U.S. slaps steep tariffs on imported washers, solar panels

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

If I intend to ride the thing any distance, yes, I will look at its teeth, its eyes, examine its legs and ensure it has no internal sickness, before even getting a saddle for the thing.

Why? Because there is no point beginning a journey that you cannot end.

a reply to: TrueBrit

You butchered a well known metaphor simply to miss the point.

Jobs. Explain to me how its bad to have jobs where people have stuggled. Please

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
Jobs. Explain to me how its bad to have jobs where people have stuggled. Please

It's not.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

Its not... for those individual people.

But it is bad if the only way forward is to wait for foreign investment. American companies and for that matter, the American government, providing jobs in their own nation, which only pay taxes back into that nation, whose profits can only benefit the people and the economy of that nation, is much better, much, much better.

Its not bad, but it is FAR from ideal.

Someone mentioned the Nissan plant and the Bentley plant in Britain... its great for those people who work in those plants that they have work, and for their kids that they have breadwinners in their households. But it does the country no good to play host to companies from abroad, without having equal or greater production power of its own, by companies started by people from the UK, paying full taxes in the UK (and only import duties to other nations), and benefiting the UK economy far more than they do any other.

originally posted by: TrueBrit
Someone mentioned the Nissan plant and the Bentley plant in Britain... its great for those people who work in those plants that they have work, and for their kids that they have breadwinners in their households. But it does the country no good to play host to companies from abroad, without having equal or greater production power of its own

But what about the supply chain? Indeed what about those Japanese transplants effects on keeping and growing our indigenous supply chain that then are secured and go on to supply (supposed) local companies. Case in point Olympus Engineering. Builds new plant on back of supplying Bentley Motors a German company. Olympus then is in a position to become a major supplier on the back of this success to other 'native' manufacturers like JCB. By increasing the end product (German car producer) and all the investment that's gone in local companies benefit in the long run and a more viable supply chain grows and these too employ more people and it's all good.................... As long as it's made here in the locality

a reply to: TrueBrit

Cart before the horse, man.

And the US has equal production. The reason the foreigners open up is to gain access to markets that US companies dominate due to tariffs. Its why Toyota and NIssan make their pickups here. If they didn't, the import duties would price them outside of the US markets.

What you are saying is true...but it has nothing to do with the US as it currently stands. All we want are some of the jobs outsourced to return. In the process, it creates jobs and income/payroll taxes, which feed our government. It creates sales taxes to feed state governments. It creates vehicle registrations which help repair roads. Its all fuel for the fire that runs the furnace known as "economy"

a reply to: TrueBrit

Are you suggesting the US compel local industry to open factories? I don't understand. Is there any evidence that local manufactures cannot or will not expand production to meet demand following market forces changed by a tariff?

a reply to: ufoorbhunter

Its all good as long as its OWNED locally.

Yes, production is a great thing to have, but its lackluster in comparison to actually hosting the home of the company involved. That is what we need more of, not pity plants from Germany and Japan, but homegrown businesses. We should never have permitted Jaguar, Land Rover, or any of the other car companies we used to have here, to leave British hands. And now that we have, we MUST create things of our own and start supporting them, and give less support to the the imports or native built vehicles, which earn money for companies outside our nation.

a reply to: TrueBrit

I think you are projecting UK problems onto the US.

We don't have the issues you speak of. Our domestic manufacturers still dominate our markets against domestically made foreign trucks.

No self respecting Texan would drive a Toyota. Although we appear to have plenty of Texans who don't respect themselves. LOL. But all the fleets are either Chevy, FOrd, or rarely Dodge.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

But your roads have not been repaired, infrastructure is collapsing all over the United States, with no end in sight, despite all the good intentions of foreign manufacturers, and local businesses to boot!

Again, the only thing which ACTUALLY protects infrastructure investment, is having successful companies owned and run by people within the nation. Everything else is sub par in that regard, makes less money for the social pot, for more work done!

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

Yeah, sure, but that does not extend as far as the solar panel issue does it?

Why? Because your American manufacturers are not doing enough work, at a high enough level of quality, to compete with products from elsewhere! So... given that spending money on fuel is not a futureproof economic choice, why is this tariff being introduced, when a better idea would be to incentivise local businesses to actually perform well, instead of making it harder for foreign businesses to import their wares?

