GOP senator on tariff threat: Hopefully Trump is blowing off steam because ‘this is nuts’

Dafinch · Apr 6, 2018

He doesn't exactly sugar coat it, does he? I thought tariffs wars are "good," and "easy to win?":nohead::think2::missingteShush()*

ointer:
Midwestern farmers don't seem to agree, do they?
[h=1]GOP senator on tariff threat: Hopefully Trump is blowing off steam because ‘this is nuts’By Julia Manchester - 04/05/18 08:55 PM EDT[/h]Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) slammed President Trump's announcement Thursday that he was considering imposing $100 billion in tariffs on China amid the ongoing trade dispute between Washington and Beijing, calling it nuts and dumb.

“Hopefully the President is just blowing off steam again but, if he's even half-serious, this is nuts. China is guilty of many things, but the President has no actual plan to win right now," Sasse said in a statement.

"He’s threatening to light American agriculture on fire. Let’s absolutely take on Chinese bad behavior, but with a plan that punishes them instead of us. This is the dumbest possible way to do this," he continued.

Sasse tweeted the statement, breaking his three-month silence on Twitter.

Trump ordered the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to consider slapping $100 billion in additional tariffs on China on Thursday.

Sasse joins Senate Republicans including Chuck Grassley (Iowa) and Pat Roberts (Kansas) in ripping the president's trade conflict with China this week.

The Trump administration finds itself in a trade dispute with Beijing after the White House on Tuesday detailed a $50 billion tariff package on China, with 25 percent tariffs being leveled on imports of Chinese electronics, shoes, furniture and other goods.

Beijing retaliated on Wednesday, slapping 25 percent tariffs on imports of U.S. soybeans, corn, airplanes and automobiles in a package that totals about $50 billion worth of goods.

Trump said on Twitter on Wednesday that the U.S. was not in a trade war with China.

PoundFoolish · Apr 6, 2018

great move by Trump

duckhunter · Apr 6, 2018

PoundFoolish said:
great move by Trump

Have you seen your IRA or portfolio lately?

PoundFoolish · Apr 6, 2018

duckhunter said:
Have you seen your IRA or portfolio lately?

yes. why?

duckhunter · Apr 6, 2018

PoundFoolish said:
yes. why?

Just wondering.................

PoundFoolish · Apr 7, 2018

duckhunter said:
Just wondering.................

you understand this is good LONG term, right?

Dafinch · Apr 7, 2018

Looks like long term all the way to...November. And, forget Democrats, how many Republicans have voiced support for the tariffs? There must be SOME, but damn if I can find them, lol...

[h=1]Why Trump's Trade War Could Cost Republicans the House[/h]http://time.com/5231532/donald-trump-china-tariffs-trade-war/

By Philip Elliott April 6, 2018

Republican insiders on Capitol Hill are trying to walk President Donald Trump away from a looming trade war with China, even as Trump’s economic nationalist advisers argue that this week’s high-stakes moves on tariffs are just a negotiation.
Political staffers who are tasked with keeping an eye on the GOP’s fortunes in this fall’s elections have urged caution as Wall Street was set to close out another rocky week driven by uncertainty.
But Trump and his economic advisers in the West Wing are treating the threat of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods such as televisions, medical devices and batteries — and China’s threatened retaliations on American soybeans, corn and tobacco exports — as a negotiating ploy.
Newly minted White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow, a former CNBC analyst, told reporters on Friday that there are “back-channel discussions” taking place, providing no details. Meantime, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, speaking to Kudlow’s former employer, admitted “there is a level of risk that we could get into a trade war.”

Republican political sherpas sees the ongoing tit-for-tat on tariffs as a risky mix of bluffing, bravado and improvisation.

Setting aside the economic insanity of starting a large-scale trade war with America’s largest trading partner, the Trump gambit carries very real risks for his domestic plans. China’s proposed countermeasures take aim at the heart of Trump country — the areas where soybean, corn and tobacco farmers grow were also fertile territory for Trump votes. The president will need their support if he is to win a second term in 2020.
More immediately, Republicans in those places will need the support of those farmers and their neighbors if they’re to win re-election this fall, defend their majorities in the House and the Senate and give Trump a free hand to pursue other parts of his agenda. Should Democrats retake one or both chambers of Congress in November’s elections, White House advisers fear the bulk of 2019 and 2020 will be spent dealing with panels and investigations.

