any thoughts on Trump's promise to reinstate tariffs on imported cars?

[0rganism]

seems to me this is his first lean towards a general election strategy.
he's already got the racist vote locked up, now he's playing for UAW and Michigan EVs.
and he can make Jeb look stupid in the process.

[truebluegreen]

1. I doubt if Trump's thought process is coherent enough

to produce a strategy for appealing to the general population: he thinks they already love him, just like women and Latinos do.

That said, I think tariffs on imported goods would be great. Anything we can build here we should build here; support local manufacturing and to hell with the profits of multinational corporations.

[Whiskeytide]

15. I gotta disagree with you at least a little...

It seems obvious that Trump is actually a pretty smart guy. He's incredibly arrogant, rude and a bully, - and he has the social grace and manners of a feces slinging chimp - but I don't think we can say his thought process isn't coherent. He's making the GOP and the media look like complete buffoons - and I think that is exactly what he is trying to do.

And I don't think HE believes women and Latinos love him. But he's ratings smart. If he says that on the TV enough, some percentage of the people will accept it as fact. He's playing those numbers.

I think he knows that, this early in the primary race, it is ONLY about name recognition and ratings. Later, when policy starts to matter as more people start to pay a little attention, his strategy might not continue to work - but for now he's the smartest clown, and he's behind the wheel.



Interestingly - and in further proof of my hypothesis -
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2068645/Monkeys-throwing-poo-Its-actually-sign-INTELLIGENCE.html

[ProfessorGAC]

2. Define Imported

Buick has been building cars in Oakville Ontario for decades. Our 1995 Regal was built there.

Not sure how simple this would be, but it's not unlike a simpleton like Trump to think everything is simple and two dimensional

[stevenleser]

12. Good point. This isn't that simple. The question is, will that matter.

With the kind of person willing to pull the lever for a Republican candidate, I doubt it.

[Blue_Tires]

3. Nope, because he isn't getting elected anyway...

[3catwoman3]

4. What makes of cars does...

..."I'm really rich" Trump drive/own?

[brush]

5. The tarriff on imported cars is actually a sound idea

Other countries impose stiff tariffs on imported goods. The US, hardly at all, which is one reason why we've lost so many good manufacturing jobs to offshoring.

A US company can built cars or TVs, clothes, all kinds of goods, overseas at much lower wage costs than here then import goods previously made here and sell them at a much higher profit even with the costs of shipping because we don't impose tariffs on the goods.

Thom Hartman has talked about this many times on his radio show. We really need to re-evaluate our policy on this as it leaves companies still making goods here at a disadvantage, not to mention the American workforce which, as we all know, has lost millions of jobs in the last decades because of this very thing.

Of course the repugs don't want this as their corporate clients like the set up but if tariffs were placed on "American" cars coming in, now duty free, from Mexico that leveled the cost playing field, suddenly it would occur to car manufacturers that it's no longer cost effective to ship factories and jobs overseas.

They could keep all that right here and make the same profit margin because of the tariff.

Another thing that would make American cars made in America more competitive would be national health car for everyone, include auto workers. Right now American car makers have to factor in about $1500 per car because of healthcare costs they have to foot. Foreign car makers don't have that cost because most have single payer healthcare in their countries that they don't have to pay in benefits to their workers.

We need a lot of things done to become competitive and bring jobs back here.

[MurrayDelph]

17. I stopped listening to Hartman

the time he was willing to trade birthright citizenship for tariffs (which seem to be his main issue)

[brush]

18. Birthright citizenship of course should never be on any bargaining table . . .

but that doesn't mean import tariffs is a bad idea.

Too many good jobs have been off-shored because we have no tariffs to protect our manufacturers price competitiveness.

[MurrayDelph]

19. As a retired (i.e. laid off) SysAdmin

who watched my colleagues being replaced by consultants on H1B visas who had no idea what they were doing (but were cheaper), I agree with you.

But tarriffs seemed to be the only thing he talked about, and the time he suggested trading them for birthright citizenship was the final straw

. I won't even watch Brunch with Bernie anymore.

