Canada, Greenland, Mexico, etc - USA Tariffs / Trade War commencing March 2025 #5

[SouthAussie]

"Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said he will scale back his work with the administration of United States President Donald Trump following a steep plunge in the electric carmaker’s first-quarter profits.

.... he would allocate “far more” of his time to running Tesla and cut back his work in the government to one or two days per week from May.

“The large slog of work necessary to get the DOGE team in place and working with the government to get the financial house in order is mostly done,”

Musk’s comments came just hours after Tesla reported a 71 percent decline in net profit for January-March ... "

Musk says he’ll spend less time working with Trump after Tesla profits sink

Tesla CEO says he will spend ‘far more’ of his time running carmaker after putting cost-cutting team in place.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[TootsieFootsie]

When I was a teenager, I lived at a school where my mother worked.
I came down with something, the doctor came and told me that I had German Measles, Chicken Pox and Mumps, all at the same time.

 

[SouthAussie]

"The White House’s latest signs of easing its position on tariffs against China do not indicate a notable advancement in US-China trade talks, but may present Beijing an opportunity to get a better deal, economists said.

“In reality, there hasn’t been any substantial progress or change in the US-China tariff negotiations. But this is [Trump’s] way of signalling to China,” Chen said.

“The more he talks like this, the more it shows how anxious the US side is. Trump and his team are under pressure, but China isn’t showing any signs of impatience.” "

Trump’s ‘anxious’ tariff comments put China in control, analysts say

 

[Herat]

"The White House’s latest signs of easing its position on tariffs against China do not indicate a notable advancement in US-China trade talks, but may present Beijing an opportunity to get a better deal, economists said.

“In reality, there hasn’t been any substantial progress or change in the US-China tariff negotiations. But this is [Trump’s] way of signalling to China,” Chen said.

“The more he talks like this, the more it shows how anxious the US side is. Trump and his team are under pressure, but China isn’t showing any signs of impatience.” "

Trump’s ‘anxious’ tariff comments put China in control, analysts say

Xi is going to enjoy exposing Trump for the boastful useless bully that he is to the world.

His word means nothing, he folds like an accordion in a negotiation, he has no hidden intelligence or insight.

Xi will be able to say: The Emperor Has No Clothes.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

When I was a kid in the 50s (born 1946) my Mom hoped to expose me to rubella so I wouldn’t get it as an adult when I was pregnant. She never succeeded, but I did get regular measles…not at a party though. I also got chicken pox and scarlet fever, but not mumps. Of course, the big scare was polio, so it was a huge relief when the vaccine came out. I had both the shot and sugar cube versions. I was certainly glad there were various vaccinations when our daughter was born in 1970.

JMO

So off topic it resides in a galaxy far far away:

I just learned recently that the song A Spoonful of Sugar from Mary Poppins was inspired by the sugar cube method!

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/10/us/spoonful-of-sugar-mary-poppins-vaccines-trnd/index.html

 

[Herat]

"Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said he will scale back his work with the administration of United States President Donald Trump following a steep plunge in the electric carmaker’s first-quarter profits.

.... he would allocate “far more” of his time to running Tesla and cut back his work in the government to one or two days per week from May.

“The large slog of work necessary to get the DOGE team in place and working with the government to get the financial house in order is mostly done,”

Musk’s comments came just hours after Tesla reported a 71 percent decline in net profit for January-March ... "

Musk says he’ll spend less time working with Trump after Tesla profits sink

Tesla CEO says he will spend ‘far more’ of his time running carmaker after putting cost-cutting team in place.

www.aljazeera.com

Musk has lost most all the reputation of Tesla for innovation or EV efficiency. He did it all by himself although being with Trump seemed to let loose even more of his arrigance and inner racism. Its rather amazing to see how badly he neglected and handled his moneymaker Tesla in only 4 months.

Although there have been a few hiccups, the Chinese EV industry has taken off and has established roots worldwide, as Tesla leaves itself a shrinking and insular US market to live with.

