As Al Pacino famously said in The Godfather, “It’s not personal, Sonny. It’s strictly business.” So it goes with Pres. Donald J. Trump as he slaps tariffs on foreign economies trying to restore fair trade.
The Godfather analogy fits Pres. Trump’s actions on several fronts. Disgraced ex-FBI Director James Comey once called him a “mob boss.” Comey is currently under federal investigation. So, consider the source. But what exactly do mafia figures do in the Godfather franchise . . . protect their interests.
That is exactly what Pres. Trump is doing. Protecting American interests by defending against the unfair trade deals that have cost everyday Americans millions of jobs and opportunities for their families. The global syndicate would include the criminal enterprises in China that steal American intellectual property. In the EU, they levy high “import duties” on Made in the USA goods.
In Mexico, the government shepherds illegal immigrants from South America to the U.S. border, while not offering political asylum or citizenship. In Canada, policies protect the interest of dairy farmers while limiting American imports. Those are some of the “crimes.” In 2016, Americans elected a “boss.”
Trump Keeps His Friends Close
The president has gone to great lengths to continue the long-standing alliances between the United States and EU countries. Most recently, he held a White House State Dinner for French Pres. Emmanuel Macron and his wife. The event went off swimmingly with Pres. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump seemingly becoming fast friends with their French counterparts.
British Prime Minister Theresa May enjoyed an upbeat first meeting at the White House, and glowingly spoke about the “special relationship” the two countries would continue to share. The leaders have worked together on foreign policy issues including North Korea sanctions, combating ISIS, protecting Israel, and share information on global terrorism. Pres. Trump and Prime Minister May have already engaged in informal bilateral trade talks as Brexit nears.
But these foreign dignitaries apparently misconstrue Pres. Trump’s kindness for weakness. The man who ran on Make America Great Again and America First has never wavered from that baseline. After seemingly exhausting talks with EU leaders about equal and fair trade, he leveled tariffs.
In the U.K., the prime minister called the move “unjustified” and her home media is now calling her “too weak” to stand up to Pres. Trump. In France, Pres. Macron has called the tariffs “illegal and a mistake.” An outraged French finance director called the tariffs “unjustified, unjustifiable and dangerous.”
When considering the facts about the unfair trade practices perpetuated by the EU, this pair look more like spoiled children than world leaders. According to the Germany-based think tank known as the ifo Institute, the EU places far greater import duties on U.S. goods, including the following:
- The average unweighted customs duty on U.S. goods stands at 5.2 percent. The U.S. levies only 3.5 percent.
- Cars imported into the U.S. are taxed up to 2.5 percent. The EU hits American imports with a 10-percent duty.
- The EU also levels a 17-percent duty on American apples and 20 percent on grapes.
These are among the primary drivers for the $147 billion trade deficit the United States suffered with the EU in 2016. The EU has demanded that Pres. Trump permanently exempt the EU from the 10-percent tariff on aluminum and 25-percent on steel. EU officials have claimed the tariffs are illegal, and are bringing their case to the WTO. Perhaps they believe a globalist such as Obama is still in office that would cow to an unelected foreign organization.
Trump Keeps His Enemies Closer
Although the United States shares a physical border with Mexico, the southern neighbor has not been a friend or ally in any significant way.
Drugs, illegal immigrants and criminals pour across the border literally by the millions. The Mexican government has turned its collective head, and swindled Americans through the NAFTA deal.
Pres. Clinton, among the first liberal globalists, sold out America’s manufacturing sector for short-term economic growth via cheap goods. The working class has suffered ever since.
Mexico Pres. Enrique Peña Nieto has signed a measure hitting American agricultural products with 15- to 25-percent tariffs in response the aluminum and steel levies. In a move that may have taken Mexican leaders by surprise, Pres. Trump has now pushed to separate the NAFTA negotiations. Canada, a long-standing U.S. ally, will likely gain a swift new trade deal defined by trade balance. Mexico, on the other hand, can expect the U.S. to take back its manufacturing base. It’s not personal, they’re American jobs.
Offsetting any losses taken from stifled U.S.-Mexico trade, China is walking back its unfair trade practices and North Korea could emerge as a new market should a treat be achieved over the summer. It may seem counterintuitive, but Mexico could be America’s closest enemy.
