Tariffs Catch-All

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nycfan said:
“… The full-blown trade war during Trump’s first term had strengthened Xi’s resolve to fortify China against a new Trump-like assault. And yet, in the absence of contacts with the Trump team, Washington’s most formidable adversary settled on a wait-and-see approach.

… Then came the shock of the extra 34% tariffs Trump slapped on China on Wednesday. That brings the average U.S. import levies on Chinese products to 76%, figuring in the previous 20% tariffs and levies that predate Trump’s second term, according to Chad Bown, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics—more than 20 times what it was before Trump launched his first trade war against China in 2018.

“That amounts to a declaration of ‘strategic decoupling’ with China,” said a senior economist in Beijing, using a term from Trump’s first-term trade czar, Robert Lighthizer. “Can we find a pathway toward negotiations under such maximum pressure? The lack of communication between the two sides might make it difficult.”

… Some foreign-policy and trade analysts say Beijing was smart to wait it out as Trump has also significantly bumped up import levies on traditional allies and other big trading partners, raising the specter of a global backlash against the U.S. that could benefit China.

… If Xi engages too soon, Singleton said, he risks looking weak.

…
The current Chinese ambassador to Washington, Xie Feng, has tried in vain to engage with Trump adviser Elon Musk, according to the people who consult with Chinese officials. Beijing had hoped that Musk, whose company Tesla makes half its electric vehicles in China, could help counterbalance the China hard-liners on Trump’s team.

Other U.S. business leaders, such as Wall Street financiers that Chinese leaders have often turned to in periods of trouble, now see little upside in acting as a go-between for Beijing. “Who wants that role?” said a senior American executive. “No one.” …”
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Seems it would be easy for the Chinese government to seize Tesla factories in China and just gift them to BYD.
 
altmin said:
Seems it would be easy for the Chinese government to seize Tesla factories in China and just gift them to BYD.
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China rarely seizes assets. It would be real red line for foreign investment. The USA isn't the only foreign investment player in China - so it's doubtful they would seize Tesla's factory.

They might levy hefty fines and make operating the factory more expensive by revoking certain tax benefits. They could also levy special taxes on Tesla vehicles exported out of this factory. Tesla sells a decent amount of vehicles throughout Asia assembled in China. These could become significantly more expensive via export tariffs.
 
nycfan said:
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These are the consequences of the Pubs living in an alternate reality, fed by both their dishonest media sources and their unfailingly dishonest politicians. What Trump is doing makes no sense whatsoever in the real world. But when you’ve truly come to believe our economy was in the crapper and we were being taken advantage of by the rest of the world, you can get behind almost anything.
 
nycfan said:

Here’s the iPhone. Here’s the iPhone With Tariffs.​

This is what Apple pays for components inside its bestselling phone, and how Trump’s China tariffs could raise the bill​


GIFT LINK GIFT 🎁 —>https://www.wsj.com/tech/personal-t...a3?st=A78kDR&reflink=mobilewebshare_permalink

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www.forbes.com

How Much Would An iPhone Cost If Apple Were Forced To Make It In America?

How much would an iPhone cost if Apple were forced to make it in America? This question was originally answered on Quora by Glenn Luk.
www.forbes.com www.forbes.com

“… How much would an iPhone cost if Apple were forced to make it in America?

In the $30,000 to $100,000 range… and no this is not a typo.

In fact, if Apple were forced to solely manufacture the iPhone in America, there is a good argument that it would not be able to manufacture any at all. And if they could somehow successfully make the manufacturing transition, capacity would likely be constrained to a just a few million units a year.

The issue here is not really about differences in the cost of labor. It is more about the supply chain and it is mostly about differences in the necessary skills required to manufacture hundreds of millions of iPhones at high-quality to satisfy current market demand.

As Apple CEO Tim Cook points out in a recent interview [1], the U.S. is sorely lacking in certain critical skills required in the manufacturing supply chain. One of these skills is precision tooling and specifically, tooling engineers.

… Tooling engineering is a highly skilled position that requires years of training and experience. It is an “analog” type skill that combines artisanal craftsmanship with precision engineering skills. And as Mr. Cook alludes to later in the talk, the Chinese have developed and scaled these skills over the last three decades while the U.S. and other countries have gone the other direction and de-emphasized them …

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President Trump’s Tariff Formula Makes No Economic Sense. It’s Also Based on an Error.​


www.aei.org

President Trump’s Tariff Formula Makes No Economic Sense. It’s Also Based on an Error.

President Donald Trump announced tariffs on practically every foreign country (and some non-countries), ranging from a 10 percent minimum all the way up to 50 percent. He described the tariffs as reciprocal; however, they are nothing of the sort.
www.aei.org www.aei.org

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“… Now, our view is that the formula the administration relied on has no foundation in either economic theory or trade law. But if we are going to pretend that it is a sound basis for US trade policy, we should at least be allowed to expect that the relevant White House officials do their calculations carefully. Hopefully they will correct their mistake soon: the resulting trade liberalization would provide a much-needed boost to the economy and may yet help us stave off a recession.

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…”
 
nycfan said:

President Trump’s Tariff Formula Makes No Economic Sense. It’s Also Based on an Error.​


www.aei.org

President Trump’s Tariff Formula Makes No Economic Sense. It’s Also Based on an Error.

President Donald Trump announced tariffs on practically every foreign country (and some non-countries), ranging from a 10 percent minimum all the way up to 50 percent. He described the tariffs as reciprocal; however, they are nothing of the sort.
www.aei.org www.aei.org

IMG_6168.jpeg
IMG_6169.jpeg
“… Now, our view is that the formula the administration relied on has no foundation in either economic theory or trade law. But if we are going to pretend that it is a sound basis for US trade policy, we should at least be allowed to expect that the relevant White House officials do their calculations carefully. Hopefully they will correct their mistake soon: the resulting trade liberalization would provide a much-needed boost to the economy and may yet help us stave off a recession.

IMG_6170.jpegIMG_6171.jpeg


…”
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😞 sigh

BTW, she should talk to this guy about fake science (he agrees with the EU on this point)

Press Conference Wealth GIF by PBS News
 
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“BESSENT: Most Americans who have put away for years in their savings accounts don't look at the day to day fluctuations of what's happening”

——

That is generally true for many people but people tend to check during sudden sell-offs.
 

Trump’s trade war on reality​

Trump’s tariff crusade ignores U.S. economic strength — and risks squandering it on fantasy and folly.


“… It is U.S. economic heft that allows him to try to force the rest of the world to bend to his will. But Trump is using American power in such a capricious, destructive and dumb way that it will almost certainly result in a lose-lose outcome for everyone.

The real economic story of the past three decades is that the United States has surged ahead of all its major competitors.

In 2008, the U.S. economywas about the same size as the euro zone’s; now, it is nearly twice the size. In 1990, average U.S. wages were about 20 percent greater than the overall average in the advanced industrial world; they are now about 40 percent higher.

In 1995, a Japanese person was 50 percent richer than an American in terms of GDP per capita; today, an American is about 150 percent richer than a Japanese person. In fact, the poorest American state, Mississippi, has a higher per capita GDPthan Britain, France or Japan.

… Trump’s nostalgic worldview is rooted even further back than the 1960s. He looks fondly on the late 19th century, when, as he described this week, the United States had only tariffs and no income tax, and America was stronger economically than it has ever been compared with the rest of the world.

This history is nonsense. In 1900, the United States accounted for about 16 percent of the global economy by one measure; it is now about 26 percent of it. Americans’ standards of living and health are much higher today.

But in acting out on his nostalgic fantasy, Trump might well end up dragging America back to what it was then: a poorer country, dominated by oligarchs and corruption, content to swagger around its backyard and bully its neighbors but marginal to the great currents of global economics and politics.”
 


Lutnick: it’s automated factories.. The key is who is going to build and operate the factories
Brennan: You said robots



HASSETT: Heh ha. The bottom line is the president has been talking about tariffs for 40 years. The president is allowed to have an opinion
S: So that is his strategy

[My note — Trump retweeted that a second time, so I guess it wasn’t an accidental repost as some supporters assumed and he really means it]
 
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