So , What do you ya reckon .

[roddy1960]

A certain U.S . President is pretty keen now to whack a 25% import tariff on steel and aluminium from trading partners including Australia . Last year (apparently) Turnbull was assured by Trump that Australia would be exempt from such stuff on about half a billion dollars worth annually of steel and aluminium , but there are now doubts on that it seems . IF and only if he's changed his tune on this is it good , bad or makes bugger all difference to us .

Would this in fact free up the possibility for other markets or will it initiate some form of tit for tat trade war.? Understand though that the real targets for Trump is Canada and Mexico. Now even Republicans are nervous of what this could lead to.

Sort of along the same lines with U.S trade in the automotive industry , how does the U.S deal with imported cars regarding tariffs or duties ? I recall the days when we used to have up to 57.5% import duty on motor vehicles in a bid to protect the Aussie car industry. I suppose the U.S if not already will do that sort of thing if the current Administration keeps imposing more and more import tariffs Stateside. Is Trump right or wrong .........

Love to know your thoughts on any or all of this latest Trump proposal .

[commodorenutt]

Google "chicken tax" to see what it might/can/will escalate to.

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by commodorenutt

Google "chicken tax" to see what it might/can/will escalate to.

This you refer too i suppose

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax

[au350hp]

Interesting reading.

[mick taylor]

I would say that Trump is teaching our ignorant smug little fool Turnbull a lesson of who is who, Turnbull should want to grow up and start doing the job he was elected on and not piddle about with the self righteous games he plays.

There is no trade war ! that's just the Media spin.

The Game has been that USA has been taken for granted with doing bad deals for it's nation for years and the media don't want anyone to wake up to the fact of this reality and that is that USA had ended up in huge trouble because it's leaders were all stooges and the corruption had got just so out of hand that such criminal intent of some peoples greed had been abandoning the American peoples future for making huge money out of investments in China etc.

[zipping]

I am a free trade advocate but its not as simple as some make out.

For starters if a country employs slave labour well you can't compete with that and its not good for hunaity.

It’s worth looking at the conditions under which free trade is advantageous:

– where capital is not tied up in equipment that cannot be repurposed
– where skilled labour can be instantaneously be retrained
– where free movement of labour from one nation to another is allowed
– where there is minimal to no sovereign risk of free trade ceasing

In a nutshell, free trade advocates assume that transition is not a bitch; that transition costs cannot be imposed by competing nations; that labour is fungible; that treating labour as fungible has no societal costs… it goes on.

Trump is trying to equalise things. It’s a short term tactic not a long term strategy. Electorally, he has the opportunity to do this because enough of those Americans displaced from jobs paying a reasonable wage due to supposedly free trade agreements voted for him. In any trade regime there will be winners and losers, but the political reality is that if that regime doesn’t result in a rise in general prosperity and well being it will be questioned. That’s democracy.

A couple days ago India jumped chick peas tariff by 60% on Australian Chick peas.

Peter Navarro the guy who directed this is on trump's team, well worth the hour to watch if you think manufacturing matters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMlm...ature=youtu.be

[Bossxr8]

The EU has already proposed to tax Harleys going to Europe. While Trumps tariff might help american steel it will suffer in other areas. Ford have said they are against it as well, they probably use imported steel and aluminium so it will increase costs for them. I'm sure alot of US companies are in the same boat.

[roddy1960]

Was listening to an American world renowned economics expert Ken Rogoff about this Australia etc. and he suggested that if it was to actually happen , Australia along with a few other countries would be "Collateral damage " .

Here's the interview if anyone is interested and has time to listen . Goes for 3 minutes 45 secs or thereabouts.

http://www.abc.net.au/radio/melbourn...rogoff/9522044...

[Adamz Ghia]

It’s funny, people in Australia bang on about losing all our industry and how our government let it happen blah blah blah. Then Trump decides to take a protectionist approach and those same people bag him for it.

Trump could cure cancer and people would still find a way to stick it to him.

Perhaps Australia needs to do the same. I’m all for globalisation but not at any cost.

[CoupeKing]

[QUOTE=

Trump could cure cancer and people would still find a way to stick it to him.

[/QUOTE]

They would whine about all the doctors and nurses he put out of work.

[Maka]

The big question (maybe) imo is can those in the corridors of power find a good (successful) balance between local jobs & free trade, make it policy & implement it?

When thats sorted things may change for the better perhaps, economic bubbles aside lol!!

cheers, Maka

[vztrt]

Bush jnr did the same thing. Lasted a year as it hurt the US. Funny enough Australia did better in this time.

So not fussed.

[MITCHAY]

Well given the US has a surplus with Australia it makes no sense to not grant an exemption. Not a lot we can do about it really though.

He wants to hope this goes the way he thinks it will because it has the potential to bit him in the **** hard if more jobs are lost than he saves if countries retaliate.

[zipping]

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-...y-steel-secret

The Chinese are lying, corrupt communists, who are not playing by the rules of international trade. Whether Trump can be effective against them remains to be seen.

[zipping]

So the Norks want a meeting with PDT and denuking is on the table, how will the left spin that?

Donald Trump is "surprisingly" good at foreign policy, according to former prime minister Paul Keating, who says the United States was directionless under the previous three administrations.
Mr Keating on Friday said he had not expected Mr Trump to have "such a pragmatic" foreign policy on China and Russia, and he urged the President to continue down the path he was on.
"America has gone on for 24 years without a strategy," Mr Keating told a business conference in Sydney, during which he criticised Barack Obama's timidity and "lack of policy ambition" in office.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/fede...09-p4z3mh.html

[CoupeKing]

Trump tweets...

''Spoke to PM of Australia. He is committed to having a very fair and reciprocal military and trade relationship. Working very quickly on a security agreement so we don’t have to impose steel or aluminum tariffs on our ally, the great nation of Australia!''