 

[Lilibet]

So off topic it resides in a galaxy far far away:

I just learned recently that the song A Spoonful of Sugar from Mary Poppins was inspired by the sugar cube method!

Fascinating!

 

[IzzyBlanche]

So off topic it resides in a galaxy far far away:

I just learned recently that the song A Spoonful of Sugar from Mary Poppins was inspired by the sugar cube method!

Fascinating!

That's what I thought!

Here is the source:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/10/us/spoonful-of-sugar-mary-poppins-vaccines-trnd/index.html

 

[branmuffin]

Sure, millions already go to Mexico, and those who can afford it go to the Caribbean - many like the Algarve...

I was talking about people who don't fly and just stay for a week or two in a fancy hotel, but who drive over the border in October, and don't plan to return until April..(if ever..). Canadian Snowbirds, they're called.

I am just saying, the US has never had a lackadaisical attitude about it, so the new measures are just an extension of previous concerns, not a whole new reality.

Now people have to go through a registration process if they plan to stay longer than 30 days, including providing an address...

New U.S. rules for foreign travellers to kick in Friday as lawsuit rejected - National | Globalnews.ca

The U.S. rule to require foreign nationals, including Canadian snowbirds, staying in the country for 30 days or more to register takes effect on April 11.

globalnews.ca

I'm more interested in understanding things, than acting outraged.

JMO

Snowbirds are usually retired persons who come from cooler climates including the northern USA, Canada and some northern European countries. When I had a place in Florida, the European snowbirds mostly ditched the US when Trump got in the first time. Canadian snowbirds have health insurance from their provinces and to maintain the coverage can't be out of the country for more than six months so it's highly unlikely that they stay from October to the end of April, lapsing their insurance and very unlikely they'd just stay there indefinitely. Even those that go in RVs usually have one or two destinations in mind.

And I can remember quite clearly that the US did have lackadaisical manners when I was a teenager, allowing people through customs by asking mainly one question: where were you born. I'd go across with a carful of 18 year olds just like myself and have to repeat the word 'Ta-ranna' over and over again since I was born in England and had a bad habit of calling it 'Toron-TO'. The irony is, out of a handful of teenage girls only one of us was born in Toronto, one was born in Whitby another in Ajax, another in UK (came as a baby) and another in Val D'or, Quebec. Everyone knew where Toronto was, few knew where Whitby and Val D'or were.

 

[Kemug]

Yes, but there are substantial family visitations across borders in Mennonite communities, both Canadian and Mexican

DBM

 

[Kemug]

Apparently Trump has finally worked out the answer is not high tariffs. In fact, he is going to be "very nice" to China.


Donald Trump said during a White House news conference that high tariffs on goods from China will “come down substantially, but it won’t be zero”.

Despite his high tariffs, Trump said he would be “very nice” to China and not play hardball with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“We’re going to live together very happily and ideally work together,” Trump said.

He always sounds so childish.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

I have a feeling their naivete and then their vague travel arrangements made the immigration agents even more concerned that they were drug mules. They certainly fit the profile and frankly, I think it was appropriate they were treated as potential drug carriers.

They certainly do. The UK has seen several cases in recent years of naive or just frankly stupid young women caught carrying drugs after being offered a free holiday to Thailand or Peru.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Chinese people have no idea what kinds of toys would appeal to American kids. Chinese shoe designers have no idea what styles/sizes Americans would wear. I guarantee, it was not Chinese people who invented tubesocks, or put the logos on t-shirts.

That's not necessarily the case these days. There are extensive reports of small British designers and producers whose designs have been ripped off by Chinese manufacturers almost as soon as photographs of the items have appeared on the designers' websites. It's commercial piracy on a massive scale.

 

[Kemug]

"Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said he will scale back his work with the administration of United States President Donald Trump following a steep plunge in the electric carmaker’s first-quarter profits.

