Non-Event: 'Revised' Korea-US FTA

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in , at 3/29/2018 02:07:00 PM
This isn't newsworthy at all. News about Trump's trysts with porn stars actually matters more. You may be wondering why I haven't written anything at all about the so-called 'revised' Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (KORUSFTA). The main reason is that there have been very few changes, and these changes are next to inconsequential anyway. As you know, the main bone of contention of the Trump administration has been how Korean auto exports heading America's way have been far greater than those going in the opposite direction. So, it was inevitable that autos would be the main point of discussions. What's actually been reported...
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Oh, Canada: Ongoing Exodus of Techies from US

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in at 3/28/2018 03:51:00 PM
Toronto is one of the places where immigrant tech workers can work without Trump seeking to deport them at each turn. The polite term used to describe Donald Trump's anti-immigrant, whites-first policies is "nativist." I have never found that euphemism useful since, well, the real natives of the United States are actually Native Americans. On the other hand, there is next to nothing distinguishing Trump's policy preferences to those of white supremacists. Like re-tweeting British hate group videos. Like discouraging people of color from being counted in the 2020 Census--and by definition being considered "non-persons" in...
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China and the Fog of Trade War

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in , at 3/23/2018 12:15:00 PM
Watch out: blowback may be severe. The Trump administration is a triumph of gesture over substance, so it should be no surprise that his China-bashing trademark has the feel of a really lousy made-for-TV "special" wherein signing ceremonies matter more symbolically than the actual policies being implemented. Specifics can wait: see the example of tariffs on steel and aluminum that are still up in the air despite being announced at the start of the month. That Trump is improvising on trade policy with less-than-comprehensive details from his economic ministers is obvious. My favorite current example is that there isn't...
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Did Golfer Greg Norman Save Oz From Tariffs?

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in , at 3/17/2018 10:24:00 PM
Who you gonna call when Trump's hitting your country with tariffs? Golfing great Greg Norman. I'll have more to say about the United States being poised to apply $50 billion worth of tariffs annually on China over alleged intellectual property theft and related issues, but I wanted to get this news out of the way first as it involves one of the countries Trump does not consider an ally by any means. Just today, we received news that a lot of American (military) allies are going to be exempted from the forthcoming tariffs on steel. At this rate we're losing track of Trump's trade measures, but it turns out Australia is among...
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Maybe Trump Admin's Intent is to Leave the WTO

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in at 3/07/2018 04:24:00 PM
It may be an American farewell to the WTO building on the shores of Lake Geneva real soon. As I've written in a previous post, it is unlikely that the United States will win a case against its proposed tariffs on imported steel (Trump mentions 25%) and aluminum (10%) if one is brought by the affected exporting countries. While there is a clause as I've also mentioned for applying such tariffs if the nebulous "national security" reason is invoked, [a] there is no real precedent for doing so and [b] it's unlikely to be sustained since American defense industries only represent 3% of steel demand. But, consider this: What...
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Tariff Terrorist Trump, Meet Tariff-Cutting Congress

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in at 3/05/2018 11:30:00 AM
Yay! Cheaper GAP vest soon care of...American politicians? I will soon have (rather lots) more to say about the upcoming Trump tariffs on steel and aluminum. Since the US Trade Representative has not yet finalized the terms as to whether some countries or US domestic industries buying from abroad are exempt among other details, there is still some uncertainty about their ultimate form. That is, the full extent of the economic terror Trump will unleash on global markets is still up in the air. In the meantime, though, consider this: the American congress is considering legislation that will cut tariffs on a grab-bag of...
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Trump Escalates Trade War: Steel & Aluminum

♠ Posted by Emmanuel at 3/01/2018 07:07:00 PM
If Trump goes down, he's decided to take the world economy with him. It's no secret that the Trump administration is besieged on all sides now. As White House staffers flee or begin to leave Trump's sinking ship while it takes fire from every conceivable direction, Trump has decided to make a distraction he believes will distract public attention. While hosting American steel executives today, he went against the wisdom of his saner (read: non-white nationalist, non-xenophobic, non-protectionist) advisers. It's the Trump equivalent of damn the torpedoes as far as economic matters are concerned as cooler heads have definitely...
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