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Thread: How should Mexico respond to Trump's tariffs?

  1. #1

    Default How should Mexico respond to Trump's tariffs?

    The Trump admin has announced a 5% tariff on all goods imported from Mexico, set to rise to 25% in October:

    https://www.google.se/amp/s/www.nyti...riffs.amp.html

    tariffs would be raised to 10 percent on July 1 “if the crisis persists,” and then by an additional 5 percent each month for three months. They would remain at 25 percent until Mexico acted, he said.
    This is not only dumb but also an abuse of the president's tariff-setting powers. Congress seems to be content with ceding more and more power to his imperial highness the president, so a more important question is:

    What should/will Mexico do?

    To be clear, the tariffs will, like all tariffs, hurt US businesses and consumers. The supply chains of many important companies are heavily reliant on Mexico. At a minimum, even if you ignore broader knock-on effects, this constitutes an unpredictable $17 billion tax the US has chosen to impose on its own economy.

    But Mexico now has an opportunity—and ample justification—to severely punish farmers in Trump-supporting states, leveraging the effect of the Chinese tariffs for maximum effect. On the one hand, this would harm Mexican consumers, but, on the other hand, it may be the only way to force the US—no longer a good-faith trading partner—to get a grip.
    "One day, we shall die. All the other days, we shall live."

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by Aimless View Post
    Congress seems to be content with ceding more and more power to his imperial highness the president, so a more important question is:

    What should/will Mexico do?
    I think the most important question is: what will US legislators do to rein in a president who acts like a king? If it takes *threats* from Mexico (or China) to remind congress of their constitutional duties *as a co-equal branch of government*, then we really are screwed.

    Edit: to be clear, congress ceding power to the executive branch isn't something peculiar to the Trump era. Example: only congress can technically declare war, but the last time they did that was WWII.
    Last edited by GGT; 05-31-2019 at 09:20 AM.

  3. #3
    Looks like the GOP leadership is showing some spine (finally) and pushing back a bit. Will it be enough to untangle the mess Trump has made? Do they care more about their constituents' livelihoods and 401-Ks, or cow-towing to Trump's impulses and wacky ideas?

    I started a thread about "Trump Tariffs" a while ago. Didn't get much traction, ho-hum, who'd think the craziness would continue, let alone escalate? Surely the Republicans would come to their senses, and stop enabling Trump's stupidity before it went too far.

    Hey, how about that great economy, huh? USA #1!
    Last edited by GGT; 06-05-2019 at 07:48 AM.

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by GGT View Post
    Looks like the GOP leadership is showing some spine (finally) and pushing back a bit. Will it be enough to untangle the mess Trump has made? Do they care more about their constituents' livelihoods and 401-Ks, or cow-towing to Trump's impulses and wacky ideas?

    I started a thread about "Trump Tariffs" a while ago. Didn't get much traction, ho-hum, who'd think the craziness would continue, let alone escalate? Surely the Republicans would come to their senses, and stop enabling Trump's stupidity before it went too far.

    Hey, how about that great economy, huh? USA #1!
    https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/07/trum...d-tariffs.html

    Interesting. I personally dislike tariffs all together but it seems to have been used as effective bargaining chip.

  5. #5
    Phony solution to a phony crisis. Trump is easy to manipulate, but his supporters are even easier.
    "One day, we shall die. All the other days, we shall live."

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Aimless View Post
    Phony solution to a phony crisis. Trump is easy to manipulate, but his supporters are even easier.
    No tariffs got added (good) and Mexico is going to take steps to help curb migration from central American (good). Win/Win at this point. Possible Mexico is blowing smoke but in the digital age it should become apparent real quickly if they are.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Lewkowski View Post
    https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/07/trum...d-tariffs.html

    Interesting. I personally dislike tariffs all together but it seems to have been used as effective bargaining chip.
    Case in point. You oppose big government...unless Trump is the big government.
    Hope is the denial of reality

  8. #8
    He also opposed executive over-reach, using executive orders to bypass congress, or running a command economy...unless it's done by a 'Republican' president.

    Lewk, you can't claim to believe in Freeee Markets and then say Trump's Tariff Tantrums are "effective bargaining chips". And you can't say using taxes/tariffs for immigration policy is part of any Freee Trade model, either.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Loki View Post
    Case in point. You oppose big government...unless Trump is the big government.
    I'm opposed to tariffs because they are big government (and economically inefficient). No tariffs were ever actually implemented so...