On a micro level, some of these races this year could hinge on what Trump does to local farming economies, such as Montana’s. The state’s lone Congressman, Republican Greg Gianforte, was a top target for Democrats this year even before the tariffs put the state in play. But Gianforte, who won his special election by 22,990 votes, represents a state with 45,246 farmers, according to the most recent Department of Agriculture Census. That survey says agriculture sales from Montana topped $4.2 billion in 2012 — or one-tenth of the state’s GDP. Any threat to agriculture would have a ripple effect throughout the state’s broader economy and psyche and could make Gianforte’s already tough re-election a steeper climb.

In Iowa, Rep. Steve King is seeking his ninth term representing the vast northwest corner of his state by linking arms with Trump, largely on their shared hardline views on immigration. King won there in 2016 with 54% of the vote (Trump carried it with 60%). But the district is the nation’s richest for hogs and pigs, per the USDA; more than $4.3 billion in sales in 2012 alone. The district is the number four when it comes to the number of total farmers (48,863) and number three when it comes to soybeans (4.6 million acres). Those farmers’ pork and soybeans could soon find themselves without eager Chinese buyers.

Democrats on the cusp may feel the benefits, too. Consider the Minnesota district that Collin Peterson has represented since 1991. The Democrat won his 14th term in 2016 by just 16,637, or roughly 5 percentage points. The most recent USDA Census says there are 49,146 farmers in Peterson’s district — the second highest number in the country. The same survey, from 2012, also found almost 4.4 million acres of soybeans grown there.
Or the neighboring Minnesota district where six-term Democratic Rep. Tim Walz carried in 2016 by 2,548 votes in a district with almost 2 million acres of soybeans, making it the ninth largest soybean district in the country. It is number-two for hogs and pigs, reporting $1.7 billion in sales, according to USDA data from 2012. The seat was a rare bright spot for Republicans, as Walz has left it open in order to run for Governor.

While most of the biggest farm districts are in Republican hands — and many of them safely so — there are no guarantees. Democrats were recently able to narrowly pick up a congressional seat in a Pennsylvania district that went for Trump by 20 percentage points. There are dozens of districts that are far friendly to Democrats, perhaps in the triple-digits, according to some analysts. Democrats need to net just 23 seats to claim the majority.
All of this is why Republicans like Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse are sounding the alarm. His state, with its 45 million acres of farmland, stands to lose big in a trade war against China.
“Hopefully, the President is just blowing off steam again but, if he’s even half-serious, this is nuts,” Sasse said in a statement. “China is guilty of many things, but the President has no actual plan to win right now. He’s threatening to light American agriculture on fire. Let’s absolutely take on Chinese bad behavior, but with a plan that punishes them instead of us. This is the dumbest possible way to do this.”
Among the political hands at the White House, Sasse would find few objections.

A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

Dafinch · Apr 7, 2018

Looks like long term is all the way to...November. And, forget Democrats, how many Republicans have voiced support for the tariffs? There must be SOME, but damn if I can find them, lol...

Why Trump's Trade War Could Cost Republicans the House

http://time.com/5231532/donald-trump-china-tariffs-trade-war/

By Philip Elliott April 6, 2018

Republican insiders on Capitol Hill are trying to walk President Donald Trump away from a looming trade war with China, even as Trump’s economic nationalist advisers argue that this week’s high-stakes moves on tariffs are just a negotiation.
Political staffers who are tasked with keeping an eye on the GOP’s fortunes in this fall’s elections have urged caution as Wall Street was set to close out another rocky week driven by uncertainty.
But Trump and his economic advisers in the West Wing are treating the threat of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods such as televisions, medical devices and batteries — and China’s threatened retaliations on American soybeans, corn and tobacco exports — as a negotiating ploy.
Newly minted White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow, a former CNBC analyst, told reporters on Friday that there are “back-channel discussions” taking place, providing no details. Meantime, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, speaking to Kudlow’s former employer, admitted “there is a level of risk that we could get into a trade war.”

Republican political sherpas sees the ongoing tit-for-tat on tariffs as a risky mix of bluffing, bravado and improvisation.

Setting aside the economic insanity of starting a large-scale trade war with America’s largest trading partner, the Trump gambit carries very real risks for his domestic plans. China’s proposed countermeasures take aim at the heart of Trump country — the areas where soybean, corn and tobacco farmers grow were also fertile territory for Trump votes. The president will need their support if he is to win a second term in 2020.
More immediately, Republicans in those places will need the support of those farmers and their neighbors if they’re to win re-election this fall, defend their majorities in the House and the Senate and give Trump a free hand to pursue other parts of his agenda. Should Democrats retake one or both chambers of Congress in November’s elections, White House advisers fear the bulk of 2019 and 2020 will be spent dealing with panels and investigations.

