How’s Trump’s trade war working out for us?
by digby
It’s not the sole reason for GM laying off thousands and shutting plants. They seem to have decided that investment in American plants isn’t really worth their while (despite that fat corporate tax cut) and the American people, who have very short memories, have decided they only want to drive gas guzzling trucks because gas is cheap right now.
But Trump has made things worse:
Cost pressures on GM and other automakers and suppliers have increased as demand has waned for traditional sedans. The company has said tariffs on imported steel, imposed earlier this year by the Trump administration, have cost it $1 billion.
Tariffs can be a useful tool and could have been deployed in ways that strengthened American manufacturing. But imposing tariffs willy-nilly because he doesn’t understand how the world really works and thinks he can just strut around and show his power and everything will fall into place is not a good strategy. Economics is much more complicated than Trump’s simplistic insistence that the rest of the world has been screwing America for decades and he’s going to make it stop.
Reality is starting to bite.
TRUMP on GM plant closures: "We don't like it. I believe they'll be opening up something else. And I was very tough. I spoke with her when I heard they were closing and I said, you know, this country has done a lot for general motors. You better get back in there soon." pic.twitter.com/ggV5YgEwyz— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 26, 2018
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