.... he would allocate “far more” of his time to running Tesla and cut back his work in the government to one or two days per week from May.

“The large slog of work necessary to get the DOGE team in place and working with the government to get the financial house in order is mostly done,”

Musk’s comments came just hours after Tesla reported a 71 percent decline in net profit for January-March ... "

Bye bye then, and don't let the door hit your backside on your way out.

 

[Betty P]

Musk has lost most all the reputation of Tesla for innovation or EV efficiency. He did it all by himself although being with Trump seemed to let loose even more of his arrigance and inner racism. Its rather amazing to see how badly he neglected and handled his moneymaker Tesla in only 4 months.

Although there have been a few hiccups, the Chinese EV industry has taken off and has established roots worldwide, as Tesla leaves itself a shrinking and insular US market to live with.

Hopefully, it’s been an important lesson for Americans who had a nearly worshipful view of the ultra wealthy. With very few exceptions, they’re not virtuous or even intelligent people. Most of what they’ve amassed has come from other peoples wealth, deception and exploitation of others, not to mention large amounts of taxpayer dollars.

I hope Americans have learned to be less generous in voting for politicians who indulge these thieves with tax cuts and giveaways.

 

[musicaljoke]

They certainly do. The UK has seen several cases in recent years of naive or just frankly stupid young women caught carrying drugs after being offered a free holiday to Thailand or Peru.

But they could be searched in the same way that all passengers are searched. They need not be sent back simply because they seem to be stupid young women.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

But they could be searched in the same way that all passengers are searched. They need not be sent back simply because they seem to be stupid young women.

Well, yes. They tend to be caught with drugs in their luggage because their luggage is searched at airports. For whatever reasons, some young women just do not or cannot think beyond why someone might be offering them a free holiday to somewhere exotic and often offering to pay them into the bargain. This pair's case is very well known in the UK:

Peru Two - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

They are not all young. Some are more than old enough to know better or wonder what is really going on. This middle aged British woman is currently on death row in Indonesia for trying to smuggle cocaine from Thailand into Bali:

Lindsay Sandiford - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[SouthAussie]

"A town hall hosted by Representative Byron Donalds – a staunch ally of President Donald Trump – descended into chaos when the Florida Republican defended the work of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

"So how this works is the president’s allowed to have special employees. Every president basically had these special employees. They’re tasked with specific duties, specific responsibilities ..... this instance, Elon Musk is essentially the head of the DOGE that Donald Trump has set up in his administration.”

The crowd eventually started groaning and grew restless as Rep Donalds spoke.

“You can boo if you want to, but those are the facts .... " "

https://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/us-politics/us-politics-live/live-coverage/863f54f107423c19b1f53a37068925d9

 

[SouthAussie]

"More than 200 former US national security officials and diplomats have signed an open letter calling for an end to what they described as the Trump administration’s “assault” on democracy, warning the “moral foundation” of America’s “global leadership” is on the line.

“The challenge comes from within, as President Trump and his administration have assaulted the pillars of our democracy here at home and our strength around the world,” the letter read.

Among the signatories was former Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, former Deputy Secretary General of NATO Alexander Vershbow, and retired CIA intelligence officers.

They urged former US officials to “jointly and publicly challenge the administration’s dangerous policies and dismantling of essential institutions”; business leaders to “condemn Trump’s disastrous trade policy”; and for politicians across the divide to “actively oppose the administration’s efforts to undermine our national security, our freedoms, and our democracy”, among other things.

“American democracy and American security are inextricably linked; weaken one and the other inevitably begins to fail,” they continued.

“As patriots and public servants from both parties who worked to protect America over many decades, we see that link unravelling at lightning speed." "

https://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/us-politics/us-politics-live/live-coverage/863f54f107423c19b1f53a37068925d9

 

[Yellowbelly]

Trump folds again

All big bully noise, as strong as wet toilet paper.

Oh, the grand old Duke of Trump, he set 10,000 tariffs.....