If Donald Trump wants to cede the affluent suburbs to the Democrats and lose the support of an even greater proportion of the formerly Republican white professional class, he could hardly do better than threatening people’s Audis and BMW’s. Where I live in the Philly suburbs, the Republicans are already on the verge of losing at least three House seats, and it seems like approximately a third of the vehicles on the road would match the description of being “German luxury cars.”
President Trump wants to impose a total ban on the imports of German luxury cars, according to a new report from CNBC and German magazine WirtschaftsWoche.
Several U.S. and European diplomats told the news outlets that Trump told French President Emmanuel Macron about his plans last month during a state visit.
Trump reportedly told Macron that he would maintain the ban until no Mercedes-Benz cars are seen on Fifth Avenue in New York.
Shares of Daimler, Porsche and Volkswagen were lower on Thursday, shortly after the weekly German business magazine published the report.
Of course, some of these cars are actually manufactured in America, so this wouldn’t cause a complete blackout of all makes of German luxury cars. On a substantive level, if we ignore the fallout from reciprocal actions that Germany would take, this could result in more car manufacturing jobs in America. German carmakers could open new or more plants here to avoid the importation ban, and American carmakers might be able to expand if they gain a greater share of the luxury car market. There’s a political upside in the sense that it would give Trump more credibility when he casts himself as a populist who doesn’t cater to rich people and their car preferences.
But, overall, this looks like a policy that would do some really serious damage to Republicans in some of the swingiest districts in the country.
honest question:
Can he do that?
He found a loop hole,
“The Trump administration is turning to a little-used weapon in trade policy: Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. It empowers the president to restrict imports and impose unlimited tariffs if the Commerce Department sees a threat to national security.”
That’s a quote from TalkingPointsMemo.
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How are German luxury cars a threat to national security?
Poor Justin Trudeau is asking the same question. We owe him an apology for the antics of our shitgibbon.
“I am–even more than I was with steel and aluminum–trying to figure out the connection to national security. Taking that a step further into autos seems to be based on even flimsier logical ground.”
It’s worse than flimsy, Justin. It’s no logic at all. Trump runs on lies, delusions, and wholesale fabrication.
“We will continue to make arguments based on logic and common sense,” he said, ”and hope that eventually they will prevail against an administration that doesn’t always align itself around those principles.”
Good luck, then. It’s unlikely logic will prevail. You’ll need thugs, blackmailers, mafia dons, and murderous oligarchs to bring him around. Without them, we can only hope his economic schemes are disastrous enough for the republicans to turn on him. They may be.
Poor Justin Trudeau is asking the same question. We owe him an apology for the antics of our shitgibbon.
“I am–even more than I was with steel and aluminum–trying to figure out the connection to national security. Taking that a step further into autos seems to be based on even flimsier logical ground.”
It’s worse than flimsy, Justin. It’s no logic at all. Trump runs on lies, delusions, and wholesale fabrication.
“We will continue to make arguments based on logic and common sense,” he said, ”and hope that eventually they will prevail against an administration that doesn’t always align itself around those principles.”
Good luck, then. It’s unlikely logic will prevail. You’ll need thugs, blackmailers, mafia dons, and murderous oligarchs to bring him around. Without them, we can only hope his economic schemes are disastrous enough for the republicans to turn on him. They may be.
They’re not and unless Trump also decides to leave the WTO, which would be a huge mistake, the WTO would rule against such a ban without any proof other than Trump’s loud mouth.
Imported German cars have been in this country for more than 50 years. How is it that they are now suddenly a threat to national security? Totally ridiculous claim.
In six months the WTO won’t exist.
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National security. The get out of jail free card. It’s been used in the past to avoid environmental regulations.
For someone like Trump, it’s the Golden Ticket. He will now use it relentlessly, because he loves when there are no restraints. Like the power to pardon. He will also monetize both.
I always felt Trump wanted to be an oligarch in the Russian mold, but now I realize that he, and his kids, prefer the older and more powerful type of oligarch, they want to be like the middle eastern oligarchs. Rich thieves, with royal titles.
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I’m so old I remember when government overreach interfering with the invisible hand of the free market was the ultimate unpardonable sin in Banana Republican theology. But hey, to protect “national security”, gotta do it!