All that will happen now, is that foreign companies will set up shop in the states, and take more and more market share in that sector away from your local, American business owner, and therefore out of the nation in eventuality!

a reply to: TrueBrit

In some ways I do agree with you TrueBrit. In a perfect world it would be wonderful to have all thos eBritish owned car and bike companies back churning out the products. But that was yesterdays news, now we live in a global economy, indeed by leaving protectionist EU we are heading towards being a true global state again. Britain (in the modern era) invented free trade, we are going back to our roots. Even if we did protect our indigenous car companies then guess what....... The unions would do to them what they did in the 70's and ruin those companies. Foreigners don't like unions hence they have flourished. We need to welcome in any companies that are willing to set here and employ the locals and start up manufacturing again. How many of the current companies actually stay put here following Brexit is something of concern long term never mind the assurances they have given May. I know where you're coming from with wanting a locally owned car industry but those days, here at least are gone and in some ways aren't we better for it? Ever experienced a K-Series Rover compared to a V-TEC Honda? Quite simply the foreigners (Japanese to be precise) are a lot better at engineering. It's just a fact they are the best and we should be honoured to accept them making their vehicles on our shores

a reply to: TrueBrit

American manufacturing of solar panels already exists, so I'm not sure what you are saying. This makes it easier for American manufacturers to compete in the market, not harder.

We've had a trade deficit with China for decades.

China always says they will help eliminate this deficit but does nothing. So I support the tariffs

Hopefully this can help manufacturing here in the US. Good paying jobs.

a reply to: TrueBrit

Because driving oil drives the economy. Petrodollar is more than just a catchy term.


If you drive oil drilling, you create an enormous amount of cash flow into areas where, again, people hurt for jobs. Meanwhile, the tax flow is ridiculous as oil is taxed a few times along the way.

a reply to: ufoorbhunter

First of all, the Unions did not destroy the car business in this country. The people they were acting against did, and Margret Thatcher did, and a whole host of other dross in this country, who should be shot out of a cannon and machine gunned in mid air did. The Unions did what they are damned well supposed to do, and were trying to get more people hired at greater amounts of pay, as they damned well should have. They were trying to get working conditions up to a high standard, where they always should have been, right from the off. They were trying to ensure they had the tools and the environment necessary to make cars well, rather than forced into ineffective machining environments with poor tooling, low safety margins, and wide margins for error.

Lots of people spun that the wrong way, and even now people still think it was the Unions who did the deed, but as per always, it was corporate greed.

And while we should be glad of any manufacturing we can possibly get in this country, we should be seeking to be doing it for ourselves, not for entities from outside our nation. We need British owned manufacturing of EVERYTHING back, as little money flowing out,and as much money flowing in as we can possibly manage, to correct the damage done to this country by corporatism.

originally posted by: Wildbob77
We've had a trade deficit with China for decades.

China always says they will help eliminate this deficit but does nothing.

China's a gangster state. Gangsters who have fixed their exchange rates to destroy the West. Totally agree with tariffs on Chinese products until they learn how to play it (a little more) fair.

a reply to: RadioRobert

American made, sub par manufacturing yes. As already discussed in this thread, the move forces people to buy inferior products, or suffer a higher price point.

The move should have been "Incentivise American producers to build perfect gear at a better price, and corner the market so that other entities from outside the US do not get a look in". Which would have been better for the American companies than any tariff jumping, AND been better for the consumer.

originally posted by: TrueBrit
a reply to: ufoorbhunter

The Unions did what they are damned well supposed to do, and were trying to get more people hired

Exactly

Rover were employing 40,000 against Toyota at Burnaston employing 2,500. But Rover were making twice the amount of cars Look where Rover ended up and where Toyota are today. I'm telling you this TrueBrit unions were the ruination of our car industry and went out of their way to save jobs that in the modern era simply were outdated and made companies non competitive. We don't make many of our own vehicles for a reason, most were total crap and the public caught on to it eventually. Myself I used to drive Ford Transit's and then Ford pulled out of Southampton and it was like give something else a go now they are going to make them in Turkey. Wow to say I was blinded by Jingoistic vehicle purchasing is an understatemt, those Transits were absolute crap. Now in a Fiat and they just go on forever no probs whatsoever. We all caught on eventually and those British companies died off one by one because they were making total crap. K-Series says it all mate

a reply to: ufoorbhunter

Right... next you will be telling me that an old school Land Rover Defender is less use off road than a modern Chelsea tractor!

You will have to excuse my incredulity, but thats a heap of crap, and so is the notion that unions killed the car industry here. They are the only reason we had one that worked in the first place. My grandfather was a shop steward at Ford Dagenham, and he was not about the business of destruction, but stewarding the shop he worked in, to ensure it kept functioning as intended.