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Trump acknowledges China policies may mean US economic pain

TU Curmudgeon

TU Curmudgeon

B.A. (Sarc), LLb. (Lex Sarcasus), PhD (Sarc.)
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From Associated Press

Trump acknowledges China policies may mean US economic pain
​

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump acknowledged his aggressive China trade policies may mean economic pain for Americans but insisted they’re needed for more important long-term benefits. He contended he does not fear a recession but is nonetheless considering new tax cuts to promote growth.

Asked if his trade war with China could tip the country into recession, he brushed off the idea as “irrelevant” and said it was imperative to “take China on.”

“It’s about time, whether it’s good for our country or bad for our country short term,” Trump said on Tuesday.

Paraphrasing a reporter’s question, Trump said, “Your statement about, ‘Oh, will we fall into a recession for two months?’ OK? The fact is somebody had to take China on.”

COMMENT:-

"Trump says he had to 'take China on,' regardless of short-term impact on U.S. economy" is a slightly different take on this story.

Of course, neither contradicts the fact that "Trade wars are simple and easy to win." or "China will pay all the tariffs and Americans won't suffer any adverse effects of them." which have been Mr. Trump's positions from day one.
​
 
TU Curmudgeon said:
From Associated Press

Trump acknowledges China policies may mean US economic pain
​

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump acknowledged his aggressive China trade policies may mean economic pain for Americans but insisted they’re needed for more important long-term benefits. He contended he does not fear a recession but is nonetheless considering new tax cuts to promote growth.

Asked if his trade war with China could tip the country into recession, he brushed off the idea as “irrelevant” and said it was imperative to “take China on.”

“It’s about time, whether it’s good for our country or bad for our country short term,” Trump said on Tuesday.

Paraphrasing a reporter’s question, Trump said, “Your statement about, ‘Oh, will we fall into a recession for two months?’ OK? The fact is somebody had to take China on.”

COMMENT:-

"Trump says he had to 'take China on,' regardless of short-term impact on U.S. economy" is a slightly different take on this story.

Of course, neither contradicts the fact that "Trade wars are simple and easy to win." or "China will pay all the tariffs and Americans won't suffer any adverse effects of them." which have been Mr. Trump's positions from day one.
​
Click to expand...

Target's stock is at all-time highs.

Lowes is up 10% today.

Wal-Mart's stock popped last week.

American consumers are spending like crazy. The economy is healthy.
 
Bucky said:
Target's stock is at all-time highs.

Lowes is up 10% today.

Wal-Mart's stock popped last week.

American consumers are spending like crazy. The economy is healthy.
Click to expand...

If the economy were really doing so great, we wouldn’t see the president of the United States debasing himself by begging the Federal Reserve for lower interest rates. We wouldn’t see the White House float (then kill and then float again) a trial balloon about a payroll tax holiday and another supply-side tax cut for the 1%.

We wouldn’t be hearing from business leaders and consumers alike that they are getting more pessimistic about the economy. We wouldn’t see the yield curve inverting.

The Federal Reserve certainly wouldn’t be cutting interest rates if the economy were as great as the White House says it is.

If the economic fundamentals really were “solid,” you wouldn’t see the White House sending out its cheerleaders to convince us. Trump and his aides would let the facts speak for themselves.

In fact, the economic fundamentals aren’t all that great. Some fundamentals are very good, but others aren’t. That’s par for an economy that’s growing at about 2% per year.
Click to expand...

No, the fundamentals of the U.S. economy are not ‘great’ - MarketWatch
 
Bucky said:
Target's stock is at all-time highs.

Lowes is up 10% today.

Wal-Mart's stock popped last week.

American consumers are spending like crazy. The economy is healthy.
Click to expand...
:lol:

Let me know how those stocks do when the tariffs begin.
 
TU Curmudgeon said:
From Associated Press

Trump acknowledges China policies may mean US economic pain
​

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump acknowledged his aggressive China trade policies may mean economic pain for Americans but insisted they’re needed for more important long-term benefits. He contended he does not fear a recession but is nonetheless considering new tax cuts to promote growth.

Asked if his trade war with China could tip the country into recession, he brushed off the idea as “irrelevant” and said it was imperative to “take China on.”

“It’s about time, whether it’s good for our country or bad for our country short term,” Trump said on Tuesday.

Paraphrasing a reporter’s question, Trump said, “Your statement about, ‘Oh, will we fall into a recession for two months?’ OK? The fact is somebody had to take China on.”

COMMENT:-

"Trump says he had to 'take China on,' regardless of short-term impact on U.S. economy" is a slightly different take on this story.

Of course, neither contradicts the fact that "Trade wars are simple and easy to win." or "China will pay all the tariffs and Americans won't suffer any adverse effects of them." which have been Mr. Trump's positions from day one.
​
Click to expand...

The chosen one? WTF?
 
TU Curmudgeon said:
From Associated Press

Trump acknowledges China policies may mean US economic pain
​
Click to expand...

