Trump Declares Victory In All Trade Wars, HEREBY ORDERS Stock Market To Rise
So easy to win.
This is no way to run a railroad. Even when he's overseas, humiliating us all at the G7 meeting in France, President Thirsty Bitch found time to fan the flames of a Chinese trade war, w hile simultaneously taking credit for ending the trade war by signing all the agreements! That train is never late.
On Friday, China announced it was doubling tariffs from five to 10 percent on $75 billion of American imports, such as soybeans, beef, pork and crude oil, starting in September. Duties on American vehicles and car parts will increase from five to 25 percent on December 15. That's in addition to its already planned ban on all agricultural imports from US America.
Naturally, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro was dispatched to CNN to discuss what sounded like it could be his browser history, saying, "They signal once again to the American public that China wants to buckle our knee so that they can keep having their way with us." And Donald Trump tweeted out that Chinese President Xi Jinping is an enemy of America, perhaps an even greater enemy than Jay Powell, the man Trump himself appointed to run the Federal Reserve. So, you know that Xi is a bad hombre!
But at least the Presiderp was nice enough to wait until the markets closed on Friday to barf out ... whatever this nonsense is.
....your companies HOME and making your products in the USA. I will be responding to China’s Tariffs this afternoon… https: //t.co/lg5Do7z58x
— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1566572344.0
You hear that, "Our great American companies?" Herr Orange Hair hereby orders you to relocate your factories home! By the power of Article II, Grabthar's Hammer, and Greyskull!
OH, FFS, HE'S STILL TALKING.
...Additionally, the remaining 300 BILLION DOLLARS of goods and products from China, that was being taxed from Sept… https: //t.co/m9cSIcFe2i
— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1566594033.0
That's nice. Three weeks ago Trump imposed tariffs that the Chinese were most definitely going to pay. Then he saved Christmas for American families by canceling those tariffs. Now he's reimposing them and threatening to invoke a national emergency to order American corporations to operate on war footing and relocate their businesses home. Because the economy is the best it's ever been, except for Jay Powell and the Fake News Media that wants a recession. NBC was nice enough to transcribe him derping out his "rationale" yesterday:
I could declare a national emergency, I think when they steal and take out and intellectual property theft anywhere from $300 billion to $500 billion a year and when we have a total lost of almost a trillion dollars a year for many years," Trump said, adding that he had no plan right now to call for a national emergency.
Actually we are getting along very well with China right now, we are talking. I think they want to make a deal much more than I do. I'm getting a lot of money in tariffs its coming in by the billions. We've never gotten 10 cents from China, so we will see what happens.
Extremely stable, much genius.
Asked if he had second thoughts about escalating the trade war with China, Trump replied, "I have second thoughts about everything," which sent his aides scrambling to deny that His Highness regrets conducting diplomacy like some sort of WWE 'roid rage rasslin' match.
"His answer has been greatly misinterpreted. President Trump responded in the affirmative - because he regrets not raising the tariffs higher," said White House spokesliar Stephanie "Marginally Better Than The Huckster" Grisham. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin chimed in, saying, "The deficit is getting bigger and the president is determined that we have free and fair and reciprocal trade." And by "free trade," he means unilaterally ordering US businesses to divest from the country that produces items most cheaply.
Trump even trotted out poor Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a pathetic attempt to make China jealous of his hot new girlfriend.
"We have excess corn in various parts of our country with our farmers because China did not do what they said they… https: //t.co/MTq8eZXD1f
— The White House (@The White House) 1566744618.0
Except Japan doesn't go all the way on the first date, and strenuously denied that they let Donald Trump put his tiny hands up their shirt to persuade them to take China's rejected corn.
"We are not calling it an agreement in principle. We are calling it a conference of views on the core elements. There is more work left to be done by the bureaucrats than just legal scrubbing," the Washington Post quotes Japanese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Takeshi Osuga saying.
But wait, maybe an amazing new trade deal with China is just around the corner after all! Seriously, Charlie Brown, for real this time. On Monday, conveniently just before the American markets opened, Trump announced that he'd "gotten two calls and very, very good calls" from Chinese trade representatives. "Very productive calls. They mean business. They want to be able to make a deal."
Asked about the substance of those calls, whether it was bland pablum about China preferring "calm negotiations" or something more substantive, Mnuchin was more circumspect, saying, "There were discussions that went back and forth, let's leave it at that."
So, a big, fat nothin' then. Particularly since Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Geng Shuang DOES NOT KNOW HER either: "Regarding the phone call in the weekend, I am not aware of that," he said on Monday, adding, "We hope the U.S. can return to reason as soon as possible, and create conditions for consultations based on mutual respect." That is ... hardly the white flag of surrender. But that didn't stop Arty McDeals from strutting out in front of the cameras to brag about having vanquished his Asian foes, preparing the ground for when he inevitably declares victory and goes home with whatever crumbs the Chinese are willing to give him in the leadup to an election.
"I think they want to make a deal very badly," President Trump says when asked if China's efforts to make a deal wi… https: //t.co/w3Vr5pWtBr
— This Week (@This Week) 1566831552.0
He's also taking credit for the yuuuuuuge deal he's going to sign with Prime Minister Boris Johnson once Britain crashes out of the European Union and the bigly deal he's just on the cusp of negotiating with France -- which is remaining in the EU and can't negotiate bilateral side deals.
But anyway, trade wars are good and easy to win.
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Welcome back to Monday at the Wonkhaus! You should MONEY US.
And Brazilian farmers are slash and burn clearing land to grow them . . .
Dear America,
I write as your well-meaning next-door neighbour who has observed increasingly erratic behaviour in your elected father-figure. I realize that a good many of you no longer take much interest in your dad, ever since his political grandad back in the 1980s sold out the country to the faceless multinationals that tend to promote perpetual war for their own profit and I wonder if, maybe, that was somewhat the point. But I digress . . . I am merely a well-intentioned do-gooder who occasionally drops by next door to check on your father-figure. Forgive me for pointing out what is obvious to the rest of the lovely members of this neighbourhood, but he is rapidly declining into demented actions and statements. He no longer speaks, but simply slurs. And when he slurs--in both meanings--he slurs nonsense. And sometimes dangerous nonsense.
Forgive my intrusion in to your domestic matters, but I assure you that I and the rest of the neighbourhood of democratic nations are concerned and ask that you consider DOING SOMETHING about the insane situation.
Best regards,
Your northern neighbour who worries about you.