Canada, Greenland, Mexico, etc - USA Tariffs / Trade War commencing March 2025 #4

[crussell821]

Gas prices are now up over a $1 a gallon in my area. I seem to remember those ‘I Did That!’ Biden stickers popping up everywhere at gas stations during his term. Where does the blame lay now, or are they suddenly silent on the issue?

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Trump believes that China, Canada, Mexico and the European Union in particular sell too much to the US and buy too little American goods themselves."

That's a pretty damning admission.

 

[otto]

It might not be that she is so quiet. It's possible that the official opposition party does not get press as it would in Canada.

Yes. I stand corrected again. In Canada, we have the voices of several party leaders on important topics. For months, we only hear one voice coming from the USA.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

They could do as Canada did. American liquor products were returned for refund, and a new order would not be placed until the tariff issue is resolved.

TBH I'm not sure that the EU imports much US booze anyway. There's nothing that the US produces that the the EU doesn't and can't produce itself. A small amount of Californian wine makes its way into the non-EU UK but I would be surprised if the wine-drinking countries in the EU would import much/any. Most European wine-drinkers are fairly parochial and prefer their own regional wines.

I suppose the most distinctive US booze is Bourbon but I'm sure the Irish will be happy to supply Paddy instead, and the UK does supply scotch to the EU as well.

 

[Yellowbelly]

Trump: 'Tariffs work, oil price drops!'

Tariffs are working, Trump just concluded on his social media platform Truth Social. According to Trump, oil prices are falling, interest rates and food prices are falling. And according to him, there is no inflation. He says the “biggest abuser,” China, was punished in the stock market today.

The US president seems to ignore the trillions of dollars that have also evaporated on US stock markets in recent days. The price of oil is indeed falling, but as for interest rates, food prices and inflation, it is not clear what Trump is basing this on.

Beperkte verliezen op Amerikaanse beurs • Trump dreigt met extra heffing voor China

Door de aangekondigde importheffingen van de VS gaan beurzen opnieuw hard onderuit. In dit blog houden we je op de hoogte van wat er gebeurt en wat het betekent.

nos.nl

The oil price falling probably isn't that good for the USA overall as it's an net oil exporter.

List of countries by oil exports - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[MelmothTheLost]

We are a member of the British Commonwealth, and for me, that's enough. We don't need to hitch our wagon economically to any other countries. Canada has a strong and stable economy which is designed to meet the needs of Canadians. Why complicate it?

Canada was also one of the founder signatories to the CPTPP so had already chosen to align its economic future with Asia-Pac.

 

[otto]

That's a pretty damning admission.

Trade deficit is so easily explained, but Trump refuses to see it. The trade deficit with Canada is a result of the USA needing Canada oil. Eliminate the oil, the deficit disappears. There is an explanation for all deficits. The most obvious is that 340 million people in the USA are massive consumers and they want stuff that is produced elsewhere. Eliminate the disposable product mentality, deficit disappears.

USA government arithmetic seems to omit critical datasets in all their calculations.

 

[Herat]

Larry Fink, CEO of Blackrock, Ltd, a hugely influential global asset management company and fiduciary made some shocking statements today in his comments during a meeting at the Economic Club in NYC:

1. The US is probably already in a recession. The US economy is weakening even as we speak.

2. The market may drop another 20% and we should be prepared for that.

3. He does not agree with how these tariffs have rolled out.

4. These declining markets represent a buying opportunity ( ie: Happy days for rich influential friends and billionaires) A very cynical comment considering hundreds of millions of Americans are watching their life savings fall through the floor.

I was listening to his comments and his voice sounded shaky as he made some of these statements. The interviewer was stunned and asked him to repeat the comments, as there were AUDIBLE GASPS. Fink later recovered his cool and was talking about the history of tariffs, etc.

Some strange quotes: High tariffs on China - That's gonna be an expensive Barbie ( I think he was trying to emphasize that consumer confidence and spending are going to be very low, which actually hurts both China anthe US)

BlackRock's Fink says stocks could extend fall by 20% amid US recession worries

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said stock markets could fall 20% farther as steep U.S. tariffs lead some investors to believe the U.S. economy may already be contracting. "Most CEOs I talk to would say we are probably in a recession right now," Fink told the Economic Club of New York on Monday...

ca.finance.yahoo.com

 

[LoveyG]

It might not be that she is so quiet. It's possible that the official opposition party does not get press as it would in Canada.

She's now a private citizen. My hope was that she was sitting by the pool sipping a margarita.

 

[LoveyG]

I don't believe this statement from Trump. The EU contacted the USA, offered zero tariffs, the response was not appropriate. Trump appears to be bragging, exaggerating, and trying to give the impression that he the global ruler who dictates foreign government policy.

