Trump tariffs cost US importers a record $6.8B, driving up consumer prices

By James LangfordFOXBusiness
Newest tariffs ‘will start to affect people in stores'

Former JCPenney Chairman and CEO Allen Questrom examines the effect of the most recent round of tariffs on consumers.

Before President Trump began a trade war with China, the U.S. was shipping $1.47 billion more in hardwoods overseas than American companies were importing.

That surplus shrank 12 percent last year as the U.S. imposed double-digit tariffs on Chinese goods, and Beijing responded in kind, according to the Hardwood Federation, and it’s likely to dwindle further this year as the standoff between the two countries heats up.

It’s the opposite of what Trump – who has long complained about massive trade imbalances that favor U.S. trading partners – campaigned on delivering, and it's spurring growing frustration among businesses.

In July alone, U.S importers paid a record $6.8 billion in tariffs, according to Tariffs Hurt the Heartland, an alliance of more than 150 trade groups opposing the duties. The vast majority were on Chinese goods, though Trump's White House also has imposed duties on steel, aluminum, solar panels and washing machines and threatened others.


The resulting surge in costs for supplies is forcing many business owners to choose between raising prices and laying off workers, and the pain is likely to worsen, with Trump boosting tariffs on some $200 billion in goods to 30 percent after Beijing pushed back against previous duties.

“The trade war is already in its second year and with every escalation, the more it permanently impairs confidence,” said Michelle Meyer, an economist with Bank of America. “The unpredictable nature of the trade war will keep businesses, at best, in wait-and-see mode.”

That outlook jibes with the assessments of manufacturers, retailers and some lawmakers who have long warned that the White House risks undermining growth from a 2017 tax cut with the duties, which Trump says are a useful tool in forcing concessions from China.

The country has taken advantage of the U.S. for decades, the president has said repeatedly, and hurting its exports with tariffs will ultimately yield a trade deal that allows American companies broader access to the world’s second-largest economy and ends Beijing’s appropriation of trade secrets as a condition of doing business in the country.

“We’re in a great position,” Trump said at the G-7 summit in Biarritz in late August. “If they don’t make a deal, it’s going to be very bad for China.”

Members of the Hardwood Federation, a Washington-based trade group representing the $210 billion industry, are eager for such an agreement, though they believe it will still take considerable time to rebuild the ground they have lost in China, president Dana Cole told FOX Business.

While a swath of companies have complained about the difficulty of developing and maintaining supply chains -- a process that often takes years -- when they’re uncertain which countries might be affected by future U.S. tariffs, the situation is even more complicated for hardwood firms.


The industry is agricultural, Cole explained, but relies on a crop that can take 30 years to mature as opposed to a single growing season.

“You just don’t know what the prices are going to be, what the tariffs are going to be,” she said. “You don’t know when to buy, and when people are going to be willing to sell.”

Deliveries of red oak and cherry wood – which were popular with Chinese consumers – dropped 36 percent and 28 percent, respectively, in the first six months of this year amid Beijing’s retaliatory tariffs.

“A lot of times, people will say, ‘Why don’t you find different markets for these types of wood that China’s not buying?’” Cole said. The answer is that there are none large enough to absorb such quantities.

Across all industries, U.S. shipments to China have sunk by $615 million since the trade war began, according to Tariffs Hurt the Heartland, whose supporters include the National Retail Federation and the Consumer Technology Association.

Throughout, executives have chafed under the White House’s insistence that China is paying for the tariffs. The decline in value of the yuan doesn’t come close to making up for the duties, they say, which American importers must pay to customs officials when goods arrive in U.S. ports.



The levies paid in July, which were the highest in U.S. history, rose 62 percent from the year before, according to Tariffs Hurt the Heartland.

Learning of changes via 280-character Twitter posts from the president made the changes even confusing for some businesses, since administration offices weren't always up to speed and couldn't answer questions such as whether effective dates applied to shipments already in transit.

“These historic tariff increases are what’s causing significant uncertainty for American employers, leading to less investment, higher prices and fewer job opportunities,” Tariffs Hurt the Heartland spokesman Jonathan Gold said. “You can’t budget for a double-digit tariff increase, and you can’t plan a business when you’re living tweet-by-tweet. .”