Pres. Trump holds friendly and productive talks with the vast majority of world leaders. But when it comes to trade imbalances, it’s not personal it’s America first!
~ Conservative Zone
PUT ALL HIS ATTACKERS IN PRISON SO HE CAN GET ON WITH HIS AGENDA FOR MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, ESPECIALLY BY DRAINING THE SWAMP AND MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN BY RETURNING [ JUSTICE ] TO THE ORIGINAL STATUS THE FOUNDING FATHERS INTENDED AS STATED IN THE ” DECLARATION
” AND THE PREAMBLE TO THE U.S.CONSTITUTION,RIGHT??? THE ATTACKERS ARE [ GUILTY ] OF [ SEDITION ] AND SHOULD BE PROSECUTED FOR THE SAME, RIGHT???
The political elite of the United States have not had the best interest of the wage earning American as a motivation for a long long time.
Part of this is due to the financial pressure the global interests place on our elected. The underlying attitude is if you are friendly to their goals they will channel funds into your reelection. That to a politician is spikes in a velvet club that only very few can withstand.
Secondly and I believe equally important is that managed problems in the long term generate more votes than solved problems do. Immigration, a fine example of this truth, has been a consistent vote generator for both political parties for four or five decades. Both sides would like a solution that leaves it a campaign issue ever election years.
Mexico is not a friend. If we impose enough strict economic sanctions until Mexico seals the border, most of our alien invasion will stop.
Recently it has come to my attention that some Europeans are whining that imposing tariffs constitutes reneging on the Marshall Plan. America needs to clarify in no uncertain terms that the PURPOSE of the Marshall Plan was to help Europe get back on its feet again after WWII. Since Europe seems to think that seventy years is not long enough to get back on its feet, it is beyond obvious that the Marshall Plan has overwhelmingly outlived its usefulness. Moreover, the European display of entitlement mentality and outright ingratitude moves me to believe that we should never have deployed the Marshall Plan in the first place.
Bring back American manufacturing. TARIFF, TARIFF, TARIFF, TARIFF.
.
Richard William Faith
central Florida
Thank God for Trump.
The real reason for Tariff’s. The wacko liberals are benefiting from this like we all will. First if American goods are fairly close in price to imports, the smart American will chose “Made in America”a It is eventually the cheapest and while it wears it still looks good, cheapest in most case’s is the highest. People need jobs to support themselves and raise their self esteem. Americans who do not understand they require quality for long range value, which cuts buying the same thing over and over. We need to keep our manufacturing in staying operating mode ( in case of war) We don’t need brawn type immigration but rather talented to add to our manufacturing as well to our culture. We don’t need immigration that requires our idiots in DC to dumb down because certain people and immigrants can’t make it, don’t try, and just take and contribute nothing. This effect our own Children for becoming smarter with good manners which has become invisible in the past 30 years. Not sure if parents know enough to teach their Children, what fork to use, stand up when someone enters a room or the table you are dinning at. We have built and assisted many countries at our citizens expense instead repairing the caverns in the streets. The best thing about helping many of these countries is they hate us, just like the people gaming us in our own country hate us. The Democratic Party will never wake up as long as they applaud and cheer Robert DiNero.what an ingrate.
Americans don’t realize that every trade agreement we have entered into has failed not one of them had benefitted us. We are the only country that doesn’t tax products coming into the country. All other countries tax our products so high that it forces their citizens to buy their own domestic products. What this means is we have more money going out of the country than we have coming into the country. Our trade deficient’s are in the 100’s of billions of dollars and that is money leaving our economy. President Trump is fixing these unfair trade agreements by taxing products coming into the country that will put us on a even playing field. I never buy anything that is not made in the U.S. and I don’t shop at Walmart 90% of their products come from foreign countries.
I would probably hurt American workers, but think it would be nice to not send anything to foreign countries including money. See how they can do without American help. I am reminded of the attempt to vilify American farmers and their response don’t complain with your mouth full. With so much of the world depending on America it’s getting a little old have the world and people here saying how bad America is.
One of MY biggest “discussions” with anti-tariff people is to ask one question – What happens when WWIII breaks? If we are relying on China & other countries for our steel, aluminium & other raw materials, then we’re dead, sitting ducks. That was & always has been our strength. That’s a big part how the North won, how we saved Europe’s a** 2 times in 40 years, that’s how we SHOULD have won Korea & VN, too, if we’d been allowed to fight instead of police.
