Election Year or Fear!

[ramAnag]

Could have been worse, we could be in the EU.
Had the politicians got their arse in gear, we could have had a deal with the US the last time trump was in power.

NB, tariffs.
does not Trump have a point that US goods, are tarriffed up to the max all over the world?

From the BBC-

What tariffs do countries currently have?
While most countries have a range of tariff rates covering different goods imports, they also report an average external tariff to the WTO, external, which reflects the overall average tariff rate applied to all imports.

The US had an average external tariff of 3.3% in 2023.

That was slightly lower than the UK's average tariff of 3.8%.

It was also below the European Union's average tariff of 5% and China's average tariff of 7.5%.

America's average tariff was considerably lower than the average tariff of some of its other trading partners.

For instance, India's average tariff was 17%, while South Korea's was 13.4%.

America's average tariff was lower than Mexico's (6.8%) and Canada's (3.8%), though trade agreements between the US and these countries mean that American exports to them are not subject to tariffs. The same is true for South Korea, with which the US has a free trade agreement

But, broadly speaking, it is legitimate for Trump to point out that some countries have a higher average tariff on imports than America's.

Hmmm…but we’re now talking about comparatively huge tariffs and it would seem the US$ has fallen to a six month low this morning on the back of yesterday’s announcements, but then I don’t claim any economic expertise beyond the personal. GP…Swale?

[swaledale]

Hmmm?but we?re now talking about comparatively huge tariffs and it would seem the US$ has fallen to a six month low this morning on the back of yesterday?s announcements, but then I don?t claim any economic expertise beyond the personal. GP?Swale?

Firstly much as our Red Friend talks about a trade deal, Mexico, South Korea and indeed Canada have trade deals with the US, which have been ignored by Trump in imposing tariffs. So any thought that a trade deal would be a plus is hogwash. Plus what's being demanded by the US for any trade deal, basically involves allowing tech firs free rein on content and little to no tax and allowing the import of chlorinated chicken, hormone injected beef and other sub standard food products which would **** our farmers even more.

[Ramshank72]

Could have been worse, we could be in the EU.
Had the politicians got their arse in gear, we could have had a deal with the US the last time trump was in power.

NB, tariffs.
does not Trump have a point that US goods, are tarriffed up to the max all over the world?

From the BBC-

What tariffs do countries currently have?
While most countries have a range of tariff rates covering different goods imports, they also report an average external tariff to the WTO, external, which reflects the overall average tariff rate applied to all imports.

The US had an average external tariff of 3.3% in 2023.

That was slightly lower than the UK's average tariff of 3.8%.

It was also below the European Union's average tariff of 5% and China's average tariff of 7.5%.

America's average tariff was considerably lower than the average tariff of some of its other trading partners.

For instance, India's average tariff was 17%, while South Korea's was 13.4%.

America's average tariff was lower than Mexico's (6.8%) and Canada's (3.8%), though trade agreements between the US and these countries mean that American exports to them are not subject to tariffs. The same is true for South Korea, with which the US has a free trade agreement

But, broadly speaking, it is legitimate for Trump to point out that some countries have a higher average tariff on imports than America's.

It misses the point that those are %s, and the cost of goods from for example India, are a lot cheaper than the cost of goods from the US, so the reciprocal value isn't the same %. To "level up", the US will effectively have to produce their own goods, a lot more cheaply, ie lower wages, lower quality of goods. Good luck to them, I think it opens up opportunity for us to leverage trading benefits where the US will have a reduced footprint, but it hurts us all in the short term, and I suspect the US will hurt the most.
Might cash in on some USD while it crashes against the pound ready for our next trip.

[ramAnag]

It misses the point that those are %s, and the cost of goods from for example India, are a lot cheaper than the cost of goods from the US, so the reciprocal value isn't the same %. To "level up", the US will effectively have to produce their own goods, a lot more cheaply, ie lower wages, lower quality of goods. Good luck to them, I think it opens up opportunity for us to leverage trading benefits where the US will have a reduced footprint, but it hurts us all in the short term, and I suspect the US will hurt the most.
Might cash in on some USD while it crashes against the pound ready for our next trip.

I’m off to the U.S. in about a month, RS. Is that GBP v $ advice a likely scenario? Don’t worry, won’t hold you to it.

[Ramshank72]

I’m off to the U.S. in about a month, RS. Is that GBP v $ advice a likely scenario? Don’t worry, won’t hold you to it.

No idea how it will pan out, but it's gone in the favour of a stronger pound today, you'd profit a happy meal for every ?100 on today vs yesterday.

[ramAnag]

No idea how it will pan out, but it's gone in the favour of a stronger pound today, you'd profit a happy meal for every ?100 on today vs yesterday.

Lol! Thanks, can’t wait!

[swaledale]

I?m off to the U.S. in about a month, RS. Is that GBP v $ advice a likely scenario? Don?t worry, won?t hold you to it.

Word of advice, wipe your phone of any data that might be critical of the US, its president or any policy. remove apps if you have them such as WhatsApp if there are any discussion on there which is negative of Trump or his policies. I kid you not, people ahve been stopped, their phones interrogated and been refused entry despite having a valid visa, just because there is evidence on their phones of criticism of trump ad the current administration.

[ramAnag]

Word of advice, wipe your phone of any data that might be critical of the US, its president or any policy. remove apps if you have them such as WhatsApp if there are any discussion on there which is negative of Trump or his policies. I kid you not, people ahve been stopped, their phones interrogated and been refused entry despite having a valid visa, just because there is evidence on their phones of criticism of trump ad the current administration.

Sad to say I had been thinking along those lines too. Probably best not to invest in one of those ‘Know your parasites’ T-shirts either…dog tick (pictured), deer tick (pictured) lunatic (picture of Trump) or anything suggesting admiration for Robert DeNiro when entering the ‘land of the free’.

[Trickytreesreds]

It misses the point that those are %s, and the cost of goods from for example India, are a lot cheaper than the cost of goods from the US, so the reciprocal value isn't the same %. To "level up", the US will effectively have to produce their own goods, a lot more cheaply, ie lower wages, lower quality of goods. Good luck to them, I think it opens up opportunity for us to leverage trading benefits where the US will have a reduced footprint, but it hurts us all in the short term, and I suspect the US will hurt the most.
Might cash in on some USD while it crashes against the pound ready for our next trip.

Like RA, this isn't my field. But watching Sky this morning, those so called low cost items (de minimus), don't have tariffs collected on them anyway?
It's a hole that China/India have exploited for a long time.

[ramAnag]

America's average tariff was lower than Mexico's (6.8%) and Canada's (3.8%), though trade agreements between the US and these countries mean that American exports to them are not subject to tariffs. The same is true for South Korea, with which the US has a free trade agreement

You sure about all that, Tricky? I understood that the South Koreans are seriously pissed off at having tariffs raised to 25%.
In my experience there are a huge number of Hyundais and Kia’s in the U.S. and its a part of the world that Trump should avoid alienating.