Is Donald Trump’s Trade Talk Confusing on Purpose?

aloysious said:
I remember him saying way back that one mistake Obama, Bush, etc. make when negotiating with other countries is that everybody knows what position they are negotiating from and he considers that not only stupid but it breaks a cardinal rule of negotiating to show your cards.
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That is absolutely true, Theresa May is adopting exactly that attitude with the Brexit negotiations. Of course that truly pisses off the chattering classes and the snowflakes.

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cawacko said:
I didn't think he'd win the primary or the Presidency so I've basically stopped trying to predict what will happen with him. As far as his trade rhetoric it's possible he's a complete idiot or he's playing a game way above our heads.

Tariffs are a horrible idea and America will be punished in a trade war. If his threats of tariffs result in a better trade deal for the U.S. then it will show why he is where he is and I'm where I am.
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Know this....his trade 'deals' will all center on him increasing his portfolio. Do you honestly think he's going to impose a tariff on all of his/Evanka's cheap imported crap?
 
Milagro said:
That is absolutely true, Theresa May is adopting exactly that attitude with the Brexit negotiations. Of course that truly pisses off the chattering classes and the snowflakes.

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Negotiations are simple when you never had any intention of holding up your end of the contract.
 
"Negotiations are simple when you never had any intention of holding up your end of the contract." #24
"What treaty has the white man ever made with us that they kept? Not one." Sioux Chief Sitting Bull
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Yes, Ive heard the "crazy like a fox" or Nixonian "madman" theory foisted upon our collective senses to explain every manner of Trump's incompetence. Yuck. When the talking heads, public intellectuals and armchair pols gather in bewilderment to create a logical theory to explain the utter chaos that is Trump's warped mind, the only thing apologists can come up with is "madman" theory. He intentionally keeping adversaries off balance, injecting fear and risk in a calculated way....

Bullshit. A duck is a duck, and an insane duck is an insane duck. It is all too convenient to say that every heterodoxy Trump the oaf tweets in his 3 am apoplectic fugues, is not what it apparently is, i.e. stupidity and recklessness, but rather is some cunning maneuver.

Trump is a dangerous, snap-jerk, fool. Anyone who says otherwise is trying too hard to save Trump and not hard enough to save the world from him.
 
Guille said:
Because China has over a billion people and no one wants to walk away from that market.
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True. To Dr Dog's point, post 15, supra...The notion that we have not negotiated hard enough or strong enough is an unsupported bald assertion. Do please, Dog, put us in the room with US trade negotiators and show me all instances, using quotes, where the US blinked, caved or otherwise left meat on the table and but for that, had your orange faced fraud been sitting there on those thousands of occasions, things would have been peachy for the great teaming unwashed hoard of ignorant rabble who learned geopolitics and trade at the dirt floor schoolhouse/ creationist museum.

Apologies as I inadvertently quoted the wrong post, Guille.
 
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cawacko said:
His trade talk completely turns me off but I guess it's possible he's playing chess while we're playing checkers.




Is Donald Trump’s Trade Talk Confusing on Purpose?

Some experts see a strategy for approaching negotiations with China and other countries


During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump threatened across-the-board tariffs on Mexico and China. He also warned he would “break” the North American Free Trade Agreement.

But since he has been elected, he has largely shelved that rhetoric and focused instead on convincing some high-profile companies not to send jobs abroad. His trade advisers have been mostly quiet.

What to make of this?

Some investors and trade experts say the uncertainty about Mr. Trump’s trade plans could give him leverage. Trading partners*may fear the U.S. really would engage in trade war if it doesn’t get its way—but also may have some hope that a Trump administration would be open to a reasonable deal.

“The question is to what extent the new administration is really going to increase protectionism, and to what extend the threat of increasing protectionism is a means to negotiate a new bilateral trade agreement,” said Mitch Zacks, who helps manage $4.8 billion at Zacks Investment Management in Chicago.

Mr. Zacks points out the U.S. is less dependent on exports than other major economies, so—in theory at least—could endure a trade disruption better than most of its big trading partners.

When it comes to China, Mr. Trump has “now created an opportunity for a new style of engagement that’s very different from how both the Obama administration and the Bush administration were dealing with China, which may be a good thing,” said Chad Bown, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a Washington think tank that backs freer trade.

Perhaps. But others in Washington worry that Mr. Trump could overplay his hand and push too hard. For instance, Chinese officials reacted heatedly when the president-elect linked the delicate strategic issue of Taiwan relations to efforts to deal with China on trade.

For the moment, markets don’t seem too worried about a trade war. The Dow Jones Industrial Average—chock-full of multinationals and importers that would suffer under big tariffs—is up 9.1% since Nov. 7. (On the other hand, U.S. Steel Corp. has jumped 77%, an indication investors expect the industry to be protected from foreign rivals.)

Mr. Trump is getting advice on trade from steel-industry veterans who have successfully brought antidumping suits against China, South Korea and Japan. While those battles have been politically fraught, none has led to widespread trade disruptions.

It’s unclear whether any of those transition officials, who include former Nucor Corp. CEO Dan DiMicco, will become members of the administration. On Wednesday, Mr. Trump appointed vocal China critic Peter Navarro to lead a new National Trade Council at the White House.

It’s possible the mere presence of such officials at the negotiating table could help win concessions from other countries. “It makes it credible when the person probably would like some protectionism,” Mr. Zacks said. Mr. Trump would need to wrap any concessions into an international framework if he wants partner countries to stick with their commitments under future presidents, Mr. Bown said.

The emphasis on leverage and multiple approaches to dealing with adversaries comes straight from Mr. Trump’s book, “The Art of the Deal.”

“The best thing you can do is deal from strength, and leverage is the biggest strength you can have,” Mr. Trump wrote. “I never get too attached to one deal or one approach.”


http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2016...ps-trade-talk-confusing-on-purpose/?mod=e2twe
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The Donald is playing checkers.
You are popping your bubblegum.
 
cawacko said:
Are you and Ralph the same poster? Talk about verbal masturbation about nothing
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What do you dislike about this comment Rana? Ralph writes dozens upon dozens of words about nothing. Sear did the same thing above. Nothing to do with the question he responded to
 
cawacko said:
What do you dislike about this comment Rana? Ralph writes dozens upon dozens of words about nothing. Sear did the same thing above. Nothing to do with the question he responded to
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I think ol' Ralphie hits the sauce pretty early in the morning.
 
cawacko said:
What do you dislike about this comment Rana? Ralph writes dozens upon dozens of words about nothing. Sear did the same thing above. Nothing to do with the question he responded to
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I don't agree, I thought your comment deserved a groan. It's as easy as that!
 
cawacko said:
Does no one else negotiate the same way he does?
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Why are we ignoring the fact that corporations create all policies in this country, and they are the reason for our trade policies?

If you think Trump ever had any plans on changing the way he and his daughter run their clothing lines, you're crazy. Why did he have to wait until Hillary 'makes it illegal' to import Chinese steel, before he would ever increase his construction costs?

Because he has absolutely no power, nor any plans to renegotiate anything. He's loaded his cabinet with people who kept it from ever happening for decades now.
 
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