Russia-Ukraine War (continuing)

The one good thing about Trump is, you can be in a very heated argument with him one minute, and 5 minutes later he will call you and act like there was no argument.

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Mod Edit: Warned for breach of forum charter

Thanks ,yes you are right. They choose not to vote. Don't think they would be pleased if others sat on the fence if the vote was about Ukrainian territory. Either you are pro occupation or against. Or for political reasons ,have no opinion.

JJust Because of elevated imports ahead of the tariffs, exports add to GDP, imports reduce it - this will wash out

Didn’t see any bowing today.

A temporary import surge may affect quarterly GDP (by the way its incredibly disrputive for supply chains; staffing up, night-shifts, unplanned overtime, that goes all the way to initial suppliers of raw materials to manufacturuers and retailers on the end of it, plus tying up cash in excess inventory, etc.), but the broader issue is structural.

Trump's trade wars have already disrupted supply chains even though he has (with exception oif China) bluffed so far, look at the boycotts people are posting about in Canada and holidays to the USA being cancelled. When it finally happens it will have increased costs for businesses, and will lead to retaliatory tariffs that will hurt U.S. exports. The manufacturing sector suffered, and long-term investment uncertainty slowed growth. These effects don’t just ‘wash out’—they compound over time.

Beyond this, the USA is near full employment now; there arent armies of people just waiting to enter new economic sectors that they dont right now because they cant compete.

Further, slapping a blanket 25% tariff on something right away is counter-productive.

• Lets say a European import is sold for $100 in the USA now
• a US firm could potentially only sell a heterogeneous product for $110,
• increasing the European product to $125 with tariffs may increase sales of the USA $110 product
• however the consumer is now paying an extra $10 for a product that may be inferior
• the Euro product being $125 will also inevitably encourage the USA competitor to increase their price to say $120 to pocket some additional margin
• again making the US consumer worse off

Issue is the Americans seem to think the exporting company has to pay the tariff to the US government, they dont seem to realise its the importer who pays it and then passes it on to the consumer.

Don’t they give Trump, Vance etc airtime all the time?

They are “Russian government people” these days

@johnnyskeleton "The first rule of mediation is that you are neutral and don't take a side. Trump acknowledged that by saying he didnt criticise Putin because then the negotiation wouldnt work. Yet he constantly, thoughtlessly and unashamedly criticises Zelensky and claims him standing up for himself means that he doesnt want peace. Trump clearly therefore understands the rules of being an impartial mediator, and has in one single speech shown the world where his interests truly lie."

Now the world knows how Trump behaves behind closed doors because he just had a closed-door session with no doors. He is a divisive bully and a Putin poodle.

Brian Glenn - a notorious moron - asking about Zelensky's dress attire highlights the absurdity of that meeting, Trump's administration and their ties with Russia.

That question removes any doubt that this wasn't a school yard ambush.

Europeans will probably step in to the breach now and provide coordinated support to repel the Russians.

I'm not convinced Europe has either the capacity or the will for this

You obviously never had a kick or a bite from a donkey!