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Donald Trump - news and discussion

story said:
China is already hoovering up trade opportunities scuppered , or threatened by, US tarrifs. They will take advantage of this and continue to aggressively pursue their own agenda.

Rimbaud ‘s idea would depend on Europe and the EU nations being safe and stable, which is potentially less likely as Putin and other aggressors continues to pick away at his end and US foreign funding disappears.

Trump’s defunding antics have already stopped millions of previously signed off dollars from leaving the US. There will be widespread knock on effects of the US withdrawal from the WHO.

The threat of the US pulling out or decreasing spending on NATO, UNESCO, UNiCEF etc will have major repercussions on the way other nations broker deals with TRUMP. US funding is significant for these organisations.

US funding isn’t just about the cash, it’s about the idea of America as helpful, supportive, benevolent etc. Trump doesn’t care about that stuff. He’s willing to jettison all that. China will be be delighted to jump in and pick up that baton, not only for the influence it might bring but for the optics and other benefits ( “ China helped save us after the disaster, the equipment had the instructions written in Chinese but that’s okay, China put books into the refugee camps… the kids had to learn mandarin, but that’s fine at least they’re learning.”).


If he’s obliged or enabled by other nations to keep putting money in, it’ll be on his terms. It’s extortion. And his constituency will feel just peachy about the pesky Palestinians not getting free condoms (the resulting children will die of starvation, the resulting STDs will go untreated).

Here in the cosy West we have no real understanding what the sharp end is actually like.

Hoping for some benefits down the road is like warming your hands at the bin fire. Or at the fire that’s heating the water in which the frogs are being boiled.
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China already engages in a lot of 'aid for trade' diplomacy, eg building roads and other big infrastructure projects in various African countries.
 
philosophical said:
Apart from something like natural gas, Netflix, and Country (and other) music, what American manufactures products do people have or own? I really can’t think of anything I have personally.
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My Microsoft laptop was made in China but the hardware and software company have had my money. Also Google, Facebook, Twitter all make money out of selling my data.

Other than that, I don't think I have (m)any American products. Oh, just thought, some US brand cosmetics and toiletries. And Skechers footwear.
 
It's worth remembering that corporations didn't start embracing diversity, equality and inclusion out of some ideological zeal for those issues in particular. They did it because it's effective for delivering bottom line results. As they saw productivity gains by running DEI programmes (and as the various academic social science departments that corporations fund started demonstrating these productivity gains with hard evidence), corporate America became believers. None of that gets reversed just because the government is now run by misogynists, racists and homophobes. Hold onto the fact that if nothing else, the private sector isn't about to follow the government off this cliff. Meanwhile, the government itself is about to discover just how difficult it can be to recruit and retain high quality staff when you're competing with employers who simply offer a much better working environment.
 
AnnO'Neemus said:
Yeah, I had a vague recollection that California's GDP was big, just double-checked, it's fifth in the world, behind US, obvs, China, Germany and Japan.

So technically it's got the financial wherewithal to do so... and don't forget USA is the United States of America, they were all individual states at one point.

That said, I don't think it will come to that. Unless the USA is going to descend into civil war.
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How much does California spend on its defence? What kind of deterrence capability does it have against a belligerent neighbour? What about when the major infrastructure and resources it relies on, such as the Colorado River, suddenly get diverted away from providing it with the power, water and food that it needs?
 
kabbes said:
It's worth remembering that corporations didn't start embracing diversity, equality and inclusion out of some ideological zeal for those issues in particular. They did it because it's effective for delivering bottom line results. As they saw productivity gains by running DEI programmes (and as the various academic social science departments that corporations fund started demonstrating these productivity gains with hard evidence), corporate America became believers. None of that gets reversed just because the government is now run by misogynists, racists and homophobes. Hold onto the fact that if nothing else, the private sector isn't about to follow the government off this cliff. Meanwhile, the government itself is about to discover just how difficult it can be to recruit and retain high quality staff when you're competing with employers who simply offer a much better working environment.
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Very true, but one possible reading of Trump's victory is that the public mood is shifting against that trend and that backtracking might be more profitable now.
 
emanymton said:
Very true, but one possible reading of Trump's victory is that the public mood is shifting against that trend and that backtracking might be more profitable now.
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Corporations have never given much of a shit what is popular, only what brings them profit. I don’t see them changing what works just because lots of poor people in parts of the country that don’t really matter to them are angry with diversity now.
 
kabbes said:
Corporations have never given much of a shit what is popular, only what brings them profit. I don’t see them changing what works just because lots of poor people in parts of the country that don’t really matter to them are angry with diversity now.
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Sure but for a while now embracing diversity had been good for profits and I think they are recalculating that after Trump won.
 
two sheds said:
government contracts will likely only go to private companies with no DEI programmes though.
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That’s a bit of a leap. It’s one thing to claim that the government has no money for such programs. It’s another to press it as an ideological deal-breaker, effectively regulating the marketplace
 
emanymton said:
Ah I think we might be looking at it from differnt angles. I'm thinking about PR and marketing, but if you are thinking about hiring practices that's differnt
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Not just hiring practices, but the whole gamut of productivity. Including the quality of who you can hire and retain.
 