On a micro level, some of these races this year could hinge on what Trump does to local farming economies, such as Montana’s. The state’s lone Congressman, Republican Greg Gianforte, was a top target for Democrats this year even before the tariffs put the state in play. But Gianforte, who won his special election by 22,990 votes, represents a state with 45,246 farmers, according to the most recent Department of Agriculture Census. That survey says agriculture sales from Montana topped $4.2 billion in 2012 — or one-tenth of the state’s GDP. Any threat to agriculture would have a ripple effect throughout the state’s broader economy and psyche and could make Gianforte’s already tough re-election a steeper climb.

In Iowa, Rep. Steve King is seeking his ninth term representing the vast northwest corner of his state by linking arms with Trump, largely on their shared hardline views on immigration. King won there in 2016 with 54% of the vote (Trump carried it with 60%). But the district is the nation’s richest for hogs and pigs, per the USDA; more than $4.3 billion in sales in 2012 alone. The district is the number four when it comes to the number of total farmers (48,863) and number three when it comes to soybeans (4.6 million acres). Those farmers’ pork and soybeans could soon find themselves without eager Chinese buyers.

Democrats on the cusp may feel the benefits, too. Consider the Minnesota district that Collin Peterson has represented since 1991. The Democrat won his 14th term in 2016 by just 16,637, or roughly 5 percentage points. The most recent USDA Census says there are 49,146 farmers in Peterson’s district — the second highest number in the country. The same survey, from 2012, also found almost 4.4 million acres of soybeans grown there.
Or the neighboring Minnesota district where six-term Democratic Rep. Tim Walz carried in 2016 by 2,548 votes in a district with almost 2 million acres of soybeans, making it the ninth largest soybean district in the country. It is number-two for hogs and pigs, reporting $1.7 billion in sales, according to USDA data from 2012. The seat was a rare bright spot for Republicans, as Walz has left it open in order to run for Governor.

While most of the biggest farm districts are in Republican hands — and many of them safely so — there are no guarantees. Democrats were recently able to narrowly pick up a congressional seat in a Pennsylvania district that went for Trump by 20 percentage points. There are dozens of districts that are far friendly to Democrats, perhaps in the triple-digits, according to some analysts. Democrats need to net just 23 seats to claim the majority.
All of this is why Republicans like Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse are sounding the alarm. His state, with its 45 million acres of farmland, stands to lose big in a trade war against China.
“Hopefully, the President is just blowing off steam again but, if he’s even half-serious, this is nuts,” Sasse said in a statement. “China is guilty of many things, but the President has no actual plan to win right now. He’s threatening to light American agriculture on fire. Let’s absolutely take on Chinese bad behavior, but with a plan that punishes them instead of us. This is the dumbest possible way to do this.”
Among the political hands at the White House, Sasse would find few objections.

A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

PoundFoolish · Apr 8, 2018

Dafinch said:
Looks like long term is all the way to...November. And, forget Democrats, how many Republicans have voiced support for the tariffs? There must be SOME, but damn if I can find them, lol...

Why Trump's Trade War Could Cost Republicans the House

http://time.com/5231532/donald-trump-china-tariffs-trade-war/

By Philip Elliott April 6, 2018

Republican insiders on Capitol Hill are trying to walk President Donald Trump away from a looming trade war with China, even as Trump’s economic nationalist advisers argue that this week’s high-stakes moves on tariffs are just a negotiation.
Political staffers who are tasked with keeping an eye on the GOP’s fortunes in this fall’s elections have urged caution as Wall Street was set to close out another rocky week driven by uncertainty.
But Trump and his economic advisers in the West Wing are treating the threat of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods such as televisions, medical devices and batteries — and China’s threatened retaliations on American soybeans, corn and tobacco exports — as a negotiating ploy.
Newly minted White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow, a former CNBC analyst, told reporters on Friday that there are “back-channel discussions” taking place, providing no details. Meantime, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, speaking to Kudlow’s former employer, admitted “there is a level of risk that we could get into a trade war.”

Republican political sherpas sees the ongoing tit-for-tat on tariffs as a risky mix of bluffing, bravado and improvisation.

Setting aside the economic insanity of starting a large-scale trade war with America’s largest trading partner, the Trump gambit carries very real risks for his domestic plans. China’s proposed countermeasures take aim at the heart of Trump country — the areas where soybean, corn and tobacco farmers grow were also fertile territory for Trump votes. The president will need their support if he is to win a second term in 2020.
More immediately, Republicans in those places will need the support of those farmers and their neighbors if they’re to win re-election this fall, defend their majorities in the House and the Senate and give Trump a free hand to pursue other parts of his agenda. Should Democrats retake one or both chambers of Congress in November’s elections, White House advisers fear the bulk of 2019 and 2020 will be spent dealing with panels and investigations.

