Canada Day and Tariffs

[Mark in Ottawa]

Today is Canada's 151st birthday.

It is also the day that $16.7 billion dollar's worth of tariffs start to get applied to American made products. In addition to the same 10% and 25% tariffs on American steel and aluminum that Trump applied to Canadian steel and aluminum, the Canadian government has applied tariffs to a wide range of consumer products. The Canadian government has been researching this matter for a long time and they have carefully selected products that are either also made in Canada or are easily available from other countries. In addition however, every product selected for a tariff comes from a state that strongly supported Trump. Bourbon just became a lot more expensive.

What a total and unnecessary mess.

I would say that they are putting the heat on but we don't need any more heat today. The humidex here in Ottawa is about 108 degrees F and is expected to rise to 111 tomorrow; the hottest that I can ever recall. Its hard to believe that Ottawa is the coldest national capital in the world; colder than Moscow even!

[IditarodJoe]

Happy Canada Day!

(... and, on days like this, air conditioning is your friend. )

[togor]

As I long ago suggested, the problem with Trump's middle-finger-to-the-rest-of-the-world-except-for-countries-ruled-by-certain-dictators approach is that it would give long time friends and partners a significant financial incentive to reevaluate their relationships with Uncle Sam. Red disagrees, thinks this is a huge win, but my sense is that it leads to lower living standards in the USA as stuff gets more expensive and capital seeks paths around tariffs.

China has their 2025 plan and the Americans have some old coots just pulling tariffs out of their butts and calling it a National Security contingency.

[S.A. Boggs]

Now the rest of the story! I was watching the President today during an interview and he was asked about the tariffs which now made sense, especially with our neighbor Canada. During the last economic summit President Trump asked all nations to drop all barriers to free trade, the other nations replied No! Now what the President did makes sense, a great deal of sense. This was not reported by our NAZI press but I heard and saw the President say that. Togor, before you get in an uproar over NAZI please explain the National Socialist avowed from NY's election. If Canada drops all trade barriers with the US, the US will do the same, it is as simple as that. If the US and Canada are friends, do we need trade barriers? Our press wouldn't give our President the time of day. If any country can beat us at our gave I am willing to accept that as reality, otherwise I am willing to give the President the ability to continue.
Sam

[togor]

Sam only a dolt would fall for the "zero tariffs everywhere" line from Trump. So congratulations on that.

US cost advantage on dairy production would kill the Canadian dairy industry. Canucks don't want that for food security reasons. And security is the reason we jacked tariffs on imported aluminum and steel. Zero tariffs, give me a break. He goes on Fox to give a bullsh*t talking point.

It has always been about finding the optimal balance between foreign and domestic, on both the supply and demand sides. Zero tariffs everywhere would make that harder, not easier. Devil always in the details on trade and the coots running our trade policy will be led to slaughter and turned into pet food.

[Roadkingtrax]

If you want true parity, US subsidized dairy should be ended. Your tax dollars at work.

[S.A. Boggs]

Sam only a dolt would fall for the "zero tariffs everywhere" line from Trump. So congratulations on that.

US cost advantage on dairy production would kill the Canadian dairy industry. Canucks don't want that for food security reasons. And security is the reason we jacked tariffs on imported aluminum and steel. Zero tariffs, give me a break. He goes on Fox to give a bullsh*t talking point.

It has always been about finding the optimal balance between foreign and domestic, on both the supply and demand sides. Zero tariffs everywhere would make that harder, not easier. Devil always in the details on trade and the coots running our trade policy will be led to slaughter and turned into pet food.

A good national socialists toes the party line of being anti-American as usual, nothing to see or hear here. Must be from following the other great pseudo American Barry Soweto.
Sam

[bostonbound]

Sam only a dolt would fall for the "zero tariffs everywhere" line from Trump. So congratulations on that.

US cost advantage on dairy production would kill the Canadian dairy industry. Canucks don't want that for food security reasons. And security is the reason we jacked tariffs on imported aluminum and steel. Zero tariffs, give me a break. He goes on Fox to give a bullsh*t talking point.

It has always been about finding the optimal balance between foreign and domestic, on both the supply and demand sides. Zero tariffs everywhere would make that harder, not easier. Devil always in the details on trade and the coots running our trade policy will be led to slaughter and turned into pet food.

I understand your reasoning - tariffs imposed on the US are great - totally understandable for national security (food security) reasons.

Tariffs imposed by the US for the same reason are bad.

Your lack of logic is phenomenal - unless you have other reasons for wanting to destroy the US.

[togor]

Oh so now the measure of whether one is pro-American or not is how they identify with the Dear Leader? You're half-boiled already Boggs and yet you insist the water temperature is just fine.

[togor]

I understand your reasoning - tariffs imposed on the US are great - totally understandable for national security (food security) reasons.

Tariffs imposed by the US for the same reason are bad.

Your lack of logic is phenomenal - unless you have other reasons for wanting to destroy the US.

Not my logic you're criticizing. It's Trump's, as seen through the looking glass. Our Canuck members here at the forum are like friendly canaries. They're telling you how it looks on the outside but Trumpists just don't wanna know. They're still at trade wars are good and easy to win.

[bostonbound]

So Canada is targeting imports from "swing states" and Republican states in advance of the mid-term elections. It must be OK for Canada to try to interfere in US elections, now.

Not my logic you're criticizing. It's Trump's, as seen through the looking glass. Our Canuck members here at the forum are like friendly canaries. They're telling you how it looks on the outside but Trumpists just don't wanna know. They're still at trade wars are good and easy to win.

You are the one who stated that anti-American tariffs were just fine, while anti-Canadian tariffs were bad.

Let's put restrictive tariffs on anything produced by Canada that is also produced in the US. Per togor that would be reasonable since it is product security (food and other US products).

[TomSudz]

The surest way to lose any war is to not fight it.

[togor]

BB, you're showing an inability to see multiple sides of an issue. What I pointed out is that the logic that motivates Canada to sustain a much smaller dairy industry next to the American dairy colossus (a very real threat, given the size disparity and difference in base production costs) is the same logic that Trump sites to protect steel and aluminum foundaries, even as Trump claims that zero tariffs are what he's really after. Zero tariffs on Chinese steel? China has 2/3 of the world's furnaces! It wouldn't matter how many American cars they bought, because those cars would be made here out of imported steel! You can be forgiven for being utterly confused on the details. Trump, less so.

[S.A. Boggs]

BB, you're showing an inability to see multiple sides of an issue. What I pointed out is that the logic that motivates Canada to sustain a much smaller dairy industry next to the American dairy colossus (a very real threat, given the size disparity and difference in base production costs) is the same logic that Trump sites to protect steel and aluminum foundaries, even as Trump claims that zero tariffs are what he's really after. Zero tariffs on Chinese steel? China has 2/3 of the world's furnaces! It wouldn't matter how many American cars they bought, because those cars would be made here out of imported steel! You can be forgiven for being utterly confused on the details. Trump, less so.

So glad that a "trained" person has so much vast knowledge on almost every subject.
Sam

[togor]

If someone wants to challenge their thinking on US China trade, here is a good read. There are many more facets to this than are being presented on Fox News, or for that matter, CNN or MSNBC.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/06/china-losing-the-trade-war/563030/