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Comment by spacephysics | Hacker News Reader

It brought a large number of countries to the negotiating table, and shows he’s willing to execute on threats of keeping tariffs high for an individual country.

Now is the ripe time, 90 days, to make a deal with the US and offer the best terms.

The whole point of Trump is to leverage uncertainty, make an unrealistically high water mark, then go down from there (to a point thats still very favorable)

This rationale can explain many actions he’s taken. Is it reckless? Risky? For sure. Does it work? It has in the past, let’s hope it does for the global financial system, for everyone’s sake.

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> It brought a large number of countries to the negotiating table

Did it? They said it did, but I wouldn’t trust a word they say.

What concessions has he actually got from the rest of the world? Was it worth it? It seems to me the two biggest trading ‘partners’ (China and EU) were escalating, not conceding.

Are you really doubting that countries wouldn't negotiate? Seriously?

Multiple countries offered no tariffs, like Israel and Vietnam I think? EU offered 0/0 for cars/industrial. SK president said they will negotiate.

> Was it worth it?

Time will tell.

> Are you really doubting that countries wouldn't negotiate? Seriously?

I doubt everything those charlatans say. They are liars and will say anything to maintain the illusion of competence.

> Are you really doubting that countries wouldn't negotiate? Seriously?

Yes. Trump and his administration lie more often then they tell the truth. There's virtually no reason to negotiate under those conditions, as random decisions will often have indistinguishable outcomes.

All the countries who chose to do nothing, evidently, came out on top. Because the decision was reversed. Those attempting to conform to the chaos will be whiplashed around, like fish in a Tycoon. Doing nothing at all proves to be an equally effective strategy, on average.

> Now is the ripe time, 90 days, to make a deal with the US and offer the best terms.

What terms? Remember, the tariffs were not reciprocal -- that was a boldfaced lie. They were based on trade imbalance. So what, Cambodia is supposed to pledge to buy ... what exactly? ... from the US in order to balance its trade?

The reason Cambodia or Vietnam have a trade imbalance is because US/other companies have factories there to produce the goods. You think those companies are going to set up garment and shoe factories in the US? With what labor?

The whole thing reeks of a shockingly inept understanding of global trade and economics.

This rationale can explain many actions he’s taken. Is it reckless? Risky? For sure. Does it work? It has in the past, let’s hope it does for the global financial system, for everyone’s sake.

Global financial reacted to the idiocy adequately enough to tell you what it thinks of it… You are trying to rationalize something that is as far from rational as it gets…

stop normalizing this idiocy. there was no country that wasn't already willing to negotiate trade relations with the US.

This reckless way of negotiating has a cost: our trustworthiness. The more recklessness Trump does, the more other nations will strongly consider naming some other currency the global reserve currency, such as the euro, the yuan, or something else, maybe even something new.

This isn't 1946 when the United States was heads-and-shoulders the most prosperous nation on earth, with most other developed countries having to rebuild. Other regions such as the European Union, China, and the bloc of East Asian democracies (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan) also have strong, competitive economies with a high standard of living for many of their residents. If they got together, it's possible that they could move to some alternative to the US dollar should they wish, and with Trump's bullying, this might just be the push.

It's going to push the EU and China closer together -- exactly the opposite of what the USA should be trying to make happen.

GOLD in Mental Gymnastics

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