On a micro level, some of these races this year could hinge on what Trump does to local farming economies, such as Montana’s. The state’s lone Congressman, Republican Greg Gianforte, was a top target for Democrats this year even before the tariffs put the state in play. But Gianforte, who won his special election by 22,990 votes, represents a state with 45,246 farmers, according to the most recent Department of Agriculture Census. That survey says agriculture sales from Montana topped $4.2 billion in 2012 — or one-tenth of the state’s GDP. Any threat to agriculture would have a ripple effect throughout the state’s broader economy and psyche and could make Gianforte’s already tough re-election a steeper climb.

In Iowa, Rep. Steve King is seeking his ninth term representing the vast northwest corner of his state by linking arms with Trump, largely on their shared hardline views on immigration. King won there in 2016 with 54% of the vote (Trump carried it with 60%). But the district is the nation’s richest for hogs and pigs, per the USDA; more than $4.3 billion in sales in 2012 alone. The district is the number four when it comes to the number of total farmers (48,863) and number three when it comes to soybeans (4.6 million acres). Those farmers’ pork and soybeans could soon find themselves without eager Chinese buyers.

Democrats on the cusp may feel the benefits, too. Consider the Minnesota district that Collin Peterson has represented since 1991. The Democrat won his 14th term in 2016 by just 16,637, or roughly 5 percentage points. The most recent USDA Census says there are 49,146 farmers in Peterson’s district — the second highest number in the country. The same survey, from 2012, also found almost 4.4 million acres of soybeans grown there.
Or the neighboring Minnesota district where six-term Democratic Rep. Tim Walz carried in 2016 by 2,548 votes in a district with almost 2 million acres of soybeans, making it the ninth largest soybean district in the country. It is number-two for hogs and pigs, reporting $1.7 billion in sales, according to USDA data from 2012. The seat was a rare bright spot for Republicans, as Walz has left it open in order to run for Governor.

While most of the biggest farm districts are in Republican hands — and many of them safely so — there are no guarantees. Democrats were recently able to narrowly pick up a congressional seat in a Pennsylvania district that went for Trump by 20 percentage points. There are dozens of districts that are far friendly to Democrats, perhaps in the triple-digits, according to some analysts. Democrats need to net just 23 seats to claim the majority.
All of this is why Republicans like Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse are sounding the alarm. His state, with its 45 million acres of farmland, stands to lose big in a trade war against China.
“Hopefully, the President is just blowing off steam again but, if he’s even half-serious, this is nuts,” Sasse said in a statement. “China is guilty of many things, but the President has no actual plan to win right now. He’s threatening to light American agriculture on fire. Let’s absolutely take on Chinese bad behavior, but with a plan that punishes them instead of us. This is the dumbest possible way to do this.”
Among the political hands at the White House, Sasse would find few objections.

A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

not sure how many Repubs have voiced support for the tariffs as you ask, but why do I care if they do or not? Most are NOT conservative and are almost as clueless as the Libs. It's why we are in all these messes! Finally someone trying to fix the broken!

Dafinch · Apr 8, 2018

PoundFoolish said:
not sure how many Repubs have voiced support for the tariffs as you ask, but why do I care if they do or not? Most are NOT conservative and are almost as clueless as the Libs. It's why we are in all these messes! Finally someone trying to fix the broken!

So, you don't care what the Dems think-a given-or what most of the Republicans, or our allies think either? Gotcha. How about within Twittler's administration:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/06/kud...t-with-china-but-this-is-not-a-trade-war.html

So, Kudlow, who has been a vocal free trader and against tariffs for 2 decades(and, as recently as 2 weeks ago), says, "this is not a trade war."

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/04/06/china-tariffs-trade-response-505380

So, Mnuchin warns of ‘potential’ trade war with China, but that means, it hasn't happened yet, right?

https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/06/politics/trump-china-tariffs/index.html

"President Donald Trump on Friday morning defended his tariffs against China despite market concerns, at one point saying, "we've already lost the trade war.""

Gee, HE says we've already LOST what his two lackeys said we haven't even HAD yet. Does it sound like they're all on the same page to you?

PoundFoolish · Apr 8, 2018

Dafinch said:
So, you don't care what the Dems think-a given-or what most of the Republicans, or our allies think either? Gotcha. How about within Twittler's administration:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/06/kud...t-with-china-but-this-is-not-a-trade-war.html

So, Kudlow, who has been a vocal free trader and against tariffs for 2 decades(and, as recently as 2 weeks ago), says, "this is not a trade war."

