Tariff war declared

[Theo520]

Trump has already cost the USPS business with Amazon

As I recall, it was a money loser for USPS.
Some deals are better lost.

 

[Sarcelle]

The US should pull out of NATO and probably even the UN.

People have always criticized the US for its role as the world’s policeman and deserve all the terrorism we get.

I say the US abdicate that role and see what happens.

I’m sure the EU can do a much more superior job.

 

[Theo520]

I’d suggest we demand compliance with the 2% minimum, then start kicking out members who don’t comply.
This puts the onus on them, we are not abandoning them.

 

[Ridgerunner]

nobody can say why it is good for consumers to pay higher prices.

Interesting question since European and Japanese consumers pay more for their food products than Americans do, and trade barriers are the reason for it. There’s no mystery to it. They do it to preserve the livelihoods of their own farmers. But their consumers certainly pay the price.

Of course, American farm products (other than beef) are subsidized by the government, so the U.S. is doing something we complain about when others do it.

But no matter what, one should consider just how desirable it is for a country to be a commodity product exporter and importer of finished goods. I recall one wag (whose name I can’t now remember) describing Russia as a “…gas station masquerading as a country”. And there’s truth to it. When has anyone seen a Russian product other than Stolychnaya in Walmart?

 

[stinkcat_14]

Interesting question since European and Japanese consumers pay more for their food products than Americans do, and trade barriers are the reason for it. There’s no mystery to it. They do it to preserve the livelihoods of their own farmers. But their consumers certainly pay the price.

The sad thing about it is that it is the poor and the middle class who are the hardest hit from these policies. I would argue that if the goal was to redistribute income from households to farmers, the tax code would be a better place to do it. At least it would require us to be open and up front about it.

Of course, American farm products (other than beef) are subsidized by the government, so the U.S. is doing something we complain about when others do it.

That is a common problem with developed countries, for some reason they all want to subsidize agriculture in some way or another.