Trump's trade policies

[WhiteyDog]

No one in politics that reaches the level these people do are Angels by ANY means. If you think your favorite politician is you are living in a fantasy world.

Trump is also a business man dealing in billions of dollars which also means he's gotten dirty plenty of times in that industry alone.

We all know it and millions of us voted for him anyways....the alternative was just not worth the cost.

This, ALL of this. ^^^^^ Trump is far from honest, and Obama was one of the weakest presidents we ever had.

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[Interceptor]

I'm just happy we have not followed France's footsteps, and remained with the corrupt climate change crowd. I wish all the people in the USA who demonstrated when Trump pull out would go to France right now and March in the street in support of it.

 

[Hack]

I'm done after that statement. How ANYBODY can think Donald is not a corrupt man is beyond my comprehension.......

What crime are you accusing him of? His political opponents are really working hard to do a hack job on him, but I'm not aware of any crime he has committed.

As far as I'm concerned, Trump should be considered innocent until proven guilty - just like the rest of us. It's scary to me that people who don't like Trump are ready to throw away the presumption of innocence. You shouldn't do that unless you want to give up your own presumption of innocence.

And Trump's trade policies are still helping to make America great again.

 

[Timeless]

What crime are you accusing him of? His political opponents are really working hard to do a hack job on him, but I'm not aware of any crime he has committed.

As far as I'm concerned, Trump should be considered innocent until proven guilty - just like the rest of us. It's scary to me that people who don't like Trump are ready to throw away the presumption of innocence. You shouldn't do that unless you want to give up your own presumption of innocence.

And Trump's trade policies are still helping to make America great again.

Apparently you did not get the memo....Conservatives are guilty till proven innocent and Democrats are innocent till proven guilty....and illegal aliens are innocent no matter what...as long as they started out south of the border (no RUSSIANS!)

 

[Bluemustang]

Apparently you did not get the memo....Conservatives are guilty till proven innocent and Democrats are innocent till proven guilty....and illegal aliens are innocent no matter what...as long as they started out south of the border (no RUSSIANS!)

You forgot - Democrats innocent even when proven guilty LOL

Sound like someone we know? (cough, Hillary)

 

[Anthony 05 GT]

Yeah, exactly.

 

[WhiteyDog]

I like that Trump is fighting against the ridiculously unbalanced trade deficit which has been going on for way too long. Although his tactics aren't exactly stellar. He has also brought to light on a grander scale how lopsided the amount of money the United States gives to NATO compared to other nations as well. Look, I think Trump is a shyster like all the rest of them, no matter the party. But at least he is going after some heavy-duty problems that have been ignored for too long. I mean come on, the Democrats used to be for the little guy, now they push their seemingly socialistic bullsh*t agenda and we all know how well that has worked in world history. Even though the way Trump goes about things and says things that are unbecoming of such a high position, I feel we are still better off than who he ran against.

 

[sdiver68]

Setting aside the noise about Trump, our trade war is with China. Hard goods aren't even the main issue. The large imbalances are in digital economy issues such as intellectual property theft and forced "partnerships" which require technology transfer to do business in China.

Both Democrat and Republican leadership support this fight. In fact, I think they are all happy to have Trump be the front man for the pain required to negotiate a better deal.

 

[phx23]

Well, being an engineer and considering how economics work, it makes logical sense that more conservative policies will help the economy. Looking at history, every time conservative policies have been tried they always worked. And liberal policies have always failed. And I do love freedom.

You do realize virtually every credible economist on the face of the planet says Trump's trade war will destabilize our economy, right? This isn't one of those conservative vs liberal things, its overwhelming consensus from economists of all political persuasions.

Trump is a master marketer and I respect his success. However, it is dangerous to think selling branded ties, steaks or fake college degrees qualifies him as an expert in setting international trade policy. Just as I would trust engineers to design bridges and automobiles, I trust credible economists on the impact of Trump's trade policies.

 

[Timeless]

You do realize virtually every credible economist on the face of the planet says Trump's trade war will destabilize our economy, right? This isn't one of those conservative vs liberal things, its overwhelming consensus from economists of all political persuasions.

Trump is a master marketer and I respect his success. However, it is dangerous to think selling branded ties, steaks or fake college degrees qualifies him as an expert in setting international trade policy. Just as I would trust engineers to design bridges and automobiles, I trust credible economists on the impact of Trump's trade policies.

It most definitely can in the short run...but he is playing the long game and has said so many times.

