Posted on 12/22/2016 8:12:46 PM PST by Rockitz
As the FT first reported yesetrday, in a dramatic development for Sino-US relations, Trump picked Peter Navarro, a Harvard-trained economist and one-time daytrader, to head the National Trade Council, an organization within the White House to oversee industrial policy and promote manufacturing. Navarro, a hardcore China hawk, is the author of books such as "Death by China" and "Crouching Tiger: What China’s Militarism Means for the World" has for years warned that the US is engaged in an economic war with China and should adopt a more aggressive stance, a message that the president-elect sold to voters across the US during his campaign.
In the aftermath of Navarro's appointment, many were curious to see what China's reaction would be, and according to the FT, Beijin's response has been nothing short of "shocked." To wit:
The appointment of Peter Navarro, a campaign adviser, to a formal White House post shocked Chinese officials and scholars who had hoped that Mr Trump would tone down his anti-Beijing rhetoric after assuming office.
“Chinese officials had hoped that, as a businessman, Trump would be open to negotiating deals,” said Zhu Ning, a finance professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing. “But they have been surprised by his decision to appoint such a hawk to a key post.”
Shortly after the announcement of Navarro's appointment, the US Office of the Trade Representative yesterday put added more fuel to trade tensions with Chine when it put Alibaba, China’s biggest e-commerce platform, back on its “notorious markets” blacklist of companies accused of being involved in peddling fake goods.
(Excerpt) Read more at zerohedge.com ...
Amen. So sick of seeing made in China on everything-especially knowing that every dollar is going to be used to build up their military while our military needs rebuilding.
It is decades past time for those murderous tyrants to face even the faintest flicker of competition for dumping their lead-tainted crap on American markets to the detriment of our nation. I’m not surprised they’re shocked...they’re probably scared because the consequences of their 1-child act is about to start hitting home and their entire economy depends on the Wal-Mart mentality.
And all that was before the good ol wonderful income tax was put in place. Different times, the founders also never intended for a federal income tax. Of course tarrifs are in the Constitution but it was there to raise income to the government a far cry in what is being requested today.
I feel for small business and middle class who this will impact as the cost of goods go up and those hit by the tarrif start laying off to meet margins
Walk me through a scenario where these tariffs cause someone hit by them to lay someone off.
The only people getting laid off will be in China. Which is probably e where you live.
Say I’m a small business owner operating as most do on smal margins serving to a global market here and abroad (like carrier). The government decides in their infinite wisdom to smack tarrifs on imports of my product that I order overseas. Now me small business owner who depends on that profit is less because the cost of buying my product is more. Now I must cut costs (lowest common denominator is employees). In kind other countries respond and decide to tarrif my product also coming in. I’m now out of business
The US manufacturing base must be protected so it can come back to life. Otherwise we will perish as a nation. 70,000 factories were closed in this global race to the bottom. Nobody cared about those displaced workers. So now no one cares about you.
And this is where we’ve come to in a populist movement. To hell with my business and my employees. Do what the government says what you have to do. Forget about economic liberty
It isn’t free market, it’s selling-US-out market.
If your business can't withstand a 10% increase in the cost of materials then perhaps this is not a good business to be in. If you can't raise your price enough to cover that cost then maybe you should re-evaluate your business.
I do not work for a small business but I did once in college. He was a mechanical contractor. He told me business was slowing down and he had to lay me of. But I was to come back in 2 weeks when a new job started. They guy had a vacation house, a 40' power boat and drove a huge Lincoln Town Car. But he couldn't find something for me to do in those two weeks? Screw him I never went back even after he called me.
Live by the almighty dollar, die by the almighty dollar. This is the international biz, sweetheart.
still not
tired
of
WINNING!!!!!
Income taxes and tariffs have the same economic impact. They transfer wealth from the private sector to government.
Good point. We couldn’t do today what we did in WW II. The rules and bureaucracy would take yearm to hurdle and the war would be lost before we could produce the first tank.
And before cankles wormed her way onto the board...
Income taxes and consumption taxes like a tariff are totally different. Clearly your understanding of economics is limited.
This is not to say that the battle to protect America from Chinese mercantilism is not worth waging, it is.
There is clearly a certain appeal to the cry, "we are in a trade war now," in fact I have been arguing for some time on behalf of an Article V convention of the states that we are now amending the Constitution almost daily by stealth and without even the protection of Article V.
The question is how do we conduct that convention and upon whose values?
Merry Christmas. BTW I asked Santa for a nathanbedford sophistry decodrer ring for Christmas. I hope to get one!
Completely wrong. The US had tariffs in excess of 20% going into the roaring 20's. And that hadn't changed when the Great Depression started in 1929. Smoot Harley tariff was being discussed but it wasn't passed until a year and a half AFTER the great depression started. And then it was only in place for a year before it was repealed and 50% of the goods were exempted.
At the time of the great depression, imports were only equal to 5% of our GNP. Yet industrial production dropped by over 60%. There is no way, imports caused that much drop in industrial production.
What did happen is that the Federal Reserve saw the money supply growing rapidly during the 20's. That scared them and they thought they should reign it in to be more like gold. They tightened money supply and when the credit dried up, there were bank runs and businesses failed. It had nothing to do with tariffs.
Taiwanese goods will likely get caught up in a trade war to. Your computer probably came from Taiwan.
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