that “Trump will delay tariffs against Mexico for one month” because they kissed his ass…which is what Trump loves.
He’ll go on and crow that his superior negotiating skills led to Mexico doing what he wants, which, in the end, is either relatively inconsequential, or what he could have gotten done with usual sane presidential diplomatic behavior or most likely both.
In any event the EXTREME DAMAGE is already done.
Just the THREAT of tariffs against our closest neighbors who Trump himself “negotiated” an “improvement” of NAFTA (he did nothing of the sort…the tweaks were minor but gave Trump the chance to say how great he is) is in direct violation of that treaty.
A treaty that U.S. manufacturers have relied on for 30+ years to shape their strategy and investments.
Now, Trump has let the world know that the US’s word is WORTHLESS and dong any “deal” with them is like doing a deal with any criminal…the gangster will change it any time he wants.
I never doubted that Trump would do the stupid things he said he was going to do.
His tariff gambit is as stupid as they come. There is NO upside, and likelihood of substantial and exponential downside for years to come.
Why is he doing this??? Best explanations I have heard are…from Paul Krugman…
“My guess is that Trump is imposing steep tariffs on Canada and Mexico just to show that he can — that it’s essentially a dominance display. And the many people pointing out that it’s a terrible idea probably only reinforced his determination to show that he’s in charge and smarter than anyone else.”
And Kevin Drum…
“Trump doesn't want anything. He just want the tariffs. He's convinced they can raise vast sums of money that will let him enact tax cuts later this year, and he likes that. That's it. There's no theory of the case. There's no underlying rationale. There's no 4-D chess. He just wants the money, and he either doesn't know or doesn't care that he's raising it from Americans, not foreigners.
And why Canada, Mexico, and China? For the same reason Willie Sutton robbed banks: because that's where the money is. Those three countries account for nearly half of all US imports, so they're the ones that got held up.”
Breaking news (not surprising at all) is that “Trump will delay tariffs against Mexico for one month” because they kissed his ass…which is what Trump loves.
He’ll go on and crow that his superior negotiating skills led to Mexico doing what he wants, which, in the end, is either relatively inconsequential, or what he could have gotten done with usual sane presidential diplomatic behavior or most likely both.
In any event the EXTREME DAMAGE is already done.
Just the THREAT of tariffs against our closest neighbors who Trump himself “negotiated” an “improvement” of NAFTA (he did nothing of the sort…the tweaks were minor but gave Trump the chance to say how great he is) is in direct violation of that treaty.
A treaty that U.S. manufacturers have relied on for 30+ years to shape their strategy and investments.
Now, Trump has let the world know that the US’s word is WORTHLESS and dong any “deal” with them is like doing a deal with any criminal…the gangster will change it any time he wants.
This country is fucked. For a long time to come.
Bingo !!!
New EO today. Sovereign Wealth Fund. Thinks he's going to direct tariff income into the fund?