 

[Anthony 05 GT]

When Trump tells other nations what he plans to do they are quickly figuring out that he means it. The people working under him negotiating these deals actually enjoy using that fact when they do the negotiating which makes their job easier. They use his unpredictable nature to their advantage. It's refreshing and good for the long haul.

 

[sdiver68]

You do realize virtually every credible economist on the face of the planet says Trump's trade war will destabilize our economy, right? This isn't one of those conservative vs liberal things, its overwhelming consensus from economists of all political persuasion.

What you claim is very misleading at best and untrue in the long run. Yes, there will be some short-term destabilization while negotiations are going on. In that way, Trump (with Democrat support) is willing to play hardball in a way that hasn't been done for decades. However, the long term goals of current negotiations are to come CLOSER to free trade than the agreements we have today. The free trade of classical economics is NOT what Trump inherited.

Think of it in this very simple way. If we truly had free trade with China, why does Amazon and Google not dominate there? If Alibaba, JD, Tencent, Baidu, etc.. are truly able to compete why don't we see them here? If we had free trade today, why couldn't we import drugs from Canada? If the WTO was fair, why is everyone calling for serious reform including the US, China and EU?

I do enough academic debate on this topic with qualified professional economists and trade experts in graduate school that I won't go on here.

 

[phx23]

It most definitely can in the short run...but he is playing the long game and has said so many times.

Since when is Trump concerned about the long run impact of his economic policies? Just last week it was reported that when Trump was shown data on the growing national debt and the dramatic consequences it will have in the future, Trump replied "I won't be here." Trump is not in it for the long run. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/trump-shrugs-off-future-debt-crisis-i-wont-be-here

These policies are designed to elicit an emotional response from his base voters. Nearly 2 out of 3 of them lack a college education. Being "tough" is a great talking point for a rally, just not so much for trade. Maybe you could offer some examples of where other nations benefited in the long run by engaging in trade wars?

Then again... we might not have to be that concerned with the long term impacts of Trump's trade war. With all of Trump's buddies going to prison, it isn't certain he will even be around for the short run!

 

[phx23]

What you claim is very misleading at best and untrue in the long run. Yes, there will be some short-term destabilization while negotiations are going on. In that way, Trump (with Democrat support) is willing to play hardball in a way that hasn't bee done for decades. However, the long term goals of current negotiations is to come CLOSER to free trade than the agreements we have today. The free trade of classical economics is NOT what Trump inherited.

Think of it in this very simple way. If we truly had free trade with China, why does Amazon and Google not dominate there? If Alibaba, JD, Tencent, Baidu, etc.. are truly able to compete why don't we see them here? If we had free trade today, why couldn't we import drugs from Canada? If the WTO was fair, why is everyone calling for serious reform including the US, China and EU?

I do enough academic debate on this topic with qualified professional economists and trade experts in graduate school that I won't go on here.

How is my claim misleading or untrue? Go ahead and find some credible economists that support Trump's trade war and post your results here. We can go back and forth and let the board tally up the numbers to decide for themselves where the overwhelming majority of credible experts land on the net benefit of Trump's trade war!

By no stretch of the imagination do I think anybody would argue all existing trade deals are perfect. I supported a different candidate in the primary, but had hope Trump could put his money where his mouth is and actually negotiate some better trade deals. Still waiting...

International trade policy is not like a Manhattan land deal. Talking tough doesn't change the reality of the situation.

As for my graduate school courses, the economics professors don't even entertain debating whether Trump's trade war is good of bad for our economy. The facts are the facts.

 

[phx23]

Think of it in this very simple way. If we truly had free trade with China, why does Amazon and Google not dominate there? If Alibaba, JD, Tencent, Baidu, etc.. are truly able to compete why don't we see them here? If we had free trade today, why couldn't we import drugs from Canada? If the WTO was fair, why is everyone calling for serious reform including the US, China and EU?

Forgot to address this... I don't think anybody supports the theft of intellectual property, not even Hillary Clinton! So, a little unsure the point you are trying to make? Are you arguing rogue US based trade wars that impact many vital sectors of the US economy is the only way to prevent/curb intellectual property theft??

As far as I know, the US first put restrictions on importing prescription drugs from Canada in the 80s. Then, US pharmaceutical companies lobbied the Canadian government to create more strict regulations to manipulate the market in favor of US pharmaceutical companies. So... not sure that is an apples-to-apples comparison of Trump's trade wars. I am not an expert on this subject though, did I miss something?

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