Anyone thinking that the Canadian Tariff thing will just fissle out might like to watch this..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcRMuxlnxzQ

Trump, of course, may reverse this all any day, having figured that Canada is up for a fight, but then he'd just look even more stupid.

So, "attack your allies, makes deals with Russia" seems to be the order of the day.

The gormless boomers, who pay their annual dues to the BBC Nonce Factory, and who get all their information from the idiot box they've been glued to since birth, fail to understand what is happening. The gossip and Russian conspiracy theories are vaguely amusing, if somewhat one-dimensional.

If you are referring to the back and forth over tariffs as a "U turn" - like it is a humilating reversal of an ill considered policy - then you obviously don't get what is happening. And nor do the gormless sheep who are thanking you for your characteristically demented posts.

Crazy suggestion here but... if it is implied that proposed tariffs on a given country might not happen after all, it probably reflects fruitful discussions taking place between the two sides. E.g. send us the cartel war lords, stop allowing fentanyl to enter our country, and get your borders under control. In other situations it might involve the creation of a fairer trading relationship.

What is happening now reflects a change of policy after the US has effectively been subsidising most of the globe for years. The preferred outcome is to have less tariffs overall, but it has to be reciprocal.

How on earth can people struggle to understand such simple ideas? Well, that is quite easy to answer really.

Those who are claiming to be in favour of free trade and against tariffs, but have never expressed any such reservations about the EU customs union or levying of VAT on imports - even supporting these things - are simply too stupid / hypocritical to bother engaging with. It is suddenly a problem now, in Europe and elsewhere, because the gravy-filled trough has been removed from the pig sty. True to form, the lowly sheep are parroting the narratives of their sulking elites.

All these posts I'm seeing... it is like watching the NPC characters, mindlessly wandering about and bashing into each other, in the background of a computer game from the 1990s.

Don d'Orange is either an insightful genius or a complete and utter liability / nut job.

I kinda get (maybe not agree on) wanting to put America first, second, and third.
I kinda get pressuring NATO allies to spend their fair share.
I kinda get the 'shock and awe' tactics needed to break the status quo and make things more efficient.

However, in every walk of life, there tends to be a way to go about things. Thinking about it, I've never seen a successful outcome in business where pissing off your entire eco-sphere, neighbours, and allies, has been sustainable or a rip-roaring success.

But there is a first time for everything. Or in investing parlez, 'it's different this time'. Hmmmmm...

The Trump administration has been open in recognising there will be a bumpy path as the US adapts to new policies of higher levels of protection against imports and a downsizing in the federal government. Few are expecting long term gain without short term pain. Onshoring manufacturing activity isn't going to happen overnight.

But the thing it that there doesn't have to be short term pain.

It can be done differently without crashing the global economy and American economy with it.

For instance, if he wants to tear up the North American FTA's (Trumps creation BTW) then fine. Start with 5% on certain target goods. Allow the American economy to catch up and switch suppliers and the supply chains adjust.

It's easy for, say Canadians to switch from buying Jack Daniels to Bushmills.

It's very, very hard for John Deere to build a new gearbox and transmissions factory with it's requirement for castings, machine tools, automation and a skilled workforce.

Thus the blundering cliff edge tariffs are instantly destructive to America's economy. Furthermore, no company is going to make a 3-5 year investment plan on reshoring such production when they think there is a high likelihood that either Trump or the next administration can cancel the tariffs overnight.

Thus the auto companies will just pay up, consumer prices will rise and inflation will be marching down the road.

The Tariffs do not bring short term pain, long term gain. They bring short term pain long term train crash. WIth higher base rates, high inflation, fewer jobs and lower tax revenues.

Perhaps this is the plan though, to have a few years of inflating away debt?