Tonda McCharles has a must read article in today's Toronto Star. It details what went on behind the scenes at this weekend's G7 summit. That picture leaked by Angela Merkel's office seems to be a pretty accurate depiction of what happened. And what happened, Paul Krugman writes, was a "debacle:"
There has never been a disaster like the G7 meeting that just took place. It could herald the beginning of a trade war, maybe even the collapse of the Western alliance. At the very least it will damage America’s reputation as a reliable ally for decades to come; even if Trump eventually departs the scene in disgrace, the fact that someone like him could come to power in the first place will always be in the back of everyone’s mind.
Trump demanded that the other G7 members remove their “ridiculous and unacceptable” tariffs on U.S. goods – which would be hard for them to do, because their actual tariff rates are very low. The European Union, for example, levies an average tariff of only three percent on US goods. Who says so? The U.S. government’s own guide to exporters.
True, there are some particular sectors where each country imposes special barriers to trade. Yes, Canada imposes high tariffs on certain dairy products. But it’s hard to make the case that these special cases are any worse than, say, the 25 percent tariff the U.S. still imposes on light trucks. The overall picture is that all of the G7 members have very open markets.
So what on earth was Trump even talking about? His trade advisers have repeatedly claimed that value-added taxes, which play an important role in many countries, are a form of unfair trade protection. But this is sheer ignorance: VATs don’t convey any competitive advantage – they’re just a way of implementing a sales tax — which is why they’re legal under the WTO. And the rest of the world isn’t going to change its whole fiscal system because the U.S. president chooses to listen to advisers who don’t understand anything.
Larry Kudlow is a case in point. If you check him out on Wikipedia you'll discover that he got a B.A. from the University of Rochester, where he was a Democrat and a member of SDS -- Students for a Democratic Society. Somewhere along the line, he became a Republican. This was after he went to Princeton to get a Masters degree in Politics and Economics. But he dropped out, never to return. That history has not stopped him from posing as an economic guru.
Trump has fired the people he insisted were "the best people." He is now a dolt surrounded by dolts. It's no meeting of minds. It's a meeting of morons.
Image: The Guardian
4 comments:
I live in BC where the local agriculture industry produces quality fruit and vegetables. Yet, the US is allowed to basically "dump" apples and potatoes out of Washington State into my province. Both products are of poor quality and the prices are not consumer friendly either. Trump is ki-yi-ing about the dairy industry, but he fails to recognize that their milk contains hormones,something Canadian consumers prefer to avoid.
Secondly, I remember the softwood lumber dispute that dragged on for years until Harper capitulated and we paid millions of dollars in reparation. That money did not go the the US government, but directly into the hands of the very companies that launched the complaint using the argument that our government subsidized timber companies by keeping stumpage fees too low.
Lastly, it seems that our own federal government has aided other countries to send their inferior products into Canada by not insisting foodstuffs be properly labelled as to country of origin and an honest list of ingredients. That is the best way for Canadian consumers to determine whether they want to purchase a product or not. Buyer beware has always been the best defence we, the consumer, has had and without full knowledge of what we are buying, we are all at a disadvantage. Trade wars be damned!
Perhaps, Lulymay, all this will lead to Canadians relying less on Americans as producers and consumers. There are other choices. We should make them.
Trump Mk.2 has surrounded himself with extremists. Bolton, Navarro, "Wrong Way" Kudlow, Pompeo, Pruitt, Ross, Haspel, Mulvaney, Rick Perry, DeVos - they're either extremists, grifters or incompetents. Mattis must be wondering why he's still around.
They're a collection of nutbars, Mound. Mattis is the only realist left. I read in the New York Times that the staff at the White House is depressed and heading for the exits.
Post a Comment