We must control our own raw material, fuels, etc.
Every time I try to share articles from Conservative Zone on my Facebook Timeline, Facebook removes it & says it was marked (by them) as Spam. Every article, every time if it’s from Conservative Zone. Could not share this article today, sadly. Interesting that Facebook is singling out this site.
I don’t see why Americans should be short changed. Tariffs Dollar for dollar. This really shows how the rest of the countries have been cheating Americans. They really have taken advantage of the people of America and the former presidents let them, by telling us the lie oh here eat this it’s good for you. NO it hurt our economy. Thank you president Trump for standing up for America and the average everyday workers.
Free Markets, Free Trade mean just that, no special subsidies, be it price floors or ceilings, no tariffs, taxes, or penalties; no special privileges, rights, or laws- everything zeroed, equal, and above board, with honesty, fairness, copyrights, trade-rights, intellectual property, individual properties all adhered to and upheld! The best product wins for the most favored price!
What has made everything worse is that Obama played the self deprecating, guilty and ashamed of our success, pansy President. His intellectually absent position was to make him look like one swell guy except that he was selling his country to the world for peanuts.
We have provided years of aid in the form of cash, weapons, military gear, food, water and other necessities. We have provided medical services, built up other countries infrastructures and trained civilians and military people. This has cost us millions. In addition to his expensive trips to Hawaii, to play golf and numerous family vacations (Trip to Africa for wife and daughters), Obama took his world tour and all he did was sit with foreign leaders, eat, talk and returned home. He wasted MILLIONS on travelling and the cost of his personal security was also in the millions. So besides being sucked dry by the rest of the world that can’t get their stuff together, our own Presidential clown in the White Office stole from the citizens.
And what have any of the other countries or governments on this planet done for the United States? Where is the gratitude? Where is the money they owe us? Can the US rely on the assistance of anyone? Dare we blindly trust even our allies with the existence of the Deep State and liberals who want to take our guns, weaken our military and turn this country into some kind of whipping boy. They want our help, but hate our president and blame America for all their problems. Maybe we should lay their capitol cities in flat wastelands and let the people rebuild their countries as they wish. Then they’ll only have themselves to blame with nobody stepping on their necks.
They want money…for themselves and not their Countries.
The oppressive socialists posing as progressive democrats claim president Trump will start a trade was. Trade war? We have been in a trade war for decades. Our past presidents elected to ignore it. Our job base as well as out tax base are negatively effected by the tariffs imposed on our goods we export. Yet we apply (relatively speaking) “nearly no” tariffs in return on imported goods. Tariffs are just one more reason jobs have been leaving the US. That must change. In many cases the tariffs imposed on our exports are over a hundred percent, or more, higher then the tariffs we have imposed. As President Trump has said the goal is no tariff’s on any exports or imports by anyone. In other words you eliminate your tariffs and we will eliminate ours. That is why an individual agreement with each individual nation appears so much more desirable over mass nation agreements like NFTA or TPP. No tariffs is unencumbered free fair trade. Which should be every nations goal. It is an absolute fact foreign tariff’s cost us jobs and effect our manufacturing and agriculture bottom line which in turn cost us tax revenue. And in the final analysis that will change under the Trump administration. However, we also know there will be some if not considerable resistance to fairness. The reason past presidents did not either see that or move to correct it is exactly what causes the resistance to change now it is called the business round table and chamber of commerce as well as the big bankers. In other words the elitist in our society.
If actual fair free trade principles are used everything will work out to everyone’s advantage. That would allow competition to set price and quality. That is a real open, unencumbered fair free trade market. There can never be fair competition if nations impose tariffs on imported goods.
In the final analysis America should impose identical tariffs as are imposed by every country on us. Tic for tat. All President Trump wants is free fair trade which should be the goal of every nation in the world. Competition will lower consumer prices on everything and world wide competition is good and makes improvements necessary to remain competitive for all societies but especially free societies. A tariff is; the government have its nose where it should not be. A socialist trait. Within real free trade two things sell an item. Quality and cost. A free market will work that out. Both will be improved.
It is appalling that Trudeau in Canada feels his protectionism should not be criticized but he has the right to criticize others who may reply in kind because of his imposed protectionism. Typical oppressive socialist (progressive democrat) response.
I guess it depends on what the definition of “free” is!