Trump On Tariffs Not Strategic!

[JimofPennsylvan]

President Trump deserves a lot of credit for fighting for America's domestic manufacturing industries that have suffered huge losses at the hands of this "Globalization" Trade Model where its advocates push for a world which is one big free trade zone especially for fighting for the American workers who have lost millions of middle class manufacturing jobs as a result of this unfairness highlighted by the huge trade deficits America experiences with many countries. The problem with President Trump is that he is not strategic, he comes out with these policy proposals that are not thoroughly though out and than he has to walk them back and he does not propose long-term solutions to these problems. This past week he came out with a policy proposal of twenty-five percent tariffs on foreign steel imports the consensus is that he is going to have to walk that proposal back for many countries because not doing so would get America in senseless trade wars! For instance it makes no sense to impose the tariff against Canadian steel exporters to the U.S. for the U.S. does like $500 billion dollars of trade with Canada per year it makes no sense to hurt U.S. exporters to Canada because the dollar amount of this trade dwarfs the dollar amount steel exports from Canada. Strategic thinking would freeze the volume of steel exports from these good trading partners not put any tariffs on their exports, limit the tariffs to bad trading partners that take America to the cleaners with the big annual trade deficits they leave America with! Place tariffs on these unfair countries like China, Germany, Japan, South Korea, India and Vietnam! The Trump Administration is doing a lot of good in this area like tariffs on solar panels and washing machines but this help is only for the short term like three years the American people want out domestic manufacturing industries protected permanently, the Trump Administration should propose legislation that does this even if it doesn't become law during the Trump Administration it will give the large number of American people that are alarmed by the loss of these middle class manufacturing jobs in America a political path to protect the American people's interests and preserve these American industries. The Democrat party gets this and this past week I was reading comments on this subject in social media and learned that a large swath of the Republican Party used to get this apparently back in 1988 when President Reagan vetoed legislation that tried to preserve the U.S. domestic apparel industry, sixty-nine Republican House members voted to override the veto. Republicans running for public office should take it to heart that doing one's duty as a member of Congress toward the American people means protecting America's domestic manufacturing industries and the good paying jobs they provide if you cannot do that duty don't run!

 

[waltky]

China could be attempting to mend fences with the United States...

Report: China could buy U.S. semiconductors to avert trade war
March 26, 2018 -- China could be attempting to mend fences with the United States despite its opposition to new U.S. tariffs against $60 billion of Chinese goods.

The Chinese government, in an effort to avoid a trade war that could incur losses for both sides, may be in talks to buy U.S. semiconductors, the Financial Times reported Monday. China currently purchases the semiconductors from South Korea and Taiwan, but the move could still bear consequences for the United States because South Korea and Taiwan are traditional U.S. allies, according to the FT. Other measures Beijing is exploring include reducing Chinese tariffs on imported cars.

The points were discussed between Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and U.S. Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin, after a heated exchange between the two officials by phone, according to Xinhua news agency on Saturday. During the call, Liu told Mnuchin U.S. tariffs violated global trading regulations, and added China was ready to defend its interests. The U.S. Treasury confirmed the call but said the two sides discussed "mutually agreeable" ways to cut back the U.S. trade deficit with China.

U.S. President Donald Trump hit China last week with $60 billion in U.S. tariffs, and China retaliated with tariffs on $3 billion worth of U.S. goods. Liu also raised the possibility China could allow foreign majority control of securities firms as early as May, according to the FT. The implementation of tariffs is being planned, but Mnuchin said on Fox News Sunday that the Trump administration is seeking an agreement with China. "We are going to proceed with our tariffs. We are working on that. We're also working on investment restrictions, but we're simultaneously having negotiations with the Chinese to see if we can reach an agreement," Mnuchin said.

Report: China could buy U.S. semiconductors to avert trade war

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - the Donald levelin' the playin' field...

