Whaaattt?

Trump mentioned the imbalance between European cars in America and American cars in Europe, despite his own advisors apparently telling him it's because they are generally too big, too expansive and use too much petrol.

 

Yep, but somehow, some of the big ones have made it to Cuba.

 

Plenty of Ford vehicles still about over here and they were originally American. No idea who is said to own the name/make now but maybe Trump needs to question previous policies in the US.
He gives the impression of being unable to understand that just because a product ( whatever it is ) is American, others will not automatically want to buy it. A somewhat naive assumption on his part.
Perhaps this thread should be re named......... Trump - Fresh or Frozen

 

@redstar - most American cars in Cuba arrived with the Mafia Dons in the 50s and 60s and are still running thanks to the ingenuity of the locals after all the trade embargoes prevented them getting spare parts.

Those same cars and their successors are far too big and wide for the road systems in Europe which were first designed with horses and carts in mind so towns, villages and old city centres would be inaccessible, even in places that don't have emissions zones where your gas guzzlers would be banned anyway.

 

Most ford's in the UK are British or European made.
As I understand it Trump has no problem with foreign companies setting up factories in the US and using us labour it's imports he wants to cane.

 

Trump is just copying what the EU was set up for - To protect internal trade with tariffs on imports. Did not work for cheap Chinese steel.

 

The road I live on is an old drovers’ road and it has a Passing Place marked out at one point. But the place marked out is too short and too narrow to be used by modern cars. It just collects litter these days. From The Guardian the other day….

 

Bought some extra stocks last two days at the downward trendline, now going back up. Yeah.

@Obelix-Vendée , yep we have some wide roads here and very long. Some interesting roads that can run totally from East to West seeing neat areas of the country. In contract, if in West Virginia driving the mountains there are turns which can be taxing, some areas with run away truck areas built in. School buses have to stop and back up to make a turn. In my area some roads are paved from Indian Trails along the creeks, and signs saying no trucks etc.

 

@pete @waterbut EU trade tariifs are indeed designed to protect EU industry and agriculture but also to ensure that standards of production, quality and safety of the goods plus labour conditions are level within Europe and that nothing that contravenes those rules gets in, hence no GM food imports, no hormone fed beef, standards on medicines, cars, electrical goods, toys and all the other stuff.

The USA has had negotiated trade deals with the EU, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Japan etc and has suddenly made one-sided decisions to impose tariffs to try and redress the US trade imbalances. No negotiations and little warning. This is not intelligent.

As well as tanking the US economy by making imports expensive and thus raising the cost of living for every American, he has not considered the fact that US companies deliberately exported jobs to the far east and southern American continent in the last 3 or 4 decades precisely to benefit from cheap labour and fewer, if any, restrictions on workplace safety and regulations plus quality of materials. Fine that he wants those jobs and all that production back in the USA but the factory capacity will take years to build and the workforce will need training and will expect higher wages and better conditions so costs will go up. In the meantime, shortages, price hikes and still no job security for Americans in the USA.

 

I for one am not an economic major in college. Just looking forward to seeing how this plays out. But looks like lots of countries are wanting to negotiate, sort of like they know they were wrong all this time taking advantage of USA.

 

EU countries have also exported jobs to the Far East, most clothing that most people wear is from Bangladesh, India, China and so on, likewise our heavy industry, its been going on for years its a Western problem, we like cheap stuff made in sweat shops and lower working standards than we expect.

I think The EU prides itself on its farming standards, but that is just a blind of protectionism, I dont see people dropping like flies in Australia or New Zealand or the USA for that matter from dodgy food.
The old chlorinated chicken argument doesn't make sence, I probably get more chlorine from my tap water or a swim in a pool than from a washed chicken.

As for GM crops, I dont know of anyone who has died because of them and if it reduces the use of pesticides who knows?

The fact it makes things more expensive for the American population is of no interest to me, that is for them to sort out, they voted him in.
I find it very strange that you are concerned about Americans.

 

If other countries are so easily and consistently taking advantage of the US, I wonder why we all persist in still describing the US as a world power/ the world's most powerful country ? Doesn't sound quite right somehow.

 

@pete animal husbandry standards are higher in the EU and UK. I don't want to eat meat form animals that have been mistreated or neglected or fattened on soya beans like cattle in Argentina are now. USA beef is full of hormones that make humans fat and men grow boobs. USA chickens are battery raised but the EU and UK have legislated agianst this now tho the EU was slower to impose it.

GM crops are bred to be resistant to glyphosate which means farmers can use extra strength sprays to kill weeds and not harm their crops but we now have glyphosate in our bodies and water courses and the farmers using the extra strength sprays have all sorts of health problems including unusual cancers and natal deformities so I'll take my crops grown as naturally as possible thank you.

Pesticides are another matter entirely and far more are allowed in greater strengths in the USA than in the EU or UK where farmers are paid to do set aside and not spray to encourage wildlife.

EU protectionism is also about consumer safety and public health which is as it should be.

American tariffs are most likely going to hurt Americans more than anyone else and if, as I hope and expect, other countries draw closer and simply direct their trade agreements between themselves, the effects will be long lasting and detrimental to US prosperity.

I myself do not buy clothes made in the far east because of the sweat shops and I avoid all Chinese products when I can. Not everything is clearly labelled but I spent months recently hunting down a new potato masher that isn't Chinese.

I buy European whenever I can, including cars, fruit, veggies, meat and poultry and make most of my own clothes using natural fabrics - fit better, last longer so ecological and cheaper in the long run.

Did you know that the UK, Denmark, Finland, France and Germany are among several countries now warning people not to visit the USA because of changes to behaviour in US Customs and Immigration? They've bullied, mistreated, detained and rejected tourists for not having a simple male or female gender on their passport?

 

So you only buy stuff produced in the EU when you possibly can?
Isn't that is what Trump is trying to achieve in the US?

Not sure where you get all your info from.

Farmers in the UK and probably Europe spray glyphosate on wheat to kill it off before harvesting as far as I know.

 

But don't, whatever you do, buy British…