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Lewkowski View Post
    No tariffs got added (good) and Mexico is going to take steps to help curb migration from central American (good). Win/Win at this point. Possible Mexico is blowing smoke but in the digital age it should become apparent real quickly if they are.
    I swear, you're such a dope.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/08/u...l-tariffs.html

    The only thing the US got out of this latest asshattery was humiliation and costly economic uncertainty. Meanwhile, Trump has already imposed tariffs on China, harming US businesses and consumers. Such a dope.
    "One day, we shall die. All the other days, we shall live."

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Aimless View Post
    I swear, you're such a dope.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/08/u...l-tariffs.html

    The only thing the US got out of this latest asshattery was humiliation and costly economic uncertainty. Meanwhile, Trump has already imposed tariffs on China, harming US businesses and consumers. Such a dope.
    That may be the only thing the US got out of it, but Trump got more. It was a piece of political theater so he could claim he "pressured" Mexico into finally paying for his "wall." Just like he promised during his campaign.
    Last night as I lay in bed, looking up at the stars, I thought, “Where the hell is my ceiling?"

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by LittleFuzzy View Post
    That may be the only thing the US got out of it, but Trump got more. It was a piece of political theater
    Certainly, that goes without saying, but Lewk is objective and only concerned with facts, he doesn't care about Trump
    "One day, we shall die. All the other days, we shall live."

  13. #13
    Senior Member Flixy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LittleFuzzy View Post
    That may be the only thing the US got out of it, but Trump got more. It was a piece of political theater so he could claim he "pressured" Mexico into finally paying for his "wall." Just like he promised during his campaign.
    Quote Originally Posted by Aimless View Post
    Phony solution to a phony crisis. Trump is easy to manipulate, but his supporters are even easier.
    So this?
    Keep on keepin' the beat alive!

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Flixy View Post
    So this?


    But remember, Lewk doesn't support goatporn—he just thinks its hilarious to trigger libs with all the goatporn he keeps finding
    "One day, we shall die. All the other days, we shall live."

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by LittleFuzzy View Post
    That may be the only thing the US got out of it, but Trump got more. It was a piece of political theater so he could claim he "pressured" Mexico into finally paying for his "wall." Just like he promised during his campaign.
    And nobody is talking about the Mueller report anymore. They guy is a genius at manipulating the media -- or is it just easy to do for someone who has no integrity and literally feels no shame?
    The Rules
    Copper- behave toward others to elicit treatment you would like (the manipulative rule)
    Gold- treat others how you would like them to treat you (the self regard rule)
    Platinum - treat others the way they would like to be treated (the PC rule)

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by EyeKhan View Post
    And nobody is talking about the Mueller report anymore. They guy is a genius at manipulating the media -- or is it just easy to do for someone who has no integrity and literally feels no shame?
    Bingo. Especially since the agreements that lewk highlighted were reached months ago. Yeah everyone already knows how gullible Lewk is, but this is yet another low for him. The mere concept of non-whites crossing into our borders shuts down what little critical thinking he has.
    Last edited by Ominous Gamer; 06-10-2019 at 06:29 PM.
    "In a field where an overlooked bug could cost millions, you want people who will speak their minds, even if they’re sometimes obnoxious about it."

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Lewkowski View Post
    I'm opposed to tariffs because they are big government (and economically inefficient). No tariffs were ever actually implemented so...
    Quote Originally Posted by Aimless View Post
    Meanwhile, Trump has already imposed tariffs on China, harming US businesses and consumers.
    And subsidies for farmers (including Big Ag conglomerates that are foreign-owned). Republicans used to call that corporate welfare and protectionism, but under Trumpism none of that matters. The ends justify the means, and threats work better than diplomacy or coherent policy. Right, Lewk?

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by EyeKhan View Post
    And nobody is talking about the Mueller report anymore. They guy is a genius at manipulating the media -- or is it just easy to do for someone who has no integrity and literally feels no shame?
    He's good at manipulation and distraction, and using the media to keep his "base" in line, but that has its limits. The Mueller report won't just go away every time he creates a new crisis. (That tactic risks losing its oomph when it's over-used or misused.)

    If anything, this bluff-and-bully approach of using tariffs for immigration policy (along with using emergency/national security declarations for political purposes) is more proof that Trump is abusing Executive Powers. Mexico can't help us with that.

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