So Chinese President Xi was correct that the Trump would blink first?
Of course, China says that the Trump tariffs must be rolled back before talks begin.
I wonder if Xi is waiting until the US domestic situation gets bad enough to force Trump into a big concession?
intercst
TIG seems to be all about the deal, so he can brag about being the best dealmaker in the world. His first âpeaceâ proposal for Ukraine reeked of âmaking a deal at any costâ as it was a total surrender to Putin and cramming it down Zelenskyâs throat. So now, the war goes on, but he has a âdealâ.
Iâm confident TIG will call anything a âwinâ.
The CBS ânewsâ talked to the operator of a US company making steel pipe. The operator said 25% tariff on imported steel isnât enough. He wants the rate doubled, or tripled.
Steve
âI wonder if Xi is waiting until the US domestic situation gets bad enough to force Trump into a big concession?â
Seriously ???
Of Course he will wait for the US Domestic Situation to get bad enough to force Trump into a big,bad concession, lol.
Covid lockdown was not that long ago. At the time we did not know if it was life or death. And plenty of Americans could still not be bothered with doing what was good for our Society. A good sized percentage acted like any inconvenience was an internal act of war. And we are supposed to believe that now the American Public will batten down the hatches, because Trump says itâs got to be done ??? Color me skeptical,lol. I truly hope Iâm wrong, but I do not see the American Public being able to outlast the Chinese Public in regards to dealing with shortages.
Like I said, hope Iâm wrong. Trump walked the plank, and dragged all of us with him. Maybe this all goes away with just a few minor scrapes and bruises. But Iâd bet that the Chinese can endure hardship better than Americans.
Sorry, intercst, I should have got that was sarcasm, lol.
TIG is the worst negotiator ever to hold the office of president, at least in my life time.
His supporters say his practice of starting big and them coming down is a tactic. It can be, but TIG started off big then immediately started making exceptions and pauses. In other words, China and other countries are getting concessions without giving up anything in return. Worse, TIG said tariffs would be lower. Thatâs great for China! They know the US isnât committed to the number.
Xi hasnât moved any of his pieces yet, because he doesnât have to. The longer he waits, the better the deal gets. When the US comes down enough, he can start negotiating and make the deal even better for him.
Astonishing display of weakness from a US president.
That Trump is thought of by half the USAian public as either a good negotiator, shrewd businessman, and/or expert in economics shows the utter triumph of flimflammery ripening into social media over anything like âthe Newsâ. Even local newspaper âSociety Pagesâ never fell for any of that, but lordy lordy did the âpeopleâ, mostly due to the power of Trumpâs starring role as a businessman in The Apprentice.
Barf. We need people to wise up or die. Sigh.
Pretty basic one at that. Trouble is, you have to work off your leverage, and heâs not in a strong position. He installs a ridiculous tariff for the Chinese, and others, to sell here, paid for by the American citizens. Chinese mad, citizens mad, where ya gonna go?
Trumpâs talk is cheaper than most.
He is playing the nice guy. Delaying China in some regards. Trading some crop sales for some car parts and electronics? But everything else wonât change. Guess is.
We need some stability in China because our policies are about to cause starvation.
Meanwhile, Ford is jumping prices. Knowing how Farley rolls, I would not be surprised if his ATP and GP maintenance/escalation strategy is to raise prices, reduce standard equipment, and escalate prices on popular options a lot more than the base price is escalated, all at the same time.
Steve
Wise Up or Die! Sounds like an intriguing dystopian game show.
Scratch that, this is the one! Iâm thinking a Running Man style show where contestants try to escape mobs of angry Chinese and angry citizens.
I believe the tactic is also known as ânegotiating with yourself.â
In this case, it is negotiating against yourself.
Ah, the Firesign Theater and Beat the Reaper.
DB2
Sounds like âYour Money or Your Life!â from the movie Brazil! The show is depicted as a garish, over-the-top game show where contestants are forced to choose between losing their money or their life, underscoring the darkly comic tone of Terry Gilliamâs film.
Now that the âarty dealâ has been secured to give USian âJCsâ preferential access to Ukrainian minerals, the regimeâs stance vs Russia has hardened.
Steve
Weâve gone from âIt wouldnât have happened if I was Presidentâ to âI will end it within 24 hoursâ to âWeâre making real progressâ to âMaybe Iâm being strung alongâ to âRussia is asking too muchâ.
Iâm going to guess the so-called tariff negotiations are going to follow the same basic trajectory.
Followed by the US economy.
4, 6 weeks shelves missing items or priced up dramatically but wonât sell
8 weeks layoffs
10 weeks deflation
Late July
We can all go on vacation. Including those of you who are retired.
It hasnât hardened as far as I can tell. Unprompted, the US stopped certain intelligence missions against Russia as a sweetener to open discussions. As an additional show of good faith, 1,200 CIA jobs will be eliminated. Russia didnât even have to ask.
We agreed to recognize Crimea as part of Russia, and set the new border approximately where the battle lines are today (this as per JD Vance). Russia is on board with this, but they also want the US and the EU to stop all military, economic, and intelligence aid to Ukraine, give Ukraine no security guarantees, lift all sanctions on Russia, and guarantees that Ukraine will never join NATO or the EU. Thatâs a little much for our EU partners.
I occasionally watch Russian state media (provided by the great Julia Davis) to see what the Russians are thinking. They think negotiations are going great! They are astonished at the concessions the US is offering, and believe more are on the way. They see no reason to stop fighting because as they fight their position keeps improving, and thus reject any talk of a ceasefire.
Their position on Trump is a little mixed. They see him as a friend to Russia and an enemy of the EU, which they like a lot and they appreciate everything he is doing for Russia. But they also portray him as a buffoon and routinely mock and belittle him.
To be clear: This is state propaganda. This is what the government wants the people to think, not necessarily what the government is thinking.
The regimeâs stance has changed a lot. They started out echoing Russian talking points. He was ridiculed so much on this board that the acronym for âSurrender Monkey In Chiefâ was banned by someone.
But that was before Ukraine gave the US preference in exploiting minerals.
Steve
It has dawned on Trump that he had no clue about Putin.