 

The good news is, the president has a new rou d one agreement with china that includes protecting intellectual property.

Isn't that a great thing Trump did?

 

Aww heck NO! Trump is crippling the Chinese now. When will it end?

 

Well you certainly retain your title as the biggest fraud on the forum @shootersa. Your link doesn't even fucking address what @69magpie said which is suicides are increasing among farmers right along with farm bankruptcies due to Trump's trade war. All that bullshit you put up addresses is a false claim Corey Booker made comparing them to the Great Depression. Which they can't prove because they don't even have records going back that far.

But this is what is being reported right now.

Amid Trump Tariffs, Farm Bankruptcies And Suicides Rise
https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckj...-bankruptcies-and-suicides-rise/#7e90f1fb2bc8

Wisconsin Farmer Tells Fox News Suicides, Bankruptcy Rising in Rural U.S. Amid China Trade War
https://www.newsweek.com/farmers-su...ng-fox-news-china-trade-war-wisconsin-1428169

Trump’s Trade War Is Killing Small Farmers
A concerning rise in rural suicides, made worse by unnecessary tariffs
https://arcdigital.media/trumps-trade-war-is-killing-small-farmers-1e003803049a

Well it would be a good thing if China actually does it but since they have no track record of actually doing the things they have agreed to I will have to see it to believe it.

And why the fuck should China respect intellectual property rights when Trump sure as fuck doesn't.

I have lost count of all the bands that have had to issue cease and desist orders against Trump and his campaign for ripping off their songs and playing them at his rallies without permission.

R.E.M. considering legal action against Trump for using their songs at rallies
https://thehill.com/homenews/campai...gainst-trump-for-using-their-songs-at-rallies

 

The Iranian regime was horrid to the people of Iraq anyways. A lot of people hate him their.

 

But its not Iran they are protesting now.

Iraq protests swell with youth angry at slow pace of reform

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/01/iraq-protests-swell-with-youth-angry-at-slow-pace-of-reform/

 

LOL......You should ask shootersa how exactly the intellectual property will be enforced!

He is such a dotard!

Thinskin

 

Yes indeed, Shooter read in full both of the links 69 magpie posted.

 

What in the fuck does any of this have to do with Iran? Stick to the topic.

 

Uhh yes, it is Iran they're protesting.

They're protesting against Iranian interference and government corruption.

The general was the one helping to take out these protestors and the one supporting the Shiite militias. Iran has been doing this since the '80s.

 

Actually, dickhead, I clearly know more about it than you do.

Go ahead and make light of innocents dying some more to get the attention you so crave, you piece of shit.

 

Dear lord some of you are morons.

Iran has been trying to install a puppet government in Iraq since the '80s. That was a big reason why the US didn't do what many felt was the right thing and assist in the 1991 Iraq uprising.

The replacement PM was the leader of a Shiite militia supported by Iraq that fought against the US in Iraq.

The fact is though that they are two very varied countries where there is no consensus on anything. Millions hate the government but millions also love it. That's how it works over there.

 

So, lets see about all these failing farms, and farmers killing themselves and how Trumps trade war has devastated those farmers.
First, lets see how income and liabilities and what not have worked for farmers over the last decade;

So, the number of farms has remained fairly stable, but assets and equity have increased pretty much every year. Liabilities haven't changed much either.

So, what's this noise about bankruptcies?
It turns out, pretty much false to blame it on Trump's trade war.
The chart below shows that farm income started to decline in 2014, fell more sharply in 2015, and continued to decline in 2016. During the 2016 growing season, increased plantings, combined with good weather, led to record U.S. farm production and added to large stocks on hand for many major commodities due to multiple consecutive years of high production levels. Slowing global demand, a strengthening dollar, and large inventories depressed crop as well as animal and animal product prices and contributed to the decline in 2016 net cash farm income. Incomes in 2017 and 2018 are forecast to remain near or just below 2016 levels.


So, now lets drill into farm debt;
Farm sector debt has reached levels near the peak levels of the late 1970s and early 1980s. From 1994 to 2016, inflation-adjusted farm debt increased by 79 percent, or 3 percent per year on average. ERS forecasts farm debt to increase 1 percent in 2017 and then decline 1 percent in 2018. Total farm sector debt in 2016 is 8 percent ($34 billion) below the peak in 1980 in inflation-adjusted terms.

