Trump’s Tweet
Decoupling Dispute
Trump says U.S. has the Option of ‘Decoupling’ from China, but that contradicts his trade chief.
On Wednesday, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told lawmakers that “I don’t think [decoupling is] a policy or reasonable policy option at this point.” Lighthizer told House lawmakers that the U.S.-China trade deal is on track.
Decoupling Silliness
One look at the the above chart shows that Trump proposes reducing a $350 billion deficit with China.
But Trump’s claim actually goes beyond that.
US Cross Trade With China
Cross trade with China is close to $600 billion per year.
“Complete decoupling” realistically means no dependence on China, imports or exports.
Even if Trump misspoke, and he really means a trade deficit of zero, not even his trade rep agrees.
Mish
The Democrats have completely sold out to China. They are in China’s pocket and put China’s interests ahead of the US. They love China, because China is still communist. They used to love the Soviet Union when it was communist, but when they rejected communism and adopted capitalism, the Democratic party declared war on them. The message is clear, Democrat = Communist…
A complete decoupling is entirely possible, and very quickly. It’s called war. The only question is when. Sooner is better. Wait and both sides become more powerful.
The only viable alternatives:
The US will follow in the Soviets’ footsteps to Alternative 2: First go to Afghanistan to get reminded of how nothing but freedom and basic competence, enabled a bunch of ragtag colonists to kick the butt of what was presumed the superpower of their day. Then slink into sullen, belligerent, occasionally destructive-just-to-remind-the-rest-that-“we”-still-have-bombs-even-if-nothing-else sideline status.
The only seedcorn, built up over centuries, that the Fed enabled, incompetent at absolutely everything, welfare recipient, Free Shit Army who owns and runs everything in this country by now, won’t be able to burn (I hope.…), is the nuclear stockpile. So, even once America is nothing more then the new Argentina (about middle of next week, the way things are looking…), it will still, like Russia, be able to punch above it’s weight in military, hence ultimately many other, matters, on account of that stockpile. For quite some time.
In every other matter; freer, better governed places, like Communist China, will increasingly just stop caring about the loudmouth village idiot has-been, though. As it’s not as if his incompetent self, is able to contribute much to anything of importance going forward.
A while back DJT tweeted about making China pay for covid (several hundred $billion, iirc).
I’m waiting … patiently …
The question is over what time frame. We could not decouple from China by the end of the year. We could do it in twenty years, ten if we pushed it. We know how to make everything we get from China, but we can’t match them on cost when they have no EPA, no endangered species act, no OSHA, and no Fair Labor Standards Act.
The US made a decision to export its pollution to where it’s out of sight, or was. Most of the plastic in the Pacific Ocean is from China. About 80% of the mercury in raining down in Western Washington Is from Chinese coal plants. The pollution isn’t as far out of sight as hoped, but it’s better than having it here, and we still get the low prices.
Love Trump! This should’ve been said by Obama and every president before him. Trump leads by rhetoric. We need to bring jobs back to America.
Yes let’s have no more antibiotics starting tomorrow, and most other medicines (all imported). And doing without all those rare earth minerals, etc. Put at end to hi-tech manufacturing and create insurmountable problems producing military gear.
I could imagine saying you want to be self-reliant and work towards programs to realize that, but decoupling is kind of like cutting off your nose to spite your face, catastrophically stupid.
My kid requires hydrocortisone pills to live. We always stock up. Got a six month supply. Pharmacies here cannot get it right now. It all comes from China. Hopefully the supply chain disruption ends within six months or my Glock will have to start filling prescriptions to keep my kid alive.
“It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘decoupling’ is.”
One striking problem for us Brits is that Trump weakens our claims that the UK can successfully decouple from the EU (in the bits we want to decouple from) & P.M. Boris looks even more of a prat for relying on Trump to reconnect with us.
How can successful decouple from the EU be weakened when other countries still want to do business with the UK? If anything, the UK has shown the EU is holding back its members. EU members don’t need the EU to exist.
Mish et al, we hold two principles that are inconsistent with each other. First free trade, ignoring counter party practices such as unbridled pollution, abusive labor practices, and horrific human rights record. On the other hand we claim to have standards about the very same aspects.
However, shunning a counter party does have unintended consequences. Often the abused workers are impacted, less so the ruling party. This might impact negatively our own economy. Etc. One would hope that open interaction might affect positively the other party. And, there is the argument that trade reduces the odds of a violent conflict.
Then again, conducting business with a shady party might lead to some of the unacceptable aspects to trickle or bleed over into our society. This alone might be the heaviest argument against such trade.
Free US businesses to trade with China, regardless of whatever tariffs and trade restrictions China imposes. US businesses should be able to trade on their own terms. Uphold the principles of Liberty. Let China do as it wishes. Let US citizens do as they wish. What a concept!
