President Trump met the coronavirus, and he prevailed. For this the nation is grateful. For a fleeting moment, one might have wondered if, following his brush with the dreaded disease, Trump had chosen to re-evaluate his outlook on life and the presidency. …
October 24, 2020 | Link to Pennlive
Fuel-economy standard set by Obama. To be achieved by 2025.
Fuel-economy standard planned by Trump. Fighting with California to deny it the ability to set its own, higher than federal, standard. GM, Fiat Chrysler and Toyota are on Trump’s side.
But not all automakers are on board with the lower standard. Honda, Ford, Volkswagen and BMW are sticking with California’s requirement (which is closer to the Obama level). At least they are, for the moment.
Brexit: slouching toward Gomorrah
August 16, 2019 | Pennlive
What a trade war looks like — a joyless series of tit for tat
Aug 9, 2019 | Pennlive
The economic picture is bright spots, but dark shadows threaten
Aug 2, 2019 | Pennlive
Posted in Economic policy
July 2018: The opening salvo!
US imposes 25% duties on $34 billion of imports from China.
China retaliates! Imposes 25% tariff on US goods worth $34 billion.
August 2018: Ratcheting it up!
US imposes 25% tariff on additional $16 billion of Chinese goods. Total affected: $50 billion.
China retaliates again, with 25% tariff on $16 billion of US goods. Total affected: $50 billion.
September 2018: A dramatic escalation!
US imposes tariffs of 10% on $200 billion of Chinese goods. Total is now up to $250 billion. Threatens to increase tariff to 25%.
China retaliates, but weakly. Tariffs imposed on $60 billion of US goods. Total affected: $110 billion
December 2018: A respite at the G20 Summit in Argentina!
US delays increasing tariffs from 10% to 25% on $200 billion of Chinese goods.
China suspends tariffs on US cars and auto parts till April 2019, and promises to buy US soybeans.
May 2019: Oh no! Talks break down!
US increases tariffs from 10% to 25% on $200 billion of Chinese goods.
China hits back! It will increase tariffs on $60 billion of US goods. Increase goes into effect June 1.
US goes after Huawei! Places it on “entity list,” banning US companies from selling components to Huawei.
China will make it own list! An “unreliable entities list” comprising US companies will be drawn up.
June 2019: Truce declared at G20 Summit in Japan! (Why the hell are these people meeting so often?)
US delays new tariffs of up to 25% on $300 billion of Chinese goods. May also remove some restrictions on US companies selling to Huawei.
Posted in Economic policy, International
Japanese drummers cancel Mt. Gretna event — a casualty of Trump’s trade and immigration policies
July 19, 2019 | Pennlive
Posted in Economic policy, International
In December 2017, a professor Philip Alston traveled around the United States, met with senior state and federal government officials, conferred with experts and citizen groups, and talked to people who are homeless or living in deep poverty. He then wrote a report on poverty in the country.
Alston noted the “caricatured narratives about the purported differences between the rich and the poor”:
The rich are industrious, entrepreneurial, patriotic, and the drivers of economic success. The poor are wasters, losers, and scammers. As a result, money spent on welfare is money down the drain. To complete the picture we are also told that the poor who want to make it in America can easily do so: they really can achieve the American dream if only they work hard enough.
In November 2018, Alston carried out a similar exercise in the UK. In his report, he wrote:
British compassion for those who are suffering has been replaced by a punitive, mean-spirited, and often callous approach apparently designed to instill discipline where it is least useful, to impose a rigid order on the lives of those least capable of coping with today’s world
Who is Alston?
Alston is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights. The Special Rapporteur is an independent expert appointed by the Human Rights Council to “give greater prominence to the plight of those living in extreme poverty and to highlight the human rights consequences of the systematic neglect to which they are all too often subjected. The expert is required by the Human Rights Council to examine and report back to member States on initiatives taken to promote and protect the rights of those living in extreme poverty, with a view to advancing the eradication of such poverty.” (OHCHR)
These reports are not viewed favorably by the governments of the countries examined. Then US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said it was “patently ridiculous for the United Nations to examine poverty in America.” The facts, however, are incontrovertible:
40 million Americans live in poverty; 18.5 million of those people are living in extreme poverty (having an income lower than half the official poverty rate), with 5.3 million living in “Third World conditions of absolute poverty.” (PassBlue)
Posted in Economic policy, International
