Fallout from Trump tariffs

[GeorgiaModerate]

A great example of the ripple effects of tariffs: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/trump-commerce-paper-mill-newsprint-tariffs-20180612.html

Summary: a private equity firm that owns a paper mill in Washington State petitioned the government for a tariff on Canadian newsprint, to try and increase the mill's value.  The administration imposed a tariff that has led to a 30% increase in the cost of newsprint.  U.S. newspapers, many of which were already struggling, are laying off staff as a direct consequence of the increased costs.  Industry executives say that job losses may be in the thousands.  The mill employs 250 people.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Washing machine prices jump 17% in three months as a result of Trump tariffs: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trumps-tariffs-are-already-backfiring/2018/06/14/896b6c5a-700d-11e8-afd5-778aca903bbe_story.html

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[Tintrlvr]

A great example of the ripple effects of tariffs: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/trump-commerce-paper-mill-newsprint-tariffs-20180612.html

Summary: a private equity firm that owns a paper mill in Washington State petitioned the government for a tariff on Canadian newsprint, to try and increase the mill's value.  The administration imposed a tariff that has led to a 30% increase in the cost of newsprint.  U.S. newspapers, many of which were already struggling, are laying off staff as a direct consequence of the increased costs.  Industry executives say that job losses may be in the thousands.  The mill employs 250 people.

Yeah, but those were elitist book-learnin’ jobs. Probably mostly done by womenfolk. Who needs those?

[Badger]

A great example of the ripple effects of tariffs: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/trump-commerce-paper-mill-newsprint-tariffs-20180612.html

Summary: a private equity firm that owns a paper mill in Washington State petitioned the government for a tariff on Canadian newsprint, to try and increase the mill's value.  The administration imposed a tariff that has led to a 30% increase in the cost of newsprint.  U.S. newspapers, many of which were already struggling, are laying off staff as a direct consequence of the increased costs.  Industry executives say that job losses may be in the thousands.  The mill employs 250 people.

Yeah, but those were elitist book-learnin’ jobs. Probably mostly done by womenfolk. Who needs those?

In all seriousness, Trump and his cohorts would gladly like thousands of reporters and other jobs in the media to save 250 paper mill jobs. And damn the consequences. Same goes true for massive loss of productivity in solar panel installation. Who needs that when we're just going to bring back coal gas and oil.? Maga!

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/lisaabramowicz1/status/1007597370891268096

[Person Man]

Wasn't what just happened a pretty big deal? Wasn't there progress being made? What happens now?

[GeorgiaModerate]

Bloomberg: Trump’s Tariff Threats Are Paralyzing American Business

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[Brittain33]

Anyone else remember "uncertainty" from 2009?

[BudgieForce]

http://fortune.com/2018/06/16/buick-envision-china-tariffs/

The Buick Envision, Cadillac CT6 Hybrid and the Volvo S60 Inscription(the long wheelbase version) are built in China and shipped here to the states. If these most recent tariffs go into effect, all three will see massive price increases.

This is one of the few Auto Tariffs I'm actually on the fence about. If no deal is worked out with China, Trump may have just killed any chance of Chinese built cars coming into the American market. Some on both sides of the isle would say that's a good thing.

My big worry however, is that this could be a precursor to tariffs on other nations. While I think there could be an argument made about Chinese built autos, cars built and shipped in first world democracies are extremely beneficial. I hope Trump can eventually see that.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Missouri company, largest remaining U.S. nail manufacturer, loses 50% of business due to tariffs and may be forced to close.

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[ηєω ƒяσηтιєя]

Missouri company, largest remaining U.S. nail manufacturer, loses 50% of business due to tariffs and may be forced to close.

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Trump is what they wanted. Butler County, Missouri voted 73.78% for Trump.

They should've known that Trump was a big con artist & a moron.

[forgotten manatee]

Missouri company, largest remaining U.S. nail manufacturer, loses 50% of business due to tariffs and may be forced to close.

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Trump is what they wanted. Butler County, Missouri voted 73.78% for Trump.

They should've known that Trump was a big con artist & a moron.

Yes, absolutely they should have. But I think condescending to these people is the wrong approach.

If the shoe was on the other foot and Bernie or some other Democrat had enacted these tariffs, you can bet your last dollar that Fox News and Republican politicians would be reporting about this at full volume 24 hours a day, every day. Democrats should be doing the same; they need to ruthlessly and relentlessly trumpet these stories every day until election day.

Hey Democrats, remember attack lines about job killing Obamacare that helped pave the way to big Republican gains in 2010 and 2014? Well these tariffs are actually killing jobs right now! Tell everyone you know.

[DINGO Joe]

Economies are complicated.

[ηєω ƒяσηтιєя]

Missouri company, largest remaining U.S. nail manufacturer, loses 50% of business due to tariffs and may be forced to close.

