Doubling down on his trade wars, Trump is threatening to raise taxes on many goods from Canada, hike his universal tariff on imports from around the world and punish Brazil for prosecuting his friend, the country’s former president.
On Saturday, Trump announced more tariffs still, this time on two of the United States’ biggest trade partners: the European Union and Mexico, at 30% each.
Former U.S. trade negotiator Wendy Cutler said that Trump’s recent moves “underscore the growing unpredictability, incoherence and assertiveness’’ of his trade policies. “It’s hard for trading partners to know where they stand with Trump on any given day and what more may be coming their way when least expected,’’ said Cutler, now vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute.
Lol! Ok. Would you buy something you don’t even need, from a supplier that is going to change the price on you every other day, just to try and fuck you over?
Nothing you said, makes up for the fact that Trump is an unreliable trade partner. In fact, all of the factors you mentioned make for very good reasons to find other supply connections. If those things are that important, then dealing with Trump is the stupidest way to try and guarantee steady business.
I’m talking about EU exports, and yes, you do need countries who buy your shit. Specially when the rest of the world doesn’t shop as much.
I’m also not defending Trump. But I get why countries try to work with him: swapping a large business partner on the world map hurts everyone. Globalization made everyone depend on everything, and such a gigantic swap will destroy a lot of wealth all around.
And people are not ready to go hungry.
I would suggest abandoning capitalism as whole, which would solve a lot of problems right about now.
The defense is a bit more tricky, and it needs time. But the meantime sucks.