It's always nice to have Trump's actual words instead of carefully selected bits and pieces. It helps to maintain context.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well — well, okay. Let me — let me tell you something. Number one, we’re doing very well as an economy. But somebody had to take China on. You know, I read and I see so much and I read so much, and I’ll see these economists saying, “Oh, give up. Give up on China. Give up.”

China has been ripping this country off for 25 years — for longer than that. And it’s about time, whether it’s good for our country or bad for our country short term. Long term, it’s imperative that somebody does this because our country cannot continue to pay China $500 billion a year because stupid people are running it.

So I don’t mind this question.

Whether it’s good or bad, short term, is irrelevant.

We have to solve the problem with China because they’re taking out $500 billion a year-plus. And that doesn’t include intellectual property theft and other things. And also, national security.

So, I am doing this whether it’s good or bad for your — your statement about, “Oh, will we fall into a recession for two months?” Okay? The fact is, somebody had to take China on.

My life would be a lot easier if I didn’t take China on. But I like doing it because I have to do it. And we’re getting great results.

China has had the worst year they’ve had in 27 years. And a lot of people are saying the worst year they’ve had in 54 years. Okay? And frankly, I don’t want that to happen, but it does put us in a good negotiating position, doesn’t it? And China wants to make a deal, and that’s good. But they have to make a deal that’s fair to us. It can’t be a deal that’s not fair to us.

And you should be happy that I’m fighting this and I’m fighting this battle, because somebody had to do it. We couldn’t let this go — I don’t even think it’s sustainable to let go on what was happening.

They were stealing all of our intellectual property ideas. The theft was incredible. They call it “intellectual property theft.” And they value it at $300 billion a year. Who knows how they value it? I know how to value dollars; I don’t know how to value intellectual property theft. But they have experts that say it’s at least $300 billion a year, where they steal it.

Somebody had to do something with China.

Obama should have done it.

Bush should have done it.

Clinton should have done it.

They all should have done it. Nobody did it; I’m doing it.

So what do you say? “Oh, my trade deals are causing them.” My trade deals aren’t causing a problem. This is something that had to be done. The only difference is I’m doing it.

I could be sitting here right now with a stock market that would be up 10,000 points higher if I didn’t want to do it. But I think we have no choice but to do it. And a lot of people that really know, people that love our country, they’re saying, “Thank you very much for taking it on.” And we’re winning because they’re having the worst year they’ve had in decades. And it’s only going to get worse.

China has lost 2 million jobs in the last month and a half because they’re moving — the people, the companies are moving to non-tariffed countries. They’ve lost over 2 million jobs in a very short period of time. They’re going to lose a lot more jobs. And if I didn’t help certain companies — there are American companies like Apple — for a very short period of time, I may help them, only until they do what they have to do, which is probably move from China. Because this would be a very short term. If I didn’t help them, they would — I mean, they would be — they would have a big problem.

Here’s the thing: Somebody had to take on what China was doing to the United States economically. We’re winning big. I took it on. And it should have been done by previous Presidents, but I took it on. And I’m happy to do it because it had to be done. And the smart people say, “Thank you very much.” And the dumb people have no idea. And then you have the political people, and they go with the wind.

But they all know — even Senator Schumer said, “Wow, Trump is doing a great job with China.” I couldn’t believe that. But Schumer thinks I’m doing the right thing. And he’s doing the right thing by saying it because he knows that China was a big economic threat. And they were taking all of that money that they were making from us, and they were building planes and ships and lots of other things. And we can’t let that happen.

Subject: Remarks by President Trump and President Iohannis of Romania Before Bilateral Meeting
Click to expand...
 
Bucky said:
Target's stock is at all-time highs.

Lowes is up 10% today.

Wal-Mart's stock popped last week.

American consumers are spending like crazy. The economy is healthy.
Click to expand...

If your markup is 100% (which isn't unusual in some areas of the retail trade [most notably clothing]) and your base cost goes from $100 to $125, what does your list price (which was $200) go to? If you were making a margin of $100 on an item that cost $100 and you were selling for $200, what is your margin on the same item which now costs $125 and which you are selling for $250?

People do have a tendency to "spend like crazy" when they are pretty damn sure that the prices are going to jump and the supply is going to fall.
 
Cardinal said:
No, the fundamentals of the U.S. economy are not ‘great’ - MarketWatch
Click to expand...

Nearly every president has had a terse relationship with the fed.

Remember, Lyndon B Johnson actually assaulted a fed chairmen.

President Lyndon B. Johnson was so consumed with the effect of the Vietnam War on the budget that he reportedly "pushed Fed Chairman Bill Martin up against a wall," said Brigid Harrison, a professor of political science and law at Montclair State University in New Jersey. "This was a physical threat in order to produce an outcome for the American economy."
Click to expand...

Trump isn'''t the first president to try to influence the Federal Reserve

Obama and B2 also clashed. They hated each other.
 
