Posted on 06/03/2018 5:40:11 AM PDT by reaganaut1
Andy Marsh’s New York factory is trapped in the Trump trade wars.
As Mr. Trump threatens tariffs on America’s economic allies and its adversaries, many of the domestic businesses that the president says his policies are meant to protect are finding themselves victims of his aggressive approach.
Prices are rising for imported goods, other nations are erecting retaliatory trade barriers, and companies like Plug Power, the manufacturing business that Mr. Marsh runs outside Albany, are facing crippling uncertainty from Mr. Trump’s fickle approach.
It is not the first time Mr. Marsh has felt firsthand the impact of decisions made hundreds of miles away in Washington.
In February, Congress and Mr. Trump gave Plug Power an injection of optimism, by extending a tax credit that was crucial to the manufacturer’s American expansion plans. The credit allowed Plug Power to reduce the price of its fuel cells for trucks and forklifts, and to forge ahead with new hiring.
By May, Mr. Marsh had slowed his efforts to fill more than 10 open positions in Plug Power’s factory as he began worrying that the tariffs on steel and some Chinese products crucial to its business would raise the costs of the components it imports to build fuel cells. So executives had raised the price on their fuel cells, and sales were slowing as a result.
United States Customs and Border Protection had also begun delaying some of those imported components for several days after they arrived from overseas, slowing their trip to Plug Power’s factory floor, Mr. Marsh said. The reason for the delay was unclear, but Mr. Marsh suspected that it could be related to the recent trade upheaval.
Other American companies, such as Ford, have faced delays with their products in China, as customs officials subjected their exports to additional scrutiny
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
For some people, “peace” is worth it an any price, up to and including enslavement.
For some of us, we would rather risk ruin or death than live as slaves.
Bottom line is, there are many people to whom “Trade Peace” is worth any price.
I am not one of them.
What's next? Trump lit the match?
Nice concise statements about the state of steel manufacturing.
Turning a silk purse into a sow’s ear. No truth is so big the media can’t spin it into a black lie. Obama told us he made the economy boom, the world was at peace and the illegals were model Americans.
Complete BS story! Plug Power has never made a dime in profits. They are trying to produce an out dated Hydrogen fuel cell that has been replaced by the Lithium Ion Battery. The only thing keeping the doors open at Plug Power is massive Government rebates to companies who buy the fuel cells. The State of NY has pour $$Millions into this money losing operation. Once the rebates stop Plug Power is out of business.
Peter Myers, Canberra, Australia, August 2, 2001; update January 7, 2003. My comments are shown {thus}. Write to me at contact.html.
You are at http://mailstar.net/classwar.html.
Karl Marx advocated Free Trade, i.e. Capitalism, because (a) whereas Protection builds up the nation-state, Free Trade breaks it down, as a prelude to the creation of a world-state by the Capitalists (b) Free Trade breaks down traditional culture, as a prelude to the creation of a world culture (c) Free Trade exacerbates class warfare, and through this the Capitalists will lose control of the world-state - they will be defeated by the impoverished classes, with the help of their backers in the higher classes.
The question is whether the US is self-sufficient in a time of war (with, oh, I don't know, ...China?)
And the answer is a resounding NO.
Too many of the components and raw materials come from the Chicoms.
And they absorb/steal as many trade secrets as they can.
But that's ok, because you're swamp dwellers, right?
Your take on the story is the same as mine.
This jerk tried to make a little extra cash before tariffs came into effect. He created his own problem, typical democrat.
naturally, The Failing New York Slimes chooses to report something like this instead of the hundreds of billions being spent on new factories being built by Foxconn, Apple, Samsung, Black & Decker Group, and many others ... factories when completed that will rev our economy to levels not seen since WWII ..
A NYT never-headline: This Factory Was Ready to Expand. Then Came Obamacare.
Don’t expect much if any agreement around here. But ...
Doesn’t Plug Power make “green” energy cells? What happen to all the money Obama gave them.
And the Slimes was silent ...
Obama's restrictions on fracking and the Dakota pipeline put thousands of well-paying jobs at risk.
And the Slimes was silent ...
The boondoggle of Obamacare caused hundreds of physicians to take down their shingles -- and lay off the nurses and staff they employed.
And the Slimes was silent ...
Then one factory is jeopardized by Trump's import tariffs.
and the Slimes cries out in anguish ...
Good post.
Choices or options for the foreign traders
Trade War!
Or, Negotiate with President Trump and Implement 'Fair Trade' Policies
Choose wisely!
It’s all about carrots and sticks.
Anything that shuts down the ‘green energy’ scam is a good thing.
Let’s see:
Not profitable, debt ratio too high etc
https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/05/29/why-plug-power-shareholders-have-something-to-worr.aspx
Might be interesting to point out what Plug Powers does, not a big market for hydrogen fuel sales.
The NYT had to dig pretty hard to find this story.
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