(h/t digby)
But, yeah, clearly, Trump has discovered “national security” as the Golden Ticket, the get-out-of-jail-free card that he will attempt to deploy for everything he longs to do that he can’t get through Congress and/or that over-reaches his legal/constitutional authority.
Yup, the golden ticket. He will use it to ban Muslims, torture undocumented immigrants, alienate allies, build a wall, and do anything else he wants. Anything except …
PREVENT ELECTION INTERFERENCE
It’s outrageous. WTF is wrong with Congress? Why aren’t the streets full of protesters?
Well, he says a lot of things, doesn’t he? On the other hand, Putin would love a divisive trade war
I can hear those Maybach-driving Wall-Streeters now “Sell!, Sell!”
Eh? The Beemer/Audi/Mercedes driving WHITE suburban country club Republicans I know will never EVER EVER EVER EVER vote Democratic. NEVER. Nuh guh happen.
Yeah, maybe they just won’t vote. But trust me: Vote Big D? Not if their very lives depended on it (which they do, actually).
Every single one of these suckers that I know (and I know quite a few in different parts of the country) are all very LOUD Trump supporters. And yes, some of them live in the Philly suburbs.
Nuh guh vote Democratic EVAH.
That is my experience.
The white upper middle professional class prospered the most under Obama while spitting in his face; they just got another tax cut; they get quarterly dividends; have six figure housing equity, and likely work one of the few jobs that still pays a yearly bonus and/or gives yearly raises above the rate of inflation.
What the fuck is another $100-$500 on the cost a Beemer they likely wastefully lease and change every 21 months in the first place mean to them?!?
Hell, where I live, most are moving over to buy a 90k-100k Telsa anymore.
Precisely. And don’t think these well to do country clubs types aren’t every single bit as racist, sexist, homophobic, bigoted and nasty as their “kissing cousins” out in the sticks. The hoi poloi in “fly over” country may have worse dress sense and smell bad, but their views on life, goals, etc, are neatly aligned with wealthy WHITE suburban Republicans.
The Country Club types may decry Trump’s louche obnoxiousness, but secretly they clap and cheer just as loudly as the “economically anxious” white trash do.
Agree also that even paying a $1000 more per automobile doesn’t matter to Country Club Republicans. They can afford it FFS, and they credit their ability to afford it on Trump and his vaunted tax cuts (which, in reality, doesn’t benefit any of us who aren’t in the .001%, but when has reality mattered to these White Supremacist assholes??).
Oh please God let this happen. Just drive that Republican party into the ground!
As a side note, I have a wealthy cousin who is a Wall Street big-shot. He voted for Trump and, although he considers the guy a buffoon, he defends him when other family members send out critical group e-mails. I think it’s because he thinks his stock portfolio is advantaged and of course that’s the most important thing in life, amIright?
I keep wondering what it will take to make the scales fall from his eyes. Perhaps this but probably not.
The taxes. That’s all the rich care about.
Given the Dow Jones performance since January, I’d say it is highly doubtful to be based on stock performance.
More likely it’s about the increases in the tax advantages (aka. Government Subsidies) investors get coupled with any form of regulation and white collar law enforcement being taken out back and shot like it was under Bush.
And the 180 degree reversal will come along any time now. He favors suggesting the possibility of tough guy policy in an attempt to gain bargaining position. In the end, no one trusts anything he says.
Exactly. This is probably so he can get his name on a hotel somewhere in Germany. He couldn’t care less what kind of car people drive.
Wonder if our military has contracts for stuff made in Germany, EU, Canada or Mexico? I get the feeling the world is going to make us pay for electing this evil clown.
The pushback & retaliation from Canada, Mexico & EU is already intense just hours into this.
Two things, related.
Didn’t we all decry NNAFTA? Wouldn’t we have cheered if Obama or HRC had abrogated it?
How the HELL does the President have the power to unilaterally impose tariffs? Who rewrote the Constitution? (OK, that’s three things)
I didn’t particularly decry NAFTA. I don’t have a strong position on trade deals. Trade deals are complicated.
The US has had a trade deficit for a long time. We burn a lot of oil, and that’s basically half our deficit right there. And we import a lot of electronics, automobiles, etc. But its worth mentioning that we are a massive agricultural exporter, and those goods are eminently replaceable.