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Trump is what they wanted. Butler County, Missouri voted 73.78% for Trump.

They should've known that Trump was a big con artist & a moron.

Yes, absolutely they should have. But I think condescending to these people is the wrong approach.

If the shoe was on the other foot and Bernie or some other Democrat had enacted these tariffs, you can bet your last dollar that Fox News and Republican politicians would be reporting about this at full volume 24 hours a day, every day. Democrats should be doing the same; they need to ruthlessly and relentlessly trumpet these stories every day until election day.

Hey Democrats, remember attack lines about job killing Obamacare that helped pave the way to big Republican gains in 2010 and 2014? Well these tariffs are actually killing jobs right now! Tell everyone you know.

Even if we tell them that this is a big con, they will respond with "fake news" or "I'm still not voting for the Democrats who are a bunch of anti-American communists".

[forgotten manatee]

Missouri company, largest remaining U.S. nail manufacturer, loses 50% of business due to tariffs and may be forced to close.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Trump is what they wanted. Butler County, Missouri voted 73.78% for Trump.

They should've known that Trump was a big con artist & a moron.

Yes, absolutely they should have. But I think condescending to these people is the wrong approach.

If the shoe was on the other foot and Bernie or some other Democrat had enacted these tariffs, you can bet your last dollar that Fox News and Republican politicians would be reporting about this at full volume 24 hours a day, every day. Democrats should be doing the same; they need to ruthlessly and relentlessly trumpet these stories every day until election day.

Hey Democrats, remember attack lines about job killing Obamacare that helped pave the way to big Republican gains in 2010 and 2014? Well these tariffs are actually killing jobs right now! Tell everyone you know.

Even if we tell them that this is a big con, they will respond with "fake news" or "I'm still not voting for the Democrats who are a bunch of anti-American communists".

Maybe. But I'd take a page out of the Obama 2012 playbook and let the workers tell the story themselves.

[ProudModerate2]

Missouri company, largest remaining U.S. nail manufacturer, loses 50% of business due to tariffs and may be forced to close.

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Trump is what they wanted. Butler County, Missouri voted 73.78% for Trump.
They should've known that Trump was a big con artist & a moron.

Yes, absolutely they should have. But I think condescending to these people is the wrong approach.

If the shoe was on the other foot and Bernie or some other Democrat had enacted these tariffs, you can bet your last dollar that Fox News and Republican politicians would be reporting about this at full volume 24 hours a day, every day. Democrats should be doing the same; they need to ruthlessly and relentlessly trumpet these stories every day until election day.

Hey Democrats, remember attack lines about job killing Obamacare that helped pave the way to big Republican gains in 2010 and 2014? Well these tariffs are actually killing jobs right now! Tell everyone you know.

Even if we tell them that this is a big con, they will respond with "fake news" or "I'm still not voting for the Democrats who are a bunch of anti-American communists".

Maybe. But I'd take a page out of the Obama 2012 playbook and let the workers tell the story themselves.

I'm all for the media making this (and similar stories) a huge part of their programming.
And it would be excellent to hear/see group interviews from these workers, and have them explain how they still support or not support their Orange president.
Elections have consequences and they wanted a moron, so now they (we all) must suffer.

[Person Man]

Missouri company, largest remaining U.S. nail manufacturer, loses 50% of business due to tariffs and may be forced to close.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Trump is what they wanted. Butler County, Missouri voted 73.78% for Trump.
They should've known that Trump was a big con artist & a moron.

Yes, absolutely they should have. But I think condescending to these people is the wrong approach.

If the shoe was on the other foot and Bernie or some other Democrat had enacted these tariffs, you can bet your last dollar that Fox News and Republican politicians would be reporting about this at full volume 24 hours a day, every day. Democrats should be doing the same; they need to ruthlessly and relentlessly trumpet these stories every day until election day.

Hey Democrats, remember attack lines about job killing Obamacare that helped pave the way to big Republican gains in 2010 and 2014? Well these tariffs are actually killing jobs right now! Tell everyone you know.

Even if we tell them that this is a big con, they will respond with "fake news" or "I'm still not voting for the Democrats who are a bunch of anti-American communists".

Maybe. But I'd take a page out of the Obama 2012 playbook and let the workers tell the story themselves.

I'm all for the media making this (and similar stories) a huge part of their programming.
And it would be excellent to hear/see group interviews from these workers, and have them explain how they still support or not support their Orange president.
Elections have consequences and they wanted a moron, so now they (we all) must suffer.

This election showed us who was smart and who will soon be poor.

[ηєω ƒяσηтιєя]

Missouri company, largest remaining U.S. nail manufacturer, loses 50% of business due to tariffs and may be forced to close.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Trump is what they wanted. Butler County, Missouri voted 73.78% for Trump.

They should've known that Trump was a big con artist & a moron.