Yet again we see that financial problems for US farms actually started before Trump's administration or his trade war. If anything, things have improved under Trump.


So, we can also look into that highly touted Soy Bean crisis, or exports of whatever floats yer boat, but Shooter thinks the above data puts to rest any idea that Trump's trade war has devastated farms.

So, onto suicides caused by the (now debunked) financial crisis in farming;
Most articles posted here rely at least in part on a CDC report in 2016 that found that the highest suicide rates were in farming, fishing and forestry.
The data the report was based on came from surveys in 17 states for 2012.
That report has since been retracted since the data for farming included not only farm owners and managers, but farm employees.
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6525a1.htm?s_cid=mm6525a1_w

In fact, from 1992 to 2001 175 members of the farming, fishing and forestry community committed suicide. Note, neither BLS or CDC break down the suicides just by farming, so we need to remember that this is for 3 industries, not just farming.
https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/cwc/an-analysis-of-workplace-suicides-1992-2001.pdf
Now, from 2011 to 2018 these are the workplace suicide deaths for each year nationwide. in farming, fishing, and forestry.
250 249 282 280 229 291 275 304

We know from another table that 155 of the 2017 suicides were for agriculture workers, and 158 committed suicide in 2018, but again, the numbers are not broken out for farm owners; it includes all farm employees.
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cfoi.pdf

So, the bottom line is, the anecdotal stories and issues in the Forbes and Newsweek articles posted are not proof that a) the farm industry has suffered because of the Trump trade war, and b) that as a result, farmers are committing suicide. When the facts are examined, we can see the Forbes and Newsweek stories for what they are; pundit attacks on Trump. And once one looks at the factual numbers from government agriculture, Labor stats and CDC, one can go back and read the articles and understand that when numbers are cited, they do not support the points in the article.

Now, since the trade agreement has been demonized, lets see what agriculture thinks about it
https://www.agriculture.com/markets...ade-agreement-has-a-lot-of-teeth-analyst-says

"Over the weekend, we had more clarification on the U.S.-China trade agreement, with the U.S. scaling back less of the tariffs than originally thought and the dollar amount China committed to buy from the U.S. broader than just the agriculture numbers.​

Trump tweeted that the 25% tariffs on $250B of China goods ($50B) is still in place, and only half (7.5%) of the $120B punitive tariffs will come off ($9B). Also the U.S. cancelled implementation of the 15% tariff on the $156B scheduled for December ($23.4B), so the total tariff reduction on China was $32.4B. ​

The U.S. still has $59B in tariffs on China (essentially $5B/month), and $32.4B to be used as “snapback” tariffs in case the Chinese do not honor the agreement.

This agreement specifies China to buy $16B more than 2017 ($26B) of U.S. farm goods for a total of $40B in 2020. It also has pledged to move it up to $50B in time, but that will depend on factors such as availability and price competitiveness as well as Chinese needs.

Essentially, China has to make the U.S. “happy” with its import progress.​

More broad than ag, they committed to importing $200B more of U.S. goods across all sectors, with Trade Representative Lighthizer indicating Sunday specific amounts were attached to the sectors manufacturing, agriculture, services, and energy. I repeat because of its importance – $32.4B tariffs hang over China’s head if they do not honor this agreement. And $59B more hang over them to continue to negotiate. This tariff hammer is likely to strongly encourage China to comply – something they are not used to doing. So, naysayers to this agreement who say it has no teeth will probably be wrong – by $32.4B or $59B or both. ​

This agreement has a lot of teeth!​

The Chinese have incentive to continue to negotiate on the other terms in “Phase 2” and “Phase 3” with the U.S. to try to get the other $59B U.S. tariffs reduced – exactly the situation the U.S. wanted. It seems to me that the only thing that has brought China to the negotiating table is the hammer of tariffs – something past U.S. negotiators did not see. ​

In many ways, you have to admire the Chinese pragmatism and business acumen toward negotiations. For years, China has duped U.S. policy with all our high-handed free trade multinationals rhetoric, essentially ripping business right out of U.S. manufacturing hands (like Apple, the third-largest world company making all iPhones in China even though they were invented in the U.S.).​