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/04/06/china-tariffs-trade-response-505380

So, Mnuchin warns of ‘potential’ trade war with China, but that means, it hasn't happened yet, right?

https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/06/politics/trump-china-tariffs/index.html

"President Donald Trump on Friday morning defended his tariffs against China despite market concerns, at one point saying, "we've already lost the trade war.""

Gee, HE says we've already LOST what his two lackeys said we haven't even HAD yet. Does it sound like they're all on the same page to you?

No I don't care what they think. Why do you think the way we operate business with China over the past years is good?

Dafinch · Apr 8, 2018

PoundFoolish said:
No I don't care what they think. Why do you think the way we operate business with China over the past years is good?

First of all, I didn't say that the way we operate with China is "good," but Twittler's "solution" has been derided by virtually everybody, friend and foe alike-especially when the Chinese can easily call the bluff of moron who is in for a finite amount of time. And, you don't care that "they" think? One of the quotes is from Dump himself, so, whose opinion DO you care about? And, you don't find that multiple people in Dump's crew have wildly varying stances on the subject than HE has is the least bit disconcerting?

PoundFoolish · Apr 8, 2018

Dafinch said:
First of all, I didn't say that the way we operate with China is "good," but Twittler's "solution" has been derided by virtually everybody, friend and foe alike-especially when the Chinese can easily call the bluff of moron who is in for a finite amount of time. And, you don't care that "they" think? One of the quotes is from Dump himself, so, whose opinion DO you care about? And, you don't find that multiple people in Dump's crew have wildly varying stances on the subject than HE has is the least bit disconcerting?

I care what I think and I think we have been on the losing end for many years when it comes to trade with China. So you don't think what we have done for all these years is good either but because some others think Trump is doing wrong thing, that means we are?

Dafinch · Apr 8, 2018

PoundFoolish said:
I care what I think and I think we have been on the losing end for many years when it comes to trade with China. So you don't think what we have done for all these years is good either but because some others think Trump is doing wrong thing, that means we are?

"SOME" others? I think what I think, too, but, there's an old saying, if 5 people tell you that you're drunk, maybe you should lie down. Here, its' all the Dems, multiple Repubs, many allies, his economic adviser for the better part of 20 years, and, oh, yes, the stock market that he was crowing about for so long. But HE knows better-and, in case you haven't noticed, a lotta farmers who voted for that idiot are voicing their displeasure, so, stay with your stance that we gotta shake things up, no matter how, but know that you and the moron are in the distinct minority.

PoundFoolish · Apr 8, 2018

Dafinch said:
"SOME" others? I think what I think, too, but, there's an old saying, if 5 people tell you that you're drunk, maybe you should lie down. Here, its' all the Dems, multiple Repubs, many allies, his economic adviser for the better part of 20 years, and, oh, yes, the stock market that he was crowing about for so long. But HE knows better-and, in case you haven't noticed, a lotta farmers who voted for that idiot are voicing their displeasure, so, stay with your stance that we gotta shake things up, no matter how, but know that you and the moron are in the distinct minority.

but if those same 5 people have been telling you this for years and they have been drunk the whole time, well then it is time to question them!

Dafinch · Apr 8, 2018

PoundFoolish said:
but if those same 5 people have been telling you this for years and they have been drunk the whole time, well then it is time to question them!

That's an incredibly stupid analogy, and not just because there are way more than 5. What is "drunk" about the people speaking below, one of whom was Twittler's own economic advisor, who threw his hands up and quit?

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2018/03/trump-steel-aluminum-tariffs/554660/

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/econom...riffs-will-do-more-harm-than-good-experts-say

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/02/tru...riffs-criticized-by-economist-adam-posen.html

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/bu...-wrong-tariffs-trade-wars-experts-say-n852741

PoundFoolish · Apr 9, 2018

Dafinch said:
That's an incredibly stupid analogy, and not just because there are way more than 5. What is "drunk" about the people speaking below, one of whom was Twittler's own economic advisor, who threw his hands up and quit?

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2018/03/trump-steel-aluminum-tariffs/554660/

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/econom...riffs-will-do-more-harm-than-good-experts-say

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/02/tru...riffs-criticized-by-economist-adam-posen.html

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/bu...-wrong-tariffs-trade-wars-experts-say-n852741

we're getting ripped off but all these people say let's continue to get ripped off!

GOP senator on tariff threat: Hopefully Trump is blowing off steam because ‘this is nuts’

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