Yes, absolutely they should have. But I think condescending to these people is the wrong approach.

If the shoe was on the other foot and Bernie or some other Democrat had enacted these tariffs, you can bet your last dollar that Fox News and Republican politicians would be reporting about this at full volume 24 hours a day, every day. Democrats should be doing the same; they need to ruthlessly and relentlessly trumpet these stories every day until election day.

Hey Democrats, remember attack lines about job killing Obamacare that helped pave the way to big Republican gains in 2010 and 2014? Well these tariffs are actually killing jobs right now! Tell everyone you know.

Even if we tell them that this is a big con, they will respond with "fake news" or "I'm still not voting for the Democrats who are a bunch of anti-American communists".

Maybe. But I'd take a page out of the Obama 2012 playbook and let the workers tell the story themselves.

They already did in 2016.

They said that they were going to give Trump "a chance" because he's a "business man and the country should be run like a business" and "he knows what he's doing".

I guarantee that most of them will vote for Trump again in 2020. Instead of 73% like in 2016, he'll get about 69-70%.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

You cannot unwind the global economy without a major economic contraction. It is just impossible and that was one of the best arguments against embracing protectionist policies.


One thing that will result from this is that those harmed by these policies will be more supportive of free trade and is likely to pull the Democrats more in a free trade direction, which is their historical norm.

[TheSaint250]

This was certainly amusing:


Trump hit Mexico with steel tariffs. Mexico is hitting back — and targeting Republicans.
Mexico wants to hit industries in GOP strongholds as the midterm elections approach.

https://www.vox.com/world/2018/6/6/17433654/mexico-tariffs-us-goods-trump-trade

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This seems like it could qualify as interference in our democratic process.

Ironic, too, as this is coming from the PRI.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Economies are complicated.

[pbrower2a]

The globalized economy allows people cheaper stuff than they otherwise would have. For someone not in manufacturing, this is on the whole a good thing. Maybe it was easier to get a job in a TV factory in America around 1980 when one paid $500 for a US-made small tube TV (19" screen) -- in 1980-era dollars. (In fact there were TV factories in the USA, which there are not now).

Manufacturing has become a smaller sector of the American economy, and most of us do not need more stuff. It's mostly replacement now. To make manufacturing work again in its role in the economy, people would need to have fourth and fifth cars for families with three adults, which makes little sense. People would have to be hoarders (a horrible way of life) to make manufacturing as big a part of the American economy as it once was. And then America would need to protect domestic manufactures.

Let's remember that although the bulk of poor people in the early industrial era (the capitalism that Karl Marx knew), miners, and workers in farms and factories were mostly poor -- obscenely poor by modern standards. Cheap labor on the brink of hunger was essential to the command-and-control order of early capitalism.

We rely more heavily upon services now for our economy. I question how we could do otherwise. 

[The Free North]

You cannot unwind the global economy without a major economic contraction. It is just impossible and that was one of the best arguments against embracing protectionist policies.


One thing that will result from this is that those harmed by these policies will be more supportive of free trade and is likely to pull the Democrats more in a free trade direction, which is their historical norm.

Agreed.

Even worse for Trump, hes likely to lose a lot of rural support when countries no longer want to buy our farm products and prices collapse.

I firmly believe that if he does continue on this path, hes going to get blown out of office in 2020.

[ProudModerate2]

Meet The Press with Chuck Todd has a segment in his show called "Data Download."
In today's (Sunday June 24th) episode, he did a story on how China's tariff-retaliation on soybeans has hit the farmers in the USA hard.

Soybean prices have so far declined 15% in the USA, which is more than a 2-year low. This is hurting US farmers in the US, and is especially hurting those states which mainly produce soybeans. The top 10 states are: IA, IL, MN, NE, IN, OH, SD, ND, MO and KS. Eight of these states voted for trump, with MN almost voting for him.

And within all 10 of those states, 95% of the soybean-producing counties here, voted for trump. So those farming communities hit hardest by the soybean tariff are Donald Drumpf voters.

To see the 2-minute clip/episode, click here: https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/in-trump-s-trade-war-china-takes-aim-at-vulnerable-counties-1262854723828

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I must admit, these tariffs do have me thinking about dipping a speculative toe into the futures markets. But I've never traded options or futures before, and I don't have the time right now to do a reasonable amount of due diligence in what would be a high-risk bet on my part.  (While the futures and options markets do a valuable service in helping producers and consumers of commodities hedge against future changes in value, speculation is a high-risk activity -- especially for people like me who don't have a business reason to know all the ins and outs of what may affect the price.)  Besides demand is fungible.  We're likely going to end up shipping some of our soybeans etc. to other producing countries so as to free up their own supplies for export to China (and other countries we start a trade war with).  That means the fall in price won't be as much as the tariffs unless Trump starts trade wars with Argentina and Brazil.