Trump's Tariffs Apparently Having the Desired Effect
March 27, 2018 | "Wow," Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) tweeted on Tuesday morning. "I guess the moves made by @realDonaldTrump on trade did not trigger the apocalypse after all. Read: #SouthKorea agrees to open auto market in return for exemption from steel tariffs."

Rubio referenced a Washington Post report that says South Korea has agreed to further open its auto market to U.S. manufacturers, and it has accepted an annual export quota on steel. The limit on South Korean steel exports is set at 70 percent of average sales over the past three years, and that amount would be exempt from tariffs. The New York Times reported that the Trump administration may announce the revised U.S.-South Korea (KORUS) trade deal on Tuesday:

According to the NYT:

The finalization of a trade agreement with South Korea would hand Mr. Trump a victory in his “America First” approach to trade, in which he has threatened to take tough trade action unless other countries agree to concessions, including a reduction in the gap between what they export to the United States and what America exports to their shores. The blanket steel and aluminum tariffs announced by the White House earlier this month are the most recent example of that blunt approach, with the White House using exemptions and revisions as a carrot to avoid the tariff stick.

The South Korean government announced the deal on Monday. President Trump tweeted on Monday: "Trade talks going on with numerous countries that, for many years, have not treated the United States fairly. In the end, all will be happy!"

Trump's Tariffs Apparently Having the Desired Effect

See also:

U.S. Energy Exports Hit Record in 2017; Petroleum and Natural Gas Both Hit All-Time Highs
March 27, 2018 - U.S. total energy exports hit a record high in 2017 when measured in British Thermal Units (Btu), according to the Monthly Energy Review released today by the Energy Information Administration, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Energy.

U.S. petroleum and natural gas exports (measured in Btu) also both hit all-time highs in 2017, according to Table 1.4b in the report, while the U.S. energy trade deficit (measured in dollars) hit a 20-year low, according to Table 1.5. During 2017, total U.S. energy exports equaled 17.998711 Quadrillion Btu, according to the report. That was up approximately 27.4 percent from the 14.129837 Quadrillion Btu in total U.S. energy exports in 2016. At the same time, the U.S. imported 25.342199 Quadrillion Btu in total energy, meaning the U.S. was a net importer of 7.343488 in energy in 2017. That is the lowest net energy imports the United States has seen since 1982 (measured in Btu), when the country was a net importer of 7.253481 Quadrillion Btu of energy.

The U.S. total energy exports included a record 12.044051 Quadrillion Btu in total petroleum exports (including both crude oil and refined products such as gasoline, kerosene and lubricants). That was up approximately 20.6 percent from the 9.989907 Quadrillion Btu that the U.S. exported in 2016. U.S. total energy exports in 2017 also included a record 3.196449 Quadrillion Btu in natural gas. That was up approximately 35.6 percent from the 1.237954 Quadrillion Btu in natural gas that the U.S. exported in 2016. U.S. total energy exports in 2017 also included 2.487339 Quadrillion Btu in coal exports.

That was up approximately 60.9 percent from the 1.546253 Quadrillion Btu in coal exports the U.S. made in 2016. According to the Monthly Energy Review, U.S. energy exports in 2017 had a merchandise trade value of $136,358,000,000. At the same time, U.S. energy imports had a merchandise trade value of $194,945,000,000. That gave the U.S. an energy trade balance for the year of -$58,587,000,000. That is the smallest energy trade deficit the United States has had (measured in dollars), according to the Monthly Energy Review, since 1998, when it was -$47,072,000,000.

The Congressional Research Service has attributed the U.S. surge in the international energy market to the development of new technologies including “hydraulic fracturing.” “The United States has seen a resurgence in petroleum production, mainly driven by technology improvements—especially hydraulic fracturing and directional drilling—developed for natural gas production from shale formations,” said a CRS report published in 2015. “Application of these technologies enabled natural gas to be economically produced from shale and other unconventional formations and contributed to the United States becoming the world’s largest nature gas producer in 2009,” said CRS.

U.S. Energy Exports Hit Record in 2017; Petroleum and Natural Gas Both Hit All-Time Highs