• Donald Trump, Malcolm Turnbull hit on deal to exclude Australia from new US tariffs
    3 replies, posted
[quote=ABC News]Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has confirmed Australia will be exempt from US President Donald Trump's new steel and aluminium tariffs — but denied the two leaders are working towards a new "security agreement". Mr Trump all but confirmed the exemption earlier today when he tweeted he had spoken to Mr Turnbull, who he said was "committed to having a very fair and reciprocal military and trade relationship". "Working very quickly on a security agreement so we don't have to impose steel or aluminium tariffs on our ally, the great nation of Australia!" he tweeted. Mr Turnbull replied, hailing the "great discussion on security and trade" and thanking Mr Trump for confirming new tariffs "won't have to be imposed" on Australia. "I was very pleased the President was able to confirm he would not have to impose tariffs on Australian steel and aluminium," he later told journalists.[/quote] Read the rest of the article at [url]http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-10/malcolm-turnbull-donald-trump-working-tariff-exemption-agreement/9534984[/url] While this is a good outcome, it does create concern about the US playing favourites among even its closest allies. Why exclude Australia, but not exclude Canada? Or Japan? Or Germany?
[QUOTE=BF;53191141]Read the rest of the article at [url]http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-10/malcolm-turnbull-donald-trump-working-tariff-exemption-agreement/9534984[/url] While this is a good outcome, it does create concern about the US playing favourites among even its closest allies. Why exclude Australia, but not exclude Canada? Or Japan? Or Germany?[/QUOTE] Because their leaders havent properly paid tribute to Our Lord and Hero Glorious Dealmaker Trump
[QUOTE=BF;53191141]While this is a good outcome, it does create concern about the US playing favourites among even its closest allies. [B]Why exclude Australia, but not exclude Canada? Or Japan? Or Germany?[/B][/QUOTE] While you raise a good point, [URL="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/after-trump-promises-tariff-announcement-staff-scrambles-to-figure-out-what-hell-say/2018/03/08/5e1483e4-22e6-11e8-86f6-54bfff693d2b_story.html"]Canada is being excluded, along with Mexico, on a "temporary" basis pending El Manos Diminutas getting what he wants out of NAFTA renegotiations.[/URL] :v: Which just adds to your point and weakens Trump's stance. What [I]really[/I] weakens Trump's stance is making exceptions after declaring that the reason for the steel and aluminium tariffs is for national security; he then makes exceptions when Mexico and Canada bitch, and then more exceptions when Australia bitches, and Japan is on their case for them as well (as presumably are most). Every country that doesn't get an exception can go to the WTO and argue that the USA is being disingenuous with their reasons for the tariffs and they're actually industry protectionist tariffs and use Trump's public statements and public exclusion actions as evidence. It's like, if you say it's that, then it's that and you can't start making exceptions. :v:
Good god he's the least original president ever. [url]https://www.politico.eu/article/bush-trump-tariffs-why-steel-and-aluminum-failed-when-president/[/url] we've seen this story already. He's doing exactly what Gee Dubya did when he tried this. By the time it got smacked down by the WTO he had exempted basically any steel consumer that bothered to file a complaint.
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