But, if you watched the Chinese news conference Friday and read between the lines, it looked more like an ESPN interview of the losing locker room after a sporting event. China obviously wasn’t happy, and expressed that sentiment in its complaints over the deal. But it agreed anyway to a trade deal because it was better than not doing one (by $32.4B/year). Ironically, that proves all the coalition world trade people wrong as the U.S. certainly can unilaterally force China to make agreements: You just have to have a large tariff bomb hanging over their heads.​

These are huge benefits to agriculture; we may look back at the past week as perhaps the biggest moment in agriculture the past five years. The U.S. is also finalizing a trade agreement with Japan that is huge for U.S. agriculture, and further agreements are expected with the U.K., which just rubber-stamped Brexit by a huge voting margin, which now allows a trade agreement with the U.S.
​

https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/US-China-Agreement-Fact-Sheet.pdf
And the agreement includes very important language that forces China to crack down on trade mark infringement, transfer of technology (previously, if a company ...... say, Apple, wanted to sell products to or in China, they were forced to include much or all of the technology, or "intellectual property" to China. This is why even though Apple developed its cell phone in the US, they are ALL manufactured in China.

Thinskin took a personal shot at Shooter (Dotard indeed!) questioning how protection of IP could be enforced; $32.4 Billion or $59 Billion in tariffs is a pretty good start, wouldn't you say, @thinskin ?

 

And now, back to Iran;
The latest news is that protesters continue to protest, but now some influential Iranians are stepping up and throwing their support to the protesters. To understand how important this is, many of those influential Iranians have their station in life only because the current regime let them have their fortune. To now turn on the government, risking not only their station in Iranian society, but their very lives and the lives of their families, says a LOT.

Shooters Iranian friend was the son of an Iranian government official under the Shah when the Iranian revolution took place. He literally went from a life of pampered luxury to running for his life with what he could carry in his pockets in one day.

 

The bigoted dotard went to all that trouble for thinskin after he was relegated to ignore for being so fucking dull!

You do not enforce IP regulations through tarrrifs.......nog steeds en dotard!

Thinskin

 

One of the things most Iran and middle east experts were saying immediately after Trump assassinated Soleimani was he had no idea how terrible he fucked up because no matter how bad he thought Soleimani was at least he was sane and kept the lid on both the Quds and all the Iran backed militias around the middle east and whoever replaced him was going to be way worse and a lot more hard line and dangerous. And of course the experts are right.

Iran's new Quds leader vows 'manly' revenge for Soleimani killing
Esmail Qaani says the US killed his predecessor 'in a cowardly way' as he promised to hit back 'in a manly fashion'.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/01/trump-impeachment-trial-battle-rules-200121130249052.html

 

So yeah, let a terrorist continue to kill our troops and attack our embassies cause he isn't as crazy as his replacement.

If qaani wants to try, he's welcome to do that. He'll find out what a bad idea that is.

But say, thanks to rear admiral butt nugget for exposing to us exactly where his sentiments are.

 

Stop chickenhawking. You aren't going to do anything so quit grandstanding.

And what exactly do you think we've been doing for decades? We've been supporting whoever seemed to have a better grip on their country or the region. That's been our strategy all along to prevent WMDs from getting into the hands of terror groups.

If we were dumb enough to interfere in Iran, terror groups is exactly what would take over there just like everywhere else we forced or assisted regime change without an actual plan for who would take over.

It started in Afghanistan and Iraq under Bush the lesser and continued in Libya, etc under Obama. That's why Bush's daddy never tried to overthrow Saddam. He knew there was nobody they could actually install because the Middle East is a complex place largely thanks to false borders that should have never been drawn.

The Assad regime was one of the biggest things Republicans who were not President most used to grandstand for the second term of Obama's presidency, and Democrats and EU leaders joined them in their sabre rattling despite none of them having any actual clue how to replace him.

Enough already.

 

Wait. Thinskin thinks shooters post was just for thinskin??

Well, thinskin, it wasn't. Please put shooter back on ignore. Thats a good lad, go back to your shit shoveling.

 

Whatever gets you off.



Wait.




Consensual sex?? Really? No drugs or alcohol or money involved??

*shooter couldn't help the jab. Talk about wide open asking for it .........