morning Pomp and fellow readers. to me the answer to the title question is obvious but also disappointingly absent in almost all areas of public discourse ==> nuance.
A fair assessment was, always has been and almost certainly always will be that international trade policy sometimes favors one country or region at times and then shifts to favoring other countries or regions at other times. There is no 'all of a sudden' to the opinion of unfair trade -- it's always been there -- to some nuanced degree. It just wasn't center stage until the current administration decided the USA (the most wealthy-per-capita country in the history of the world) is somehow being economically victimized by the entire world. But in today's tribal world there's no money in nuanced or subtle or intellectually curious, honest conversation so it sounds like opinions are appearing all of a sudden when they've just been mostly hidden.
side note = my personal belief is that the reason you're not hearing celebratory announcements (to Bessent's dismay) of the partial recovery to markets is simply that the downturn was voluntary and as I've heard mentioned "you don't get an award for fixing what you caused".
LOL. What a laughable bs comment Bob. The idea that the US hasn't been a victim just because it is wealthy is a lie. News flash genius...a trade imbalance means wealth transfer. In China's case, its TRILLIONS of dollars sent to China making China wealthier, and the US poorer. Even Buffett calls it the "greatest wealth transfer in history". And it has occurred because China cheats...the steal intellectual property, ignore patents, pollute, manipulate their currency, and enact other trade barriers. Their tariffs have been far higher for decades...the US only tariffed Chinese cars at 3.5%, while China levied tariffs on our cars at 35%.
I also find it hilarious that so many leftists ignore the fact that China killed millions by intentionally spreading covid throughout the world. The CCP even killed 40-60 million of its own people, and all you clowns complain about is Trump. What a joke.
Thank you for providing a nearly perfect example of my primary assertion. Lack of nuance.
At no point did I say trade policy was fair or unfair as it relates to China or any other specific trading partner. What I said is that opinions of such a strongly singular point are almost always lacking in the subtlety needed to truly have a meaningful discussion as your argument demonstrates.
I don't know you Fred, but as a long-term reader here it disturbs me that almost all your responses end up with personal attacks or deflections. How does China's / covid further this discussion. And there's zero reason to suggest I am a leftist, which is patently not true (but more importantly not relevant to having a useful conversation here).
Blah, blah blah. Again, you said nothing. The premise of your entire first post was false, and you aren't even honest enough to admit it.
"A fair assessment was, always has been and almost certainly always will be that international trade policy sometimes favors one country or region at times and then shifts to favoring other countries or regions at other times."
Well, obviously, Cliff Claven. That's the problem. And so what? Because there are imbalances, we should just let them continue?
"There is no 'all of a sudden' to the opinion of unfair trade -- it's always been there -- to some nuanced degree."
Who said anything about this being "all the sudden." Again, a lie. China's bad behavior has been known for decades. The only difference is that someone has finally (not "suddenly") stood up to it, as they should.
"It just wasn't center stage until the current administration decided the USA (the most wealthy-per-capita country in the history of the world) is somehow being economically victimized by the entire world. "
Again, you lie. The idea that because we are wealthy somehow means we aren't being victimized is total bs. There should not be any "nuance" here because your entire assertion is false. Examples? China's tariffs on cars were 10x higher than the US. Europe's were 4x higher. Then there are other cheats, like massive government funding, currency manipulation, intellectual property theft, and other NTBs.
As for your feelings, get a grip snowflake. No one cares. Personal attacks? You lie again. I just looked at what I said: "What a laughable bs comment Bob". If you think disagreeing with you and calling your comment bs is a "personal attack", then you are the one with issues, not me. Frankly, what is more offensive is people like you who lie about the facts.
I also never said you were a leftist. But since you claim you aren't, did you vote for Harris or Trump?
morning Pomp and fellow readers. to me the answer to the title question is obvious but also disappointingly absent in almost all areas of public discourse ==> nuance.
A fair assessment was, always has been and almost certainly always will be that international trade policy sometimes favors one country or region at times and then shifts to favoring other countries or regions at other times. There is no 'all of a sudden' to the opinion of unfair trade -- it's always been there -- to some nuanced degree. It just wasn't center stage until the current administration decided the USA (the most wealthy-per-capita country in the history of the world) is somehow being economically victimized by the entire world. But in today's tribal world there's no money in nuanced or subtle or intellectually curious, honest conversation so it sounds like opinions are appearing all of a sudden when they've just been mostly hidden.
side note = my personal belief is that the reason you're not hearing celebratory announcements (to Bessent's dismay) of the partial recovery to markets is simply that the downturn was voluntary and as I've heard mentioned "you don't get an award for fixing what you caused".
LOL. What a laughable bs comment Bob. The idea that the US hasn't been a victim just because it is wealthy is a lie. News flash genius...a trade imbalance means wealth transfer. In China's case, its TRILLIONS of dollars sent to China making China wealthier, and the US poorer. Even Buffett calls it the "greatest wealth transfer in history". And it has occurred because China cheats...the steal intellectual property, ignore patents, pollute, manipulate their currency, and enact other trade barriers. Their tariffs have been far higher for decades...the US only tariffed Chinese cars at 3.5%, while China levied tariffs on our cars at 35%.
I also find it hilarious that so many leftists ignore the fact that China killed millions by intentionally spreading covid throughout the world. The CCP even killed 40-60 million of its own people, and all you clowns complain about is Trump. What a joke.
Thank you for providing a nearly perfect example of my primary assertion. Lack of nuance.
At no point did I say trade policy was fair or unfair as it relates to China or any other specific trading partner. What I said is that opinions of such a strongly singular point are almost always lacking in the subtlety needed to truly have a meaningful discussion as your argument demonstrates.
I don't know you Fred, but as a long-term reader here it disturbs me that almost all your responses end up with personal attacks or deflections. How does China's / covid further this discussion. And there's zero reason to suggest I am a leftist, which is patently not true (but more importantly not relevant to having a useful conversation here).
Blah, blah blah. Again, you said nothing. The premise of your entire first post was false, and you aren't even honest enough to admit it.
"A fair assessment was, always has been and almost certainly always will be that international trade policy sometimes favors one country or region at times and then shifts to favoring other countries or regions at other times."
Well, obviously, Cliff Claven. That's the problem. And so what? Because there are imbalances, we should just let them continue?
"There is no 'all of a sudden' to the opinion of unfair trade -- it's always been there -- to some nuanced degree."
Who said anything about this being "all the sudden." Again, a lie. China's bad behavior has been known for decades. The only difference is that someone has finally (not "suddenly") stood up to it, as they should.
"It just wasn't center stage until the current administration decided the USA (the most wealthy-per-capita country in the history of the world) is somehow being economically victimized by the entire world. "
Again, you lie. The idea that because we are wealthy somehow means we aren't being victimized is total bs. There should not be any "nuance" here because your entire assertion is false. Examples? China's tariffs on cars were 10x higher than the US. Europe's were 4x higher. Then there are other cheats, like massive government funding, currency manipulation, intellectual property theft, and other NTBs.
As for your feelings, get a grip snowflake. No one cares. Personal attacks? You lie again. I just looked at what I said: "What a laughable bs comment Bob". If you think disagreeing with you and calling your comment bs is a "personal attack", then you are the one with issues, not me. Frankly, what is more offensive is people like you who lie about the facts.
I also never said you were a leftist. But since you claim you aren't, did you vote for Harris or Trump?