The front page of the US State Department website Technical Difficulties makes for sobering reading right now.

Among other horrors, this stood out:



  • January 24, 2025

    Reinstating the Mexico City Policy​



    The Policy ensures that no U.S. taxpayer money supports foreign organizations that perform or actively promote abortion in other nations.

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That is potentially incredibly wide-ranging. How many health services out there provide help to access safe abortion services alongside everything else that they do?
 
two sheds said:
They're eliminating them from government, though. Can't see Trump wanting to work with private companies with DEI programs when that's done.
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Why not, if they provide the cheapest bid? What do you suppose his messaging might be for why they’re paying more than they need to?
 
Well, it seems pointless to speculate. But I can't see it. It would take a vast amount of red tape to specify exactly what it is that companies mustn't do in order to comply with the terms of the government contract, and meeting the regulatory burden of proving compliance would only be worth it for companies whose business model is specifically centred around government contracts, which is a small part of the corporate sector.
 
kabbes said:
How much does California spend on its defence? What kind of deterrence capability does it have against a belligerent neighbour? What about when the major infrastructure and resources it relies on, such as the Colorado River, suddenly get diverted away from providing it with the power, water and food that it needs?
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Hence: "That said, I don't think it will come to that."
 
kabbes said:
It's worth remembering that corporations didn't start embracing diversity, equality and inclusion out of some ideological zeal for those issues in particular. They did it because it's effective for delivering bottom line results. As they saw productivity gains by running DEI programmes (and as the various academic social science departments that corporations fund started demonstrating these productivity gains with hard evidence), corporate America became believers. None of that gets reversed just because the government is now run by misogynists, racists and homophobes. Hold onto the fact that if nothing else, the private sector isn't about to follow the government off this cliff. Meanwhile, the government itself is about to discover just how difficult it can be to recruit and retain high quality staff when you're competing with employers who simply offer a much better working environment.
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Does the Trump administration care about recruiting and retaining high quality staff? The main qualification seems to be being 'yes men' (or women) to Trump, toadying and/or giving him money.
 
Ya, but how will they know Canada has stopped the flow of drugs?

www.theguardian.com

Canada and Mexico can avoid tariffs before Saturday’s deadline, says Trump’s commerce pick

Howard Lutnick testified at his US Senate confirmation hearing for his nomination to head commerce department
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

Lutnick said Trump’s Saturday deadline for imposing 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico was meant to pressure the two countries to stop the flow of fentanyl into the US. The threatened duties are separate from the broad review of US tariffs, trade deals and other trade policy ordered by Trump when he took office last week.

“So this is a separate tariff to create action from Mexico and action from Canada,” Lutnick said of the 25% duty threat. “And as far as I know, they are acting swiftly, and if they execute it, there will be no tariff.”
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Personally, I think it the country's responsibility to stop illegal stuff coming onto their turf.

Lutnick repeatedly called for a restoration of “reciprocity” on trade with other countries, which is in line with Trump’s vow to erect a universal tariff of 10% on all US imports. He also said he wanted to improve US access to Canada’s largely closed dairy market.

“My way of thinking, and I discussed this with the president, is country by country, macro,” Lutnick told the US Senate confirmation hearing when asked his preference for how Trump should impose tariffs.

“We are treated horribly by the global trading environment. They all have higher tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers and subsidies,” Lutnick said. “They treat us poorly. We need to be treated better. We need to be treated with respect, and we can use tariffs to create reciprocity, fairness and respect.”
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Oh, so Canada could get 25% for not securing the US border, and 10% for trading with the States. Good to know.

Also, the dairy board will not be backing down. Trump tried to get the boards dismantled last time he was in power, but ran into Christia Freeland. I think Trump hates her more than he hates Trudeau. Due to the policies of the marketing boards, Canada does not have the same bird flu issues that the States seem to have. Our egg prices are fairly stable.
 
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