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[Ross77]

Nothing has been agreed to yet. They’ve agreed to work together but the spokesman for the EU said “no concessions made”.

[Kristin Meredith]

Nothing has been agreed to yet. They’ve agreed to work together but the spokesman for the EU said “no concessions made”.

Ah, so this is like the President's agreement with North Korea -- we have allegedly gotten rid of the nuclear threat, but the Sec of State admitted today that North Korea is still making nuclear weapons.  Nothing like the art of a Trump deal!

(No editing was done, just hit the wrong button when replying)

[ArborAgent]

I’m exhausted from all of this winning.

[Ross77]

You are witnessing the Art of Gaslighting the United States.

[Bobitis]

We could sell our souls (and our grandchildren's) to the rest of the world. The US trade imbalance is at record levels and needs to be addressed. I'm tired of being hosed for the honor of being the world leader on so many fronts.

Seems that there's no end to the demanding of our money, technology, resources, you name it... and then we get spit on in return. It's beyond time that the US is considered the caretaker of the planet. Let them eat cake.

[GatorDave]

Nothing has been agreed to yet. They’ve agreed to work together but the spokesman for the EU said “no concessions made”.

You must be getting different news than I am.  Could you link the article that says that no concessions were made.  I'd like to read it.

[Kristin Meredith]

Nothing has been agreed to yet. They’ve agreed to work together but the spokesman for the EU said “no concessions made”.

You must be getting different news than I am.  Could you link the article that says that no concessions were made.  I'd like to read it.

Here's one from the Washington Post where it seems both sides agreed that maybe they can agree in the future on something if everyone in the EU approves.  You know, typical political speak!!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/trump-pushes-25-percent-auto-tariff-as-top-advisers-scramble-to-stop-him/2018/07/25/f7b9af04-8f8a-11e8-8322-b5482bf5e0f5_story.html?utm_term=.1b5e8dfba186

[GatorDave]

Nothing has been agreed to yet. They’ve agreed to work together but the spokesman for the EU said “no concessions made”.

You must be getting different news than I am.  Could you link the article that says that no concessions were made.  I'd like to read it.

Here's one from the Washington Post where it seems both sides agreed that maybe they can agree in the future on something if everyone in the EU approves.  You know, typical political speak!!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/trump-pushes-25-percent-auto-tariff-as-top-advisers-scramble-to-stop-him/2018/07/25/f7b9af04-8f8a-11e8-8322-b5482bf5e0f5_story.html?utm_term=.1b5e8dfba186

That is kind of an older article.  All of the news from today and much from yesterday detail concessions that were made, as well as well as the ongoing talks to hash out more concessions from both sides.  The EU has consistently exported more goods to the US than they have imported.  Much of what they have done politically has made it hard for US businesses to gain a foothold and even things out(subsidies especially).  In the end anything that can even out the trade imbalances would be a good thing.  Remember, we import from most countries far more than we export, so it is more important for these other countries to avoid a trade war than it is for the US.  That gives us leverage, which Trump is taking advantage of.   The big one is going to be China though.  They have fairly high tariffs, so them complaining about us adding tariffs is pretty hypocritical.  In the end, I suspect China is going to make concessions as well, because they export a huge amount to the US and really can't afford that to be closed off.

[Kristin Meredith]

My copy shows it was written yesterday at 5:30 pm after the news conference.

I agree that there are trade imbalances, but a lot is caused by American consumers.  We want things to be cheap.  We want inexpensive clothes, electronics, household goods, food.  That is why jobs went oversees -- when you are paying someone in Asia 50 cents a day to make something, an American worker can't compete. It is also why we have so many illegals -- no one wants to harvest crops and milk cows for what farmers can afford to pay, but everyone wants cheap food.

So stuff is made in Asia and imported back to the US.  Pellet pits are a prime example.  Look how many are made overseas and the US made ones are so much more expensive.

If we, as Americans, want to help solve trade imbalances, then we need to start at home with purchasing more American made and spending more for American made.  Can we also be tougher in trade negotiations?  Yes, but then we have to pay the price of higher costs for goods we consume.  And since the average American workers wage has actually gone down over the last 40 years, no politician wants to hear the screams of the voters -- as evidenced by a $12 BILLION aide package to President Trump's "friends" (his words, not mine), the farmers of America.

[Ross77]

What concessions? Current tariffs in place have not been cancelled. The EU agreed to buy soybeans and Trump backed off his auto tariff threat.

They have agreed to work together but the EU has not made any concessions.

[GatorDave]

What concessions? Current tariffs in place have not been cancelled. The EU agreed to buy soybeans and Trump backed off his auto tariff threat.

They have agreed to work together but the EU has not made any concessions.

