Trade Wars and how to win 'em

[Hermit]

All it takes is Trump to be President, and suddenly the Left are all free traders.

Now, Democrats see NAFTA as sacrosanct and free trade deals as essential.

We are against tariffs. We have always been against tariffs.

Wrong.

NAFTA was signed into legislation by Bill Clinton in 1993. Hillary Clinton commented on it. "I think everybody is in favor of free and fair trade. I think NAFTA is proving its worth"
in 1996. "Creating a free trade zone in North America — the largest free trade zone in the world — would expand U.S. exports, create jobs and ensure that our economy was reaping the benefits, not the burdens, of globalization. Although unpopular with labor unions, expanding trade opportunities was an important administration goal." in 2003. In 2012 she said of the TPP "This TPP sets the gold standard in trade agreements to open free, transparent, fair trade, the kind of environment that has the rule of law and a level playing field."

You also keep persisting with mistaking the Democrats for "the Left".

[Tero]

Nostalgia not going to bring steel back.
https://www.npr.org/2018/03/10/59245087 ... p-knows-it
speechmaking to a safe audience.

[Galaxian]

I'm depressed. It seems the UK is going cap in hand to the USA and asking them if we can be exempt too please sir. Pathetic.

One of the few areas where we're in agreement. Well done!
Yes, every wimpish politician is grovelling on all fours, asking to be excused. Canada, Mexico, UK, Australia. Not an ounce of self-respect in any of them. Russia is OK, they've ignored all the sanctions. China... let's wait & see.

Trump is, like most politicians, a linear thinking simpleton. He thinks, "make the steel & aluminum foundaries prosper, ergo there will be more jobs." No, dunderhead! The jobs are increasingly being taken by automation (have been for several decades). And it's no use thinking, "we'll retrain everyone for other jobs." Hasn't anyone noticed that "The smarter & stronger the machines get, the dumber & weaker the people become." (Galaxian's axiom) Still, enjoy the 17 years while they last...

[Tero]

US makes sheets out of Russian steel:
But Lang is one of around 780 workers at the Novolipetsk Steel PAO (NLMK) (NLMK.MM) mill, NLMK’s U.S. subsidiary which imports around 2 million tons of steel slabs annually from its Russian parent company. The slabs that the mill rolls into sheets for customers including Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N), Deere & Co (DE.N) Harley Davidson Inc (HOG.N) and Home Depot Inc (HD.N), are almost impossible to acquire from U.S. steel producers.

Bob Miller, Chief Executive Officer of NLMK’s U.S. unit, said if his company’s customers refuse to accept a 25 percent price hike as a result of the tariffs, nearly 1,200 workers could eventually lose their jobs - and the ones in Farrell would be the first to go when supplies of imported slabs run out.

The U.S. steel industry employed about 147,000 people in 2015, according to the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic analysis. Manufacturers that need steel employ about 6.5 million people each year and the construction industry 6.3 million. GRAPHIC: tmsnrt.rs/2Fc94hU

[Scot Dutchy]

It is also a question of quality.

[Tero]

Farrel not giving any hits
Russia parent
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novolipetsk_Steel
OK, found, Pennsylvania. Google gave me a hard time but the US site
https://nlmk.com/en/about/map-of-assets ... nsylvania/

[Forty Two]

All it takes is Trump to be President, and suddenly the Left are all free traders.

Now, Democrats see NAFTA as sacrosanct and free trade deals as essential.

We are against tariffs. We have always been against tariffs.

Wrong.

NAFTA was signed into legislation by Bill Clinton in 1993. Hillary Clinton commented on it. "I think everybody is in favor of free and fair trade. I think NAFTA is proving its worth"

....against the weight of most of the Demcratic Party at the time. Believe me, I was there. I saw the passage of NAFTA, and it was a Republican initiative. It started with CUFTA, the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement. Look at the roll call votes on it in 1993. In the House, 61% of Democrats voted against it. https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2014/1 ... rade-Deals

in 1996. "Creating a free trade zone in North America — the largest free trade zone in the world — would expand U.S. exports, create jobs and ensure that our economy was reaping the benefits, not the burdens, of globalization. Although unpopular with labor unions, expanding trade opportunities was an important administration goal." in 2003. In 2012 she said of the TPP "This TPP sets the gold standard in trade agreements to open free, transparent, fair trade, the kind of environment that has the rule of law and a level playing field."

You also keep persisting with mistaking the Democrats for "the Left".

I did not mistake the Left for the Democrats, as I said the Left and the Democrats. The Left, for sure, is against free trade deals, or was until Trump came in. Now, it seems like every socialist, anarchist, and other Left wing person I know is suddenly shocked that anyone would be against NAFTA and the TPP.

[pErvinalia]

The Left, for sure, is against free trade deals,

Labo(u)r (because of the unions), and socialists are against it. But the rest of the left are generally for it (in the form of fair trade - i.e. free trade without the exploitation).

[Scot Dutchy]

Why should socialists be against free trade? Were not. We trade all over the world.

[pErvinalia]

Netherlands isn't socialist. You are a mixed economy (like every country in the west).

[Scot Dutchy]

Netherlands isn't socialist. You are a mixed economy (like every country in the west).

No? Oh well we will just scrap our social model based on pure socialism. We are a regulated social democratic society.

[pErvinalia]

Yep. So are we. Neither of our countries are socialist.

[Scot Dutchy]

What is socialist? You still have private health care. Do you still have private schools?

[pErvinalia]

Socialist is no private ownership of the means of production. And no profit motive. And no private property either, I think.

[Scot Dutchy]

Socialist is no private ownership of the means of production. And no profit motive. And no private property either, I think.

Nope. Try again.