Trump’s deranged followers may believe everything he says but they are largely non college educated males. Unlikely any sane individual actually believes anything that comes out of his mouth. So much winning.
More like did not finish high school educated males. Then again, his public speeches were analyzed and “Trump clocked in around mid-fourth grade, the worst since Harry Truman, who spoke at nearly a sixth-grade level.”
I forget … are we using tea leaves or goat entrails to decipher Trump’s meaning now?
A “reasonable Trump” would be an oxymoron, would it not?
The Republican president said he believed both China and Ukraine should look into 2020 presidential hopeful Biden and his businessman son Hunter, and described the impeachment probe as “crap.”
Trump told reporters at the White House, “And by the way, likewise, China should start an investigation into the Bidens. Because what happened in China is just about as bad as what happened with Ukraine.”
Trump and his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, have offered no evidence for their assertions of corruption regarding former Vice President Biden, a leading contender for the Democratic Party nomination to run against Trump.
Questioned about whether he had asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to investigate, Trump said, “I haven’t, but it’s certainly something we can start thinking about.”
Trump’s obviously talking about the Space Force.
In the future, when the ONLY thing left from the former US is the Space Force, we would have achieved true decoupling from China, heck the whole human race.
Houston, we have lift off!!!
So much winning!!!
Space Force is an effort to make sure the Chinese do not establish bases on the moon.
He’s squirming, caught with his hand in the cookie jar, he’s going to break the jar (or at least pretend he’s going to). He and his family have depended on favors from China for years. And it is clear that the US under his leadership has backed down repeatedly over issues like territorial claims and concentration/re-education camps.
…According to an unredacted passage shown to Vanity Fair by a source, Trump’s ask is even more crudely shocking when you read Trump’s specific language. “Make sure I win,” Trump allegedly told Xi during a dinner at the G20 conference in Osaka, Japan last summer. “I will probably win anyway, so don’t hurt my farms.… Buy a lot of soybeans and wheat and make sure we win.”…
The problem is, like a $5 (ahem) he’s willing to sell himself to so many people that they are getting nervous about what they’ll catch.
Actually it is not about his family. He will always know how to make money. His Heart is into doing the right thing in Negotiations. Clinton’s, and Bushes gave technologies away, & orchestraded the Trades thru their networks like the only way to buy or sell was thru the approval of Senior Bush from George Bush Senior Brother’s approval. Recall how treason was commited by breaking Defense Protocals on landing the Spy Plane in China in 2001. What we have now is a War going on in Government Agencies as Planned and talked about with various noted events like the Movie “Dead Zone”. The world is not going back to way it was. Crash and Burn is coming but the USA will Rase a Better World due to all the Technologies that are kept from Us. Recall President Trump’s Uncle John Was part of the Secret Programs that held the keys to triumph over the Monopolies Trusts we have against the People of The USA. Trump knows a lot more that you, and Christopher knows at this point in Time. Support Trump, or be Nano Chipped into a Mindless Robotic Slave. Ask Dannion Brinkley about the Chip technolotgy back in the 70’s when he was a mastermind of operations for the C-I-A?? Enjoy or not!!!
DiD You go Off YouR Meds as You Wrote this?
Idiot promises for idiot voters.
Hey, it’s America in the Fed era…
Why not just do a massive first strike against China? After all, what is the point of having nuclear weapons if you are not going to use them?
Asking for a friend.
Is your friend Madeleine Albright?
‘Powell wrote in his memoir. Albright, he wrote, “asked me, `What’s the point of having this superb military that you’re always talking about if we can’t use it?’ I thought I would have an aneurysm.” Powell said Albright was treating American GIs as “toy soldiers.”‘
Do you know that you can kill yourself in so many other ways?
Is your friend Edward Teller?
It is certainly possible, the US could seal its border and trade with no one and still continue, it has enough resources I think to at least get by, if not even improve in some ways. I mean (at least once subsidy cheques run out) there will be many millions looking for some kind of work and everyone seems concerned about that ?
The US has enough natural resources. But almost completely lacks any productive capital. There’s not a power tool nor nail nor nail-manufacturing-equipment made here. And noone has the remotest idea how to make even a half decent anything for less than a NASA budget.
So complete decoupling means subsistence farming.
Which may well be an improvement on what we currently have. But only because subsistence farmers don’t produce enough loot to keep the thief band who currently own and run the entire country in their accustomed splendor. Hence reducing their ability to harass and rob the productive superiors their entire existence is predicated on crassly robbing.
I somehow doubt the undifferentiated mass of utterly incompetent leeches comprising the entirety of Trump’s circle of associates, will be too happy about a development which leaves them starving to death and powerless; just because they all are, to a person, far to stupid to be able to feed themselves were it not for the theft rackets, though…..
It’s an election year and he has to campaign on something. The 2016 promises are all out the window so this could be a suitable replacement.
As an added bonus it turns attention overseas, away from our bevy of domestic problems.