Mycroft said:
It's always nice to have Trump's actual words instead of carefully selected bits and pieces. It helps to maintain context.
Click to expand...

This is the quote I support most:

Somebody had to take on what China was doing to the United States economically. We’re winning big. I took it on. And it should have been done by previous Presidents, but I took it on. And I’m happy to do it because it had to be done. And the smart people say, “Thank you very much.” And the dumb people have no idea. And then you have the political people, and they go with the wind.
Click to expand...

I agree. I have been concerned about the Chinese economic strategy for over a decade before Trump took action. I am glad someone is acting NOW.

IMO, it is better to exchange a little short-term pain for long-term gain than it would be to let the Chinese continue to undermine our economic stability and growth.

So I am one who does say "Thank you" for this.
 
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Bucky said:
Trump literally has you anti-trumpers on a string. He talks, you react like chickens with their head cut off.

Rinse and repeat.
Click to expand...

That's cause he's not a normal person.
 
Obese Donald claims America has a $60 billion windfall from China in tariff payments. Ok. That is fantastic. My question is why can't he take that windfall money, build his "big beautiful wall" and then with the rest hire the sorely needed immigration judges and immigration attorneys so we can kill all the case backloads?
 
Mycroft said:
It's always nice to have Trump's actual words instead of carefully selected bits and pieces. It helps to maintain context.

China has had the worst year they’ve had in 27 years. And a lot of people are saying the worst year they’ve had in 54 years. Okay? And frankly, I don’t want that to happen, but it does put us in a good negotiating position, doesn’t it? And China wants to make a deal, and that’s good. But they have to make a deal that’s fair to us. It can’t be a deal that’s not fair to us.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
China having problems is not a proxy for the U.S. doing well. China is not only a supplier but a customer. GM sells more cars in China than in the U.S. If China has problems, it is a bad sign for the world economy.
 
Captain Adverse said:
This is the quote I support most:



I agree. I have been concerned about the Chinese economic strategy for over a decade before Trump took action. I am glad someone is acting NOW.

IMO, it is better to exchange a little short-term pain for long-term gain than it would be to let the Chinese continue to undermine our economic stability and growth.

So I am one who does say "Thank you" for this.
Click to expand...

So, what exactly are Trump's demands that China should concede? I know of no coherent demands except that China sell us less stuff. Meanwhile, after the tariffs the balance of trade is worse; our farmers are hurting; our cars are more expensive due to tariffs on steel and aluminum; and the tariffs on China don't apply to Ivanka's products.
 
MTAtech said:
China having problems is not a proxy for the U.S. doing well. China is not only a supplier but a customer. GM sells more cars in China than in the U.S. If China has problems, it is a bad sign for the world economy.
Click to expand...

GM will survive...or they won't. It'll be their decision.

Same with China. Their decision.

But the fact remains...the US is in a better position than China.
 
MTAtech said:
So, what exactly are Trump's demands that China should concede? I know of no coherent demands except that China sell us less stuff. Meanwhile, after the tariffs the balance of trade is worse; our farmers are hurting; our cars are more expensive due to tariffs on steel and aluminum; and the tariffs on China don't apply to Ivanka's products.
Click to expand...

It must suck to be totally unaware of reality. It's not like Trump and his people haven't told everyone what our demands are.

Here. This will help you.

“Stop stealing our intellectual property, stop forcing technology transfers, stop hacking our computers, stop dumping into our markets and putting our companies out of business, stop state-owned enterprises from heavy subsidies, stop the [importation of] fentanyl [and] stop the currency manipulation,” Navarro told host Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday."

Top aide: China must end 'Seven Deadly Sins' to stop trade war | TheHill
Click to expand...
 
MTAtech said:
So, what exactly are Trump's demands that China should concede? I know of no coherent demands except that China sell us less stuff. Meanwhile, after the tariffs the balance of trade is worse; our farmers are hurting; our cars are more expensive due to tariffs on steel and aluminum; and the tariffs on China don't apply to Ivanka's products.
Click to expand...

So, it is cheaper to buy steel and aluminum from China. Why exactly is that?

The answer is myriad, including no OSHA, government wage controls, a massive population willing to work cheap and still enjoy "relative" prosperity, a government willing to balance environmental effects until they must take action, etc.

We have made it difficult for production to occur here.

Historically, China appears to be operating at the level of the old "Robber/Industrial Barons" period of American economic development, while we struggle with our more modern ideals.

We want good things for our workers and environment and I fully agree with those protections. However, we also want stuff on the cheap.

We are fast becoming a consumerist rather than a production economy, and the problem with that is it puts us at the mercy of those nations who take over the means of production.

One day, it's going to rear up and bite us in the a**, and we'll find like many old societies that we now serve their economies as dependents, and not the other way round.
 
kitsune said:
Depends on the terms of the deal, doesn't it?
Click to expand...

Yes. As Trump says, the deal must be good for the US...or there is no deal.

If there's no deal, China will continue to suffer.
 
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