Keith Cobby;337257 wrote:Everyone knows that Trump is a maverick, he's putting America first and trying to reduce deficits and the increasing national debt. He is using tariffs as a negotiating tool, everyone knows that they are bad for trade and wealth creation (with the exception of those targeted to prevent dumping etc). Trump is breaking things as expected, but it is very unlikely his aim is to damage Americans wealth, particularly in the runup to 2026. Growth stocks are taking a hammering but once things settle down, there should be a recovery.
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I don't actually think his aim is destruction of American wealth, any more than it was Liz Truss's aim to crash the UK markets.
But, nonetheless, that is what she did and that is what he
is doing.
Because the policies being enacted are doing generational damage to US foreign relations with it's closest trading partners.
A parallel is Europeans buying Russian Gas. Even if there is an end to the war, Europe is never going to allow itself to be dependent again on Russia as a source. That ship has left.
Similarly Canadians are not going to ever go back to American supply chains for their automotive components to whisky to Tesla cars. The damage is done and the trust, built over decades, has gone in a couple of weeks. Threats to Canadian sovereignty just add to the toxic atmosphere.
I see that Canada is now passing legislation to tax American trucks driving back and forth to Alaska on the Alaska Highway.
How can America ever benefit short or long term from such beligerent behaviour? The answer is an arrogant self belief that somehow everybody needs them. The reality is nobody does. Other than for oil.
Their high tech products aren't made in America. Everything from EV Batteries to Apple Phones are farmed out to China. Their cars and lorries are antiquated crap that no one wants. Their military kit is overpriced and over complex and better replaced by larger quantities of lower specification kit.
Manufacturers will not relocate to America for four years until the presidency changes and tariffs go back to more normality. This is a myth for Trump. Instead, the world will simply focus on other markets and build new markets and supply chains to avoid America, which has become uninvestable for new money ATM.
He is using tariffs as a negotiating toolNo he isn't, because no one is negotiating. There are no talks going on. There are no demands being made. The Fentynol thing is just a red herring. Trump doesn't want the tariffs to drop. Because the purpose of them is to reshore manufacturing. And that isn't going to work.