They have agreed to increase imports of soybeans and liquefied natural gas.  They have also agreed to modify their regulatory standards to allow better market access for medical devices, and they agreed to lower industrial tariffs, as did the U.S.  While these are small things, they are a step in the right direction.

The main concession I would say that Trump achieved though, was the fact that he actually got them to the table to negotiate in the first place.  Europe loves the status quo, because the trade imbalance is in their favor.  They make it nearly impossible to export food to them with their subsidies.  Anything that the current administration can do to help bring a little more balance, I'm in favor of.

[triplebq]

If we, as Americans, want to help solve trade imbalances, then we need to start at home with purchasing more American made and spending more for American made.  Can we also be tougher in trade negotiations?  Yes, but then we have to pay the price of higher costs for goods we consume.  And since the average American workers wage has actually gone down over the last 40 years, no politician wants to hear the screams of the voters -- as evidenced by a $12 BILLION aide package to President Trump's "friends" (his words, not mine), the farmers of America.

You are correct. The reason we import more is because we use more. Why is Walmart so big, because they have cheap prices. We as Americans want cheap, cheap, cheap.

[Ross77]

It’s a good sign but the agreements aren’t very specific. I believe nothing until something has been signed. Agreements to discuss working together don’t equal concessions. The EU hasn’t reduced tariffs.

I’m not trying to be overly negative but this President has shown a knack for extreme hyperbole.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/26/us-eu-trade-agreement-lacks-detail-and-fails-to-end-issues-with-china.html

According to Donovan, even though the EU promised to buy more soybeans, it doesn't actually have the power to force European farmers to purchase more from the United States. "The U.S. is already the largest exporter of soybeans to the EU. There are no subsidies, trade taxes or quotas on soybeans in the EU. Private farmers decide whether to buy more soybeans or not," he said.

[Kristin Meredith]

"While Washington and Brussels pursue those aims, the E.U. will import more U.S. soybeans and liquefied natural gas, or LNG, although Juncker suggested that that agreement came with conditions.

“We are ready to invest in infrastructure, new terminals, which could welcome imports of LNG from the United States and elsewhere, but mainly from the United States, if the conditions were right and price is competitive,” he said in a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies later Wednesday."

So yeah, maybe they import more soybeans and LNG if "conditions are right" (not sure what that means) and "prices are competitive" -- in other words, political speak for if we feel like it, we may do it.  But they played it just right because they gave President Trump a photo op and a chance to say "Look at all the great things I am doing for you" without having to commit to anything.  Sorry, but the world has learned how to deal with our "tough talking" President.  Let him be a blow hard, make a lot of noise, take a meeting and a photo op and then move on to the next thing to use as a vehicle to promote himself while you ignore him knowing he has the attention span of a knat.  Meanwhile, no actual deals on anything -- just ask the people furiously working to try and get an actual agreement with N. Korea.

[GatorDave]

"While Washington and Brussels pursue those aims, the E.U. will import more U.S. soybeans and liquefied natural gas, or LNG, although Juncker suggested that that agreement came with conditions.

“We are ready to invest in infrastructure, new terminals, which could welcome imports of LNG from the United States and elsewhere, but mainly from the United States, if the conditions were right and price is competitive,” he said in a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies later Wednesday."

So yeah, maybe they import more soybeans and LNG if "conditions are right" (not sure what that means) and "prices are competitive" -- in other words, political speak for if we feel like it, we may do it.  But they played it just right because they gave President Trump a photo op and a chance to say "Look at all the great things I am doing for you" without having to commit to anything.  Sorry, but the world has learned how to deal with our "tough talking" President.  Let him be a blow hard, make a lot of noise, take a meeting and a photo op and then move on to the next thing to use as a vehicle to promote himself while you ignore him knowing he has the attention span of a knat.  Meanwhile, no actual deals on anything -- just ask the people furiously working to try and get an actual agreement with N. Korea.

In the end, if we implement tariffs, it hurts other countries far more than it hurts us.  We will see how it shakes out.  I am certain of one thing.  Even if Trump were to get everything he wants, the media would still find a way to spin it negatively.  I'm no fan of Trump's (I'm a Libertarian), but when looking at things, I take personal feelings out of it. The media has an agenda these days.  They no longer report the news, they spin the news.  It's amazing to me the way they throw around words like obstruction of justice and collusion now, but a short time ago there wasn't a hint of those words when a certain server had emails deleted then wiped, and a certain AG visited someone's husband on a plane before deciding against pursuing charges.  News programs need to go back to reporting the news, negative, and yes positive, regardless of how we feel about someone.  As far as the North Korea thing, satellites have shown that they have begun disassembly of one of their key missile test sites.  While that is just a small step, it is a step they have not taken before this.  Of course this has gotten very little media attention, because it doesn't fit the narrative.  In the end, we will see if they stick to their promises.  Of course the president of NK is kind of crazy, so I doubt it.