No. NAFTA is a wedge issue for Democrats. It wasn’t a wedge issue for Republicans. They were all in favor of it until they found that lots of people want to punish Mexico for the audacity of kind of supposedly benefiting from it. An agreement is an agreement. I don’t think I would have praised Obama for acting like Trump and accusing Mexico and Canada of sneaking a fast one by someone, and especially blaming Mexicans for stealing both at home and abroad. Blustery assholery is not praiseworthy.
One of our societies bigger deficiencies that has been exposed by President Stupid is the mainstream media’s (and let’s face it a large swath of voters) demand for political issues to be completely binary.
One side FOR, one side AGAINST, between commercial breaks or print holiday sale ad’s. period. full stop.
Regarding NAFTA, President Stupid took the anti-Free Trade argument from liberals, fooled the rubes who really only wanted their resentments justified to get elected, and is now using it to make deals that will be worse for workers in all countries involved.
To get mainstream media to even pay attention to us, liberals have to defend NAFTA. They certainly can’t go into that carefully guarded public square and say “We’ve always hated it! But if we renegotiate, we want a versions with universal, high quality, wages, benefits, and working conditions for labor.” without the Chuck Todd’s just shaking their heads and dismissing us as “always overthinking things, being poor at messaging, and getting bogged down in details” and then crossing the person’s name off his guest list.
No. I would not have. First of all, we hate these deals because they are not strong enough in protecting workers worldwide, they are not sufficiently eco friendly, and they protect corporate power over democratic governance. We should not oppose them because of paleoconservative nationalist twaddle. But just disrupting supply chains by immediately pulling out the rug would cause a worldwide economic collapse. Now that’s not what will happen immediately from these actions, but it is plain as day that when these are challenged before the WTO they are going to tell us “these measures are illegal under the national security clause”. To which case Trump will respond by withdrawing altogether. America First doesn’t mean “help Americans”. It means “US against the world”. That doesn’t help workers abroad or help them here. Second of all, just like with Brexit, Trump (May) want lower standards, not higher.
Socialists should also largely be against tariffs:
~Eugene Debs
“…would do some really serious damage to Republicans…”
Not unless their ability to shift blame pretty much collapses. It has worked every time so far and there is no sign, right now, that its effectiveness may diminish. Like a Prince Rupert’s drop, it is the kind of thing that would tend to implode very quickly if it once got a scratch on it, but it is also very hard to scratch.
the donald is playing a dangerous game with autos. There is no reason for any country to let GM or Ford sell cars. Any place we sell cars the Japanese, Germans, and South Koreans can step right in sell cars. Remember the deal the donald’s trade team announced regarding Chinese tariffs on US cars. Well, that just might be some Okie Doke as I have not seen any photo of agreement signing or even a hand shake. That is the kind of hype the donald told marks when he was selling apartments or just another lie.
Yep. I guess this is just getting back at Merkel for ignoring his “NATO Invoice.” Something he hasn’t done to any other NATO member. Not certain what he has against Germany in particular. Is he running for President of Greece?
The well to do will switch to Lexus, Acura or Volvo in a pinch. Alfa Romeo and Jaguar will still be there, too. Cadillacs and Lincolns aren’t awful cars, but come on…its like being forced to drive your grandpa’s car, and it would take years for GM and Ford to ramp up production to levels necessary to substitute for the German brands.
Trump knows:
A) To 63 million people, whatever he says he did, happened at that moment exactly like he said. Example, a 1/3rd of this nation still firmly believes that the Indiana Carrier plant is running at full employment and anything to the contrary is fake news.
B) The same people likely thought these tariffs were ALREADY in place when he declared them months ago and had not idea (or willfully ignored) that Trump had subsequently suspended their implementation after announcing them and started granting exemptions to certain nations (for a fee I am sure).
Folks…
this move by the idiot Tweet-in-Chief is too shoot Merkel in the foot for the EU’s soon to be acted upon decision to give the finger to the US Imperium….RE: Iran (…and continue doing Business per the pending Contracts).
The “best negotiator ever” thinks that this move against Germany will sway Merkel to fall in line.
And not knowing that German Car manufacturer’s actually have Mfg. Capability in the State ‘s already…the move will likely demonstrate just how clueless He really is.
Cheers from Panama (my sunny paradise)