Just how stupid the USA administration has fallen into is really mind-blowing.
According to Kevn Walmsley on his site 'Inside China Business', Trump is proposing to destroy Chinese shipbuilding, because China is now the dominant shipbuilder around the world. Many shipowners have built ships in Chinese shipyards at competitive prices, which are now plying the oceans with cargo. Trump is thinking of rebuilding the shipbuilding industry in the USA, levying a US$1 million for every ship made in China calling at USA ports, or US$1,000 per ton on ships carrying oil and bulk cargo. Imagine an oil tanker carrying 280,000 m/tons of crude equivalent to 1.96 million barrels, if my calculation is correct, which is the average load of a mid-range tanker, paying US$280 million calling at a USA port? Would owners even want to think of calling at USA ports? That is madness.
That proposal is adding another layer of tax on USA citizens, as manufacturers in China and shipowners facing levies will just jack up their prices and freight rates, which will eventually be borne by USA consumers. If Trump can sell his tariffs to USA consumers, he may very well pull this off as well. To say that USA voters are stupid is an understatement but then, just pitying them for having no choice.
It is actually a very stupid idea of targeting Chinese ships just to cripple Chinese shipyards. It will fail and just benefit Japanese and South Korea shipbuilders building more expensive ships. However, these latter two are facing problems finding workers to build ships.
The people advising the Trump administration are just not looking at things further than their noses. China can easily retaliate when a push becomes a shove. What is there to prevent China from raising a reciprocal levy on Boeing planes landing at Chinese airports. Every airline of the world has Boeing airplanes on its fleet. What will that mean for Boeing going forward.
For every action, there is always a way to retaliate. It will be too late to regret when it backfires.
Anonymous
1 comment:
Shooting own feet is becoming a habit of Trump. He is really making USA Great again.
Understand that eggs are so expensive in the USA that people are rearing hens to lay eggs for self-consumption. Life is getting really egg-citing in USA.
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