[brush]

20. i don't get his postition on birthright citizenship at all . . .

especially since he's on the progressive side of most issues.

It is disappointing.

[Agnosticsherbet]

6. In 2014, the US and the WTO won a trade dispute against China's illeagl tariffs on US made atuos.

So how will he deal with the WTO, who, along with the US, has fought to end tariffs as barriers against free trade.

Does he understand what he is saying, and what that implies about US Trade policy under a Trump Administration. (Chills the heart, doesn't it.)

I think tariffs are a good idea that can be used to protect Amercan jobs against foreign manufacturers who use cheap labor and other practices to give their exports an unfair advantage. What would he do if every country that manufacturers cars raises their own tariffs against US made automobiles.

And as was stated in an earlier post, how will he define a US made automobile?
Are Japanese manufacturers who set up manufacturing plants in the US foregin made or American made?
Since many parts are now made in foreign countries, do we put tariffs against parts manufacturers in foregin countries whose parts are installed on "American automobiles."

Like many politicians, I think Trump says what he thinks sounds good to low information voters. I question whether, (a) he means it; and (b) he understands the repricussions.

[0rganism]

9. i think he would *promise* to ignore the WTO ruling

"they'll do what we tell them to do" will be his mantra, because he only knows how to boss people around
i'm not going to speculate on how he'd define "US made" -- that's actual policy, i don't think he operates on that level. he'd probably say something like "i'll get my team of experts -- who are the SMARTEST people in the world besides ME -- to set up the details for our new import tariffs."

[Agnosticsherbet]

10. And if they don't, he will fire them.

[pampango]

7. If he also eliminates corporate taxes and pushes 'right-to-work', tariffs won't help. Coolidge and

Hoover tried the high tariffs, low taxes approach. It didn't work for the 99% - not that Calvin and Herbert cared about that. We had historic levels of inequality that we have still not matched even in modern times when the 1% gets practically everything. FDR had to go in the opposite direction - New Deal, higher taxes, lower tariffs.

Sometimes I think that Donald is a reincarnation of a 1920's republican - restrict immigration, raise tariffs, lower taxes on corporations and the rich, deregulate, weaken unions, etc. The '20's republicans blamed foreigners (immigrants and workers) for our problems and catered to the elite with their domestic policies. That is consistent with what Donald is trying to push.

The fact that those policies enriched the elite of the era and did nothing for the middle class probably means nothing to him. Or maybe he is well aware of who benefits from them and he is quite happy.

[0rganism]

11. agreed - Trump does seem to be running an "old school" conservative campaign

Coolidge and Hoover won, so maybe he figures a postmodern take on their positions will get him elected too.

[jwirr]

8. Can we even do tariffs any more? Don't we have some internetional

trade agreements regarding tariffs?

[roscoeroscoe]

13. Don't bother with reality

That's so old school. Trumpers don't need no stinkin' reality.

It's gonna be Huuuge!

[jwirr]

16. Oh, I forgot. Getting old you know.

[DirkGently]

14. Again, Trump is turning Republican canon on its head.

I frankly don't know if such a policy is wise, or possible under international agreement. But it certainly isn't in alignment with mega-corporations' preference for "free trade," which boils down to exporting jobs to markets with cheaper labor and fewer environmental protections.

I think he's winging it. Pandering to the most ridiculous notions of the base (Mexican immigrant "rapists" and giant walls) but undermining them in unexpected ways. He stood on stage and refused to promise not to run as an independent. Supported Planned Parenthood and noted it's not primarily an abortion provider.

He's winging it, but he's still crushing the other candidates. Says a lot about the state of that party.

What's fascinating to me about Trump's success with the Republican base is that a lot of what he says flies in the face of their lockstep talking points.

He is using the Republican preference for a pugnacious attitude over poilcy to screw with them.

He's creating chaos in their ranks. As long is he isn't somehow ACTUALLY ELECTED, this is good for everyone.