"Last night it was announced that more than fifty countries have contacted the US to discuss the import duties. President Trump has spoken to European and Asian leaders, but he is not prepared to reverse the decision if there is no change in the trade balance. Trump believes that China, Canada, Mexico and the European Union in particular sell too much to the US and buy too little American goods themselves."

Beperkte verliezen op Amerikaanse beurs • Trump dreigt met extra heffing voor China

Door de aangekondigde importheffingen van de VS gaan beurzen opnieuw hard onderuit. In dit blog houden we je op de hoogte van wat er gebeurt en wat het betekent.

nos.nl

From your post: Trump appears to be bragging, exaggerating, and trying to give the impression that he the global ruler who dictates foreign government policy.

IMO, this is exactly what he is doing. He wants to be in charge of the world and have other leaders bowing and scraping to him.

 

[detective.moon]

today there was a rumor about a 90 day delay for all tariffs, and the stock markets went back up so quickly! of course it turned out to be false, and everything went down again, but i think it shows that a major recession could still be prevented, if only trump cared about not causing a recession.

 

[otto]

Regarding a Canada-EU alliance, since this article was published (2 months ago), I have read about strengthening alliances (but don't have the links handy). Carney, during a recent Five Leaders broadcast, stated that the reason his first visit, as Pime Minister, was to France was to discuss an alliance to supply the EU with green-energy rare earth elements.

"What if Canada joined the European Union?
...

So it's legally possible, and even has some upsides — but is it actually likely?
...

More likely than full membership for Canada, Zaiotti said, is "an advanced form of co-operation."

According to Michael Emerson, a former EU ambassador to Russia at the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels, that could take the form of "a maximal deepening of the relationship on all accounts: political, economic, cultural and security."

Or the EU could seek to create whole new alliances.

"One could imagine a … loose multilateral grouping of the like-minded, without the U.S.," Emerson wrote in an email. "Then all democratic Europe, plus the rest of the non-U.S. OECD, might develop a collective diplomatic stance, asserting 'our' model of an enlightened West."
...

"If there is any shift in EU thinking, it would likely be toward deepening [these] strategic partnerships rather than reimagining the EU as a geographically unlimited alliance," said Lavrelashvili."

February 2, 2025

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/canada-european-union-1.7446400

 

[Centaurus]

Can anyone else access this government website? It's saying unavailable for me.

Wine, Beer and Spirits

www.fas.usda.gov

 

[LoveyG]

Can anyone else access this government website? It's saying unavailable for me.

Wine, Beer and Spirits

www.fas.usda.gov

Not coming up for me.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Trade deficit is so easily explained, but Trump refuses to see it. The trade deficit with Canada is a result of the USA needing Canada oil. Eliminate the oil, the deficit disappears. There is an explanation for all deficits. The most obvious is that 340 million people in the USA are massive consumers and they want stuff that is produced elsewhere. Eliminate the disposable product mentality, deficit disappears.

USA government arithmetic seems to omit critical datasets in all their calculations.

What I find interesting is the way tariffs have been imposed on countries regardless of the products concerned. In 2022, the US consumed 1.8m tonnes of coffee (Coffee Consumption by Country 2025). It produces a tiny (and dwindling) proportion of the coffee it drinks so has no alternative to importing the stuff. Fortunately virtually all of the main coffee-producing countries in the world have "only" had 10% tariffs imposed on them but even so, it's likely this price increase will eventually feed its way through to the consumer.

Much the same goes for cocoa production although in this case the Ivory Coast, the largest producer globally, has been hit by a 21% tariff. The US produces no cocoa commercially.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Not coming up for me.

Nor me.

 

[Lyanna]

Can anyone else access this government website? It's saying unavailable for me.

Wine, Beer and Spirits

www.fas.usda.gov

 

[Herat]

China has already scuttled a very significant sale between a Hong Kong billionaire family business, CK Hutchison, to sell two major ports on the Panama Canal to US-owned Blackrock, Ltd.

Hong Kong, of course, is a part of China and not independent any more.

Now the US State Department is trying to get Panama to get involved in this.

 

[otto]

Can anyone else access this government website? It's saying unavailable for me.

Wine, Beer and Spirits

www.fas.usda.gov

wayback data March 20, 2025

 

[MelmothTheLost]

View attachment 577293

wayback data March 20, 2025

I have to say I'm really surprised that the EU imports so much, which would be much more damaging than one would have imagined if they sent the stuff back in the way Canada has. It would be interesting to see a breakdown of that figure between wine, spirits and beers.