Trump is adding more misery to USA manufacturing with his 50% tariffs on copper imports. That will mean higher costs for industries like vehicles makers (if any is going to be left), consumer products, electronics and electrical goods. Even weapons are affected, though the tariff could be added on and unloaded to Ukraine and Israel and other cronies and colonies like Japan, South Korea, Philippines and you know who. Not for free obviously.
USA copper producers will likewise increase prices to match imported copper prices for sure. This would be cause for celebration for them and their investors. Who is going to benefit? Not USA consumers who will have to dig in more to afford domestically made products. If USA consumers are clapping and celebrating, that shows how delusional they are. Tariffs are going to be paid by importers and passed on to them regardless of what and where they come from. What is the celebration all about?
China is the copper producer of the world, and the USA is not the market for China's copper output, nor is China dependent on USA copper producers who themselves are just able to provide only half of what the USA needed. Trump's move will not lead to any collapse of Chinese copper producers if that is what he intended.
China's industries itself need lots of copper for its EV producers (83 kg of copper for each EV on average), the shipbuilding industry, high-speed rails and trains, commercial planes and military jets, consumer products and even defense usage. Overcapacity caters very well to China's domestic needs. China has the productive capacity and the market as well. China's move to be totally self-dependents is no idle boast.
All in all, are we again going to see more nose cutting and face spiting going forward by the USA?
Anonymous
3 comments:
The Hillbillies are still unaware that Trump is screwing them - front, back, sideways, upwards and downwards, using the mantra that he is punishing foreign exporters with his tariffs. For the USA consumers, well, it appears to be ignorance is bliss.
You never realized what 'bald-faced liars' the USA leaders are and how they could lie thinking that nobody really pays attention. When those reciprocal tariffs were trotted out in early April, Trump was gloating about 200 countries queuing up to 'kiss his arse'. Now, it has been reported that his Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, another prolific liar, is trying to cover Trump's kissing arse lie with another lie that Trump did not say that. Are they adults or children?
What about the earlier gloating by Trump that 200 countries out of the existing 195 were queuing up to kiss his arse. Trump does not even know how many countries there are in this world. Among them only two have been reported to have made deals with the USA - UK and Vietnam. And all that was what he achieved after three months of gloating? The fact that he is now shifting his deadline shows he is losing leverage. And the fact that he is sending out a few demand letters for a start shows that the gloating about 200 countries queuing up to negotiate were all blatant lies. I wonder whether letters of demand have also been sent to the penguins, LOL. Did the MSM reported any penguins landing in Washington to negotiate? I am sure they could not miss that great news.
The most interesting part of the circus is just unfolding, with USA consumers being hit hard by expensive goods. What is even worse is the dire state of the USA farmers, having no big market to absorb their produce that has to be harvested soon. Which is why Trump is trying to force countries like India to buy more of USA agricultural produce, which is going to kill off Indian farmers if successful. Trump is also targeting Brazil, that has now captured the Chinese market for its agricultural products. That 50% tariff on Brazil is all planned to cripple the Brazilian economy, after its agricultural sector took over the China market from USA farmers.
India better wakes up fast over what the USA is forcing it to do to import more USA foodstuffs, even trying to force India to buy USA beef, in a move that is sure to antagonize the Hindu fanatics. BRICS is where India belongs to, not the G7 and that should tell India where its loyalty lies.
Tariffs are for the poor, while tax refunds are for the rich. This is the new American dream.
Wait a minute. Trump is going to impose a 200% tariff on pharmaceuticals. The only thing not to do for USA consumer's healthcare cost is increasing the price of drugs by 200%, which is plain horrendous. I guess USA citizens have not heard of Singaporean's complaining that it is better to die than to fall sick. Of course not, when China is its medical supply chain of last resort for decades already.
China provides the raw materials, even those that India needs in the making of drugs. So does drug companies in the USA. In fact, China makes the raw ingredients that makes the drug work and the finished products, which are sold cheaply to the USA's big drug makers, and they do the packaging part using their brand names and allowed to mark up the prices like crazy. It is the same as with iPhones, luxury bags and Rolex watches. China does make low end products for the low-end buyers, but China can also do the high-end stuff for the right price. I think it is high time for China not to be nice and continue to help others make all the money with unbelievable profits at its expense and yet getting demonized.
I think China should just sit tight with the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration and ship less consumer stuff to the USA and see who blinks first. I have been seeing reports that Trump is demanding that China must stop cutting off its supply chain to serve the USA market. It shows that Trump is losing his leverage on China. We shall see what happens the next couple of months when stockpiling has served its purpose of restocking shelves that would otherwise be empty by now.
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