America's trade wars heat up as US companies sue competitors - Polidicks

[QUOTE]US companies are bringing new trade lawsuits against their foreign competitors with a scope and frequency not seen in more than 15 years, government documents show, as a wave of new complaints builds under President Donald Trump. A Washington Post analysis of Commerce Department data found 23 new trade disputes initiated since January, making 2017 the busiest year for tariff cases since 2001. The new cases target trade between the United States and 29 counties, the most in any year since 2001. The cases include fights over Korean washing machines, Spanish olives, Chinese aluminum foil, Vietnamese tool chests, Argentine biodiesel and Canadian jetliners. The US trade warriors include financially strapped solar panel manufacturers, downsizing Rust Belt steel plants and declining California olive farms. Several requests came from companies that are under foreign ownership. And in a shift from previous years, some profitable corporations are asking the government to place new restrictions on their foreign rivals, taking advantage of a recent change in federal law. The surge of complaints comes as the White House moves to redefine America's role in the global economy. "At President Trump's direction, we have told American businesses that we will be more enforcement minded than any recent administration, while also remaining committed to a fair and transparent process that is professionally and impartially implemented," Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in an emailed statement. "They know we will stand with American workers in the face of unfair trade practices." Tariff cases typically start when US companies formally accuse foreign competitors of "dumping" products in the United States at unfairly low prices or benefiting from unfair subsidies, or both. Then the Commerce Department and a quasi-judicial US agency called the International Trade Commission decide what to do. Ross has said he wants the government to bring more cases on its own, something that could let companies save on legal expenses. The Commerce Department took its first step in that direction in a November tariff action against sheet metal distributors in China, the first government-initiated action since 1985.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE]For instance, a Washington state paper company known as North Pacific Paper, called NORPAC, is accusing Canadian competitors of flooding the US market with less expensive product. As a result, NORPAC, which sells paper for newspapers and other industries, said it has been forced to trim its staff from about 450 to 350 employees in the past year. Meanwhile, two family-owned olive farm conglomerates, Bell-Carter Foods and Musco Family Olive, are asking the Commerce Department to counteract Spanish olive farmers that they say are propped up by an elaborate system of farm subsidies there. A coalition of US biodiesel manufacturers claims rivals in Indonesia and Argentina are selling their product in the United States at unfairly low prices. It says the Argentine government also is giving tax breaks to exporters to unfairly subsidizing the industry. Two companies asking for blanket "safeguard" protection - Georgia-based Suniva and Oregon-based SolarWorld USA - are solar panel manufacturers that make photovoltaic cells, the tiny chips that convert solar energy into usable power. Over the past few years, they claim a flood of less-expensive components from Chinese solar manufacturers have put them at a disadvantage; the two firms have since filed for bankruptcy and have laid off thousands. A UK-based metals conglomerate called Ferroglobe has asked for US restrictions on silicon metal from Australia, Brazil and Norway. It is waging a parallel trade war in Canada, where it is asking for new restrictions on silicon imports from four countries. DAK Americas, the North Carolina-based subsidiary of one of Mexico's largest textile firms, is teaming up with Indorama Ventures USA, the US arm of an Indian firm. They are asking for restrictions on textile products from Brazil, Indonesia, Korea, Pakistan and Taiwan.[/QUOTE] [URL]http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11966064[/URL]

Protectionist nation becomes even more protectionist under openly protectionist president shocker

The problem is that like his drawn out steel debate, if you telegraph something loud enough and long enough, panicked people taking advantage of the status quo will double down to try to get in under any new changes, further exacerbating the situation. Trump has not done anything on steel except be very vocal about wanting to do something and chinese steel imports are skyrocketing due to speculation

That Bombardier ruling was an absolute load of horse shit. Boeing doesn't even make a competing jet, and is supposedly 7 years backlogged in sales. Because of it, the Canadian government changed its rules for military contracts such that they will not award any to companies that "have harmed the Canadian economy," as well as cancelled an order of jets from Boeing, basically meaning that Boeing will never be able to sell to the Canadian military ever again because of this.

Boeing is a company that I lost a fuckton of respect for this year. Literally trying to shit on Canadian jobs at Bombardier while running non stop ads on our radio station saying they're fighting for Canadian jobs. Literally bullshit.

Noice stuff we bought for 5 dollars goes for 20 now. Even though it now does less.