Posted on 12/02/2019 7:29:57 AM PST by SeekAndFind
President Trump said he would impose tariffs, effective immediately, on all steel and aluminum shipped into the United States from Brazil and Argentina.
“Brazil and Argentina have been presiding over a massive devaluation of their currencies. which is not good for our farmers,” Trump said in Monday morning tweet. He then directed his attention to the Federal Reserve, saying the central bank should “act so that countries, of which there are many, no longer take advantage of our strong dollar by further devaluing their currencies. This makes it very hard for our [manufacturers] & farmers to fairly export their goods. Lower Rates & Loosen — Fed!”
The surprise announcement came after it appeared as though the White House was preparing to dial back its adversarial trade approach in the lead up to next year’s election. The administration appeared close to a deal with House Democrats to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement, and tensions with China had eased in recent weeks.
The tariffs took aim at one of the most vital industries in Brazil at a particularly vulnerable moment. Unemployment is above 10%, and the economy has stalled. The steel industry, long one of the nation’s economic engines, has been looking increasingly wobbly as well, slashing growth projections earlier this year.
Brazilian steel exports to the U.S. accounted for roughly $2.6 billion last year — making the United States one of Brazil’s biggest markets for steel — and analysts expected the tariffs to be painful.
In Argentina, where steel and aluminum exports represent roughly $700 million, the unexpected news comes as the nation is undergoing transition of power. If the tariffs persist, they will be one of the earliest diplomatic tests to face the incoming presidency of Alberto Fernández, a leftist politician who will take office within a week.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I worked for a telecommunications equipment company that sold a lot of equipment into Brazil. You wouldn’t believe what we had to go through to sell into that country. We were always having to gin up the “country of origin” figures with local partners to make sales there.
Correction
We are not “ opening a trade war”
We are entering one by which that we have been passively battered with no leadership to protect America’s greater interests than being plunderec
You can scrape Argentina off the map as far as I’m concerned.
Democrats and their captive media keep on getting surprised by Trump.
The bong hits keep coming. Happy New Year!
Good, keep raising them.
I would rather see tarriffs raised across the board on all countries, rather than a tit for tat. But I suspect tit for tat is more defensible politically with the globalist uniparty.
And it seems like he should be tarriffing agricultural products too, since that’s who it is hurting.
I agree. which is a sad thing. Beautiful country. Kinda like Kalifornia South.
Brazil is a major industrial/economic power.
The washington post calls it “opening new trade war” when it is actually improving the manufacturing job situation.
I have found Brazilians much friendlier than Argentinians.
Hi.
“I have found Brazilians much friendlier than Argentinians.”
Your statement is anecdotal. So is mine...I have found Brazilians much friendlier than Argentinians.
Much more friendly.
5.56mm
Be careful with those words.
They consider themselves to be the “Italy” of the Western Hemisphere!
Good - one of the things I hated - HATED - about the pre-Trump GOP was how they all loved free trade.
Free trade, like communism - works in theory but in practice it is destructive to societies.
I am for true reciprocal free trade between like systems (I include human rights and true respect for laws like the Anglo-Saxon system) with exceptions for raw materials not found here.
The trade war with all these countries is not new. It’s just that we haven’t been fighting it but everyone else has.
I hate the MSM, RINOS and globalists. Hate is not a strong enough word.
Which means we dont need to subsidize them by letting them keep our goods out of their market. Reciprocity time, Open up or pay up.
Argentina, nothing but Commies and ex-Nazis.
WaPo #FakeNews
MAGA!
I had a company in Brazil. Nothing there is straight, nothing is as it seems, especially when it comes to official documents and compliance.
Brasil o pais do futuro — and always will be — until it accepts the idea that effective and statutory tax rates should be the same.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.