You usually wind up finding out that some country that you thought you had no use for is suddenly a critical supplier of something, and you need to step in and prevent this country's products from being taken off the market. Before WWII, few Americans would have any idea how closely the U.S. economy was tied to Malaysia. It turns out that almost ALL of the rubber made for tires before WWII came from rubber plantations in Malaysia. Synthetic rubber that could be used for tires was not discovered until just before WWII broke out, and production gradually ramped up as synthetic rubber replaced natural rubber after years of shortages. No tires = no transportation = no economy. We know about Taiwan and computer chips, but I'm sure there are other potential supply bottlenecks out there. And wars have a habit of spreading from one border to engulfing entire regions, as alliances are formed and broken. When Russia invaded Afghanistan, they probably had no idea that Saudis would be so offended by their fellow Muslims being killed and raped that large numbers of them would volunteer in Afghanistan to fight the invaders. Sometimes being a pacifist is similar to refusing to fight a fire in the next neighborhood. Sometimes it goes out on its own, and sometimes it spreads and you get burned. A wise leader chooses carefully.
Poetic. Your juxtaposition of words was… well done. Let those that voted for him be burned. We don’t have a choice but to ride out the next 2 years until the midterms.
Canada is more populous than any state in the US. California has 54 EVs but if you add Canada the total would drop since you’d divide the same 538 EVs. Regardless, it would be like adding a second California in size and voting preference.
And which of those countries has a stronger economy than the U.S. that we would want to emulate them? Higher GDP? Tariffs weaken the economy long-term. It makes domestic manufacturers lazy and complacent. Quality goes down. Costs go up. Eventually, quality of outside products goes up enough that consumers are willing to pay the extra money for the tariff, and the American manufacturer goes under. Happened in the 1980's with Japanese cars coming into the U.S. U.S. manufacturers had their brilliant idea in the 1970's to reduce the quality of cars (planned obsolescence) so they would fall apart faster, which would lead to more sales. International competition is good for quality.
William Shakespeare had a brilliant foreshadowing of Trump and his tariffs: "It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." -Macbeth
Speaking of the Idiot, the Trump administration has been threatening to invade Danish possession Greenland while begging Denmark to send more eggs to the U.S. It really is remarkable how stupid Trump is, if this is his idea of diplomacy. After repeated claims of taking over Greenland, the Trump administration is now asking Denmark for extra eggs amid shortage
Canada responds to Trump's tariffs by pulling the gov't rebate on Tesla electric cars. Not that Tesla was likely to get many more sales in Canada anyway. Canadians want to revoke his Canadian citizenship. Canada Pulls Tesla Rebates as Trade Tensions Escalate
Good chart. I didn’t realize Mexico had an overall higher tariff rate than England (although that chart is a bit misleading because Mexico has a different trade deal with the US and Canada). Now, give us the GDP for each of these countries, and let’s see how GDP correlates with tariffs.
That’s not even what the chart tells us. It just gives us an average tariff charged by the country as a whole. It doesn’t break out individual treaties, like Trump’s New NAFTA, where tariffs are greatly reduced from the overall average. And, bluntly, the chart tells us all what we know, once you compare it with GDP—free trade results in greater GDP international trade partners (and thus destination is for manufacturing goods in excess of domestic supply). Once true critical thinking returns, I think we will be able to stabilize as a country.
more winning as nations that had agreed to buy F-35's in spite of all their problems are now going to backout as they feel no sense of commitment to helping the US defense industry any longer Canada Might Cancel Lockheed F-35 Order. Where It Might Get Jet Fighters. Now, Canada is questioning its purchase of Lockheed’s F-35 jet fighters, adding to recent turmoil. Where Canada will turn to for the jet fighters it needs isn’t an easy question to answer. “I’ve discussed this with [new] Prime Minister [Mark Carney]…the F-35 fighter jet, it was the fighter jet identified by our air force as the platform that they required, but we are also examining other alternatives,” said Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair on Friday. “Whether we need all of those jet fighters to be F-35.” His comments came in response to a question involving President Donald Trump’s tariff plans and his comments about making Canada the 51st state, an idea Carney called crazy. Lockheed said it values its partnership with the Canadian Air Force and looks forward to continuing it in the future.
