What has Trump done now?

[kgwilson]

Trump has now back pedalled & at the 11th hour has delayed the tariffs for a month. The damage though has been done & Canada & Mexico will never have any faith in Trumps government (if they ever had any before) & will be working on strategies to ensure they will never get conned this way again. He is now threatening the EU as well & wants Ukraines rare earths for his continued support. Bully boy tactics only work for a short term until the bully becomes completely ostracized.

[old man emu]

I'm waiting to hear what he is going to try to do about trade with Australia. In 2023, the United States was our third-largest two-way trading partner in goods and services, worth $98.7 billion. Australia's goods and services exports to the United States were $33.6 billion. Australia's total imports from the United States were $65.1 billion. 

 

The problem in trying to work out just what we import is made difficult because we can't readily find out how much military equipment we import. There would be  many other things imported that we don't realise. As well, I wonder if the profits from US investments is included in that export total. How much does Maccas, Hungry Jacks, Pizza Hut, Amatil etc, etc send to the USA?

 

The United States is the largest and most significant investor in Australia, with investment in Australia standing at $1.17 trillion in 2023. The United States is also by far Australia's largest foreign investment destination, with investment in the US standing at $1.20 trillion in 2023. Two-way investment has more than tripled since the Free Trade Agreement came into force. I suppose most of that $1.2T is our superannuation funds.

 

 

[rgmwa]

Although he claims the border issues as the main justification for the tariffs, his latest statement in Canada’s case is that they now have 30 days ‘to see whether or not a final economic deal can be structured’, meaning he wants Canada to buy more from the US than they buy from Canada so he ‘wins’. He already had a trade deal with an ally that he could have renegotiated, but now he’s got a suspicious and angry neighbour to deal with that rightly sees him as a threat. The ‘Art of the Deal’ doesn’t seem to be off to a good start.

[onetrack]

Trump has destroyed any goodwill or trust between America and other nations with his erratic and chaotic style of decision-making, and it will take a long time before America regains any respect in trade negotiations. But this is precisely his modus operandi, throwing hand grenades into smooth-working operations, just to see how he can gain benefit, personally.

[Grumpy Old Nasho]

2 hours ago, old man emu said:

I'm waiting to hear what he is going to try to do about trade with Australia.

Wait no longer, I can tell you now. He won't do anything except encourage all our woke politicians to grow a pair.

 

He won't threaten tariffs on our aluminium industry, because it's not ours, and it's got our government in it's pocket.

 

He won't threaten tariffs on anything else because we don't send our illegals over there to cross their borders. And as far as I know, we don't try to smuggle illicit drugs into the US.

 

One final thing, Australia is a rusted-on compliant ally, so there's very little chance of any "punishment" coming our way.

[onetrack]

Just wait until Trump finds Australia has a number of important things that America wants, and you just might get all your ideas about what he's going to do, revised.

One thing we do on a sizeable scale, is export a lot of beef to America, for hamburgers, so perhaps that will curry great favour with the Big Mac lover.

[octave]

9 minutes ago, Grumpy Old Nasho said:

He won't threaten tariffs on anything else because we don't send our illegals over there to cross their borders. And as far as I know, we don't try to smuggle illicit drugs into the US.

 

Firstly illegals are not pouring in across the Canadian border into the US in fact more are going the opposite way.  Fentanyl crossing the border by the US's own figures is minuscule and in fact drugs also pass the other way as well as guns.

You seem to be confident that YTrump would not tariff Australia however he did impose a 10% on steel exports during his first term and backed down 

 

Donald Trump, Malcolm Turnbull hit on deal to exclude Australia from new US tariffs

 

Will there be tariffs this time? Plenty of analysts think it is possible.

 

‘We have to stand up to him’: Trump tariffs could hit Australia

 

Trump said in an interview that Canada treats the US badly and one of the issues he sights is the US banks cannot operate in Canada.  The only problem is that Trump was lying (or ignorant.

 

Trump wrong, U.S. banks can and do operate in Canada, association and professor say

 

Trump would probably get less pushback if he did not make stuff up.

 

 

[Grumpy Old Nasho]

The beef industry is mostly foreign owned as well. They have beef "Feed Lots", the principle of which, compares with chicken feed lots. Aussie farmers complained, but the foreigners won. The National Farmers Association and National party politicians backed the foreigners. It's another thing I wrote letters about, but once again, got told bluntly, to mind my own business.

[old man emu]

25 minutes ago, onetrack said:

curry great favour with the Big Mac

A big seller in Kolkata

 

[rgmwa]

He's just written an executive order instructing his team to come up with a plan for creating a sovereign wealth fund. There's nothing wrong with that and it works well in Norway and Saudi Arabia who fund theirs with oil profits, but given that the US is currently $36t in debt it's unclear how this fund is going to be funded. However, he has confidently said that it will soon be one of the biggest funds in the world.  He's suggested the fund could help finance the purchase of TikTok, or they could do a partnership with very wealthy people. I wonder if he's got a proposition for Elon.

[Grumpy Old Nasho]

He's got everyone jumping out of their skins. Mexico just jumped sky high and sent thousands of troops to their northern border to prevent more illegals from crossing into the US. It's a plan to avoid tariffs being imposed on Mexico for a month.

[Jerry_Atrick]

Hmm I wouldn't quite call it everyone jumping out of their skin. Let's face it, deploying troops to one's own border is fairly easy, and most commentators are saying all it would have taken is for him to ask nicely. This looks more like a saving face move , after climbing down from a stupid position in the first place. Trudeau (sp?) was the big winner from this.. his balanced response made it clear Canada wasn't going to be bullied. And, I am guessing Musk got in on the act when the governor of Ontario, I think it was, threatened to pull $100mn contract to Starlink. Here is what a local writer has to say about it: https://www.theage.com.au/business/markets/trump-fired-his-biggest-weapon-and-he-missed-20250204-p5l9c4.html

 

All he had to do, if he was real about the drug and immigrant issue is ask both Canada and Mexico for their support - they would have probably acceded to his request. Instead, he has sewn division and, at least he realised he went down the wrong path and back tracked (or someone realised for him).

 

I generally will support Trump for some of his belligerent approaches with regimes less than cooperative (though he does like to suck up to their leaders), but taking aim at Canada and Mexico was taking a gun and aiming it at his own feet.

[Grumpy Old Nasho]

Asking nicely has probably all been tried before and didn't work. Our Labor govt wouldn't stop the boat people in spite of continuing surveys where 80% of respondents expressed it be halted. It took a change of government to stop it.

[facthunter]

Abbott actively  and openly sabotaged Gillard's efforts. You have blinkers on Mate. Nev

[Grumpy Old Nasho]

Kevin Rudd was in before Gillard. He ignored the 80% surveys.

[Jerry_Atrick]

15 hours ago, Grumpy Old Nasho said:

Asking nicely has probably all been tried before and didn't work.

Is it likely to have been tried before? I am not so sure, as it is usually up to a country to protect its own borders; not rely on other countries. I would wager it is more unlikely than likely that they have been asked, and a smarter administration would ask the other country to use their own border control force, because that is what they have been trained to do. The military haven't - at least in a civilian context. Even if they were asked nicely before, they weren't asked nicely by Trump; given his record they may well have responded positively if Trump asked.

 

Instead, he just came out like a bully with all guns blazing. When Canada hit back knowing it would cost themselves, but still deal the USA a blow,  my guess it was a little unexpected.. Trump and his motley crew probably through Canada and Mexico would grovel at their feet and do anything to avoid a trade war.  Well, they called his bluff, and he squealed, like all bullies do. I am surprised we didn't se him suck his thumb.

 

Why pick on Canada and Mexico. Yeah, they have a trade surplus with the US, but compared to China, it is pittance. Was it to try and let the Chinese know they were serious? Well, they aint that serious, are they.. China is chuckling now.

 

Many economists and commentators are starting to see these tarris not as trade wars, but was ways of raising revenue to pay for the existing and planned tax cuts for the really wealthy - so the middle classes and minor rich and of course the poor, pick up the tab to funnel more money to the billionaires and the like,  After all, why then threaten countries thatr they have a trade surplus with as well?

 

You can make all sorts of excuses, but a probably isn't fact, and the facts that we do know do not support anything than him being a bully with poor judgement. He will no doubt cause short term damage to the US, and already the BRICS block is being courted by other nations to join. In addition, allies will start looking to wean themselves of the teat of the US as a result, and with that will come even smaller exports and a smaller economy as a result.

 

 

[red750]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-04/china-retaliates-with-tariffs-on-united-states-goods/104896638

 

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czj31l4p7vzo

 

 

https://www.reuters.com/world/us-tariffs-chinese-imports-take-effect-after-trump-reprieves-canada-mexico-2025-02-04/

[red750]

MAGA supporters have been convinced by their Dear Leader that it is their patriotic duty to pay higher prices for groceries and gasoline, to pay the tax cuts for the mega-rich.

[rgmwa]

Following his meeting with Netanyahu he’s just announced that the US plans to take over ownership of the Gaza Strip and rebuild it for the ‘world’s people’ to live in. That should be interesting. Netanyahu thinks it’s a great idea.

[red750]

That will help get the cost of eggs down.

[red750]

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/other/mexican-cartels-declare-war-on-the-us-border-patrols-with-kamikaze-drones-and-bombs/ar-AA1ynIn6?ocid=winp2fptaskbar&cvid=81250c2ff5bc406fc35e567de6568e35&ei=32

[old man emu]

2 hours ago, rgmwa said:

he’s just announced that the US plans to take over ownership of the Gaza Strip and rebuild it for the ‘world’s people’ to live in.

But he wants the traditional owners of the land to bugger off and live somewhere else. Just because Jordanians and Egyptians follow a similar religion to the Palestinians, he reckons that those countries should open their borders to the refugees.

 

Ask the Cherokee people how well that worked for them. As a result of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, more than 60,000 Native Americans from at least 18 tribes were forced to move west of the Mississippi River where they were allocated new lands. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern North Carolina, southeastern Tennessee, southwestern Virginia, edges of western South Carolina, northern Georgia and northeastern Alabama consisting of around 40,000 square miles. You probably have a fair idea of the differences in climate and ecology between those near-coastal locations and the plains of Oklahoma. No wonder that the Indian Wars lasted into the 1890s.

 

He's also sucking up to the Saudis. Remember that the first leader he contacted after being sworn in was the leader of Saudi Arabia. 

[Marty_d]

Greenland is the new Wild West just waiting to be gang raped by Trump and Musk.

[rgmwa]

The Saudis aren't impressed. They have already issued a response to Trump's plan, strongly objecting to moving the Palestinians and said they won't recognise Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian state. Their UN envoy said leaders and people should respect the Palestinian's desire to stay in Gaza.

I can't see how Trump can force an entire population to leave and legally (or illegally) take over their country. Even if he did, it wouldn't be long before the US occupiers had a few shots fired at them by someone, and then the US would be embroiled in another conflict in the Middle East together with the Israelis. He's not winning many points towards his the Nobel Peace Prize so far. 

 

Edited 3 hours ago by rgmwa

[onetrack]

You blokes are getting it all wrong! Didn't you hear Donald and Jared Kushner raving about the beautiful ocean-front land, and the weather in Gaza?

 

What better result could Donald produce for those unfortunate Palestinians, than turning Gaza into a myriad of Trump Hotels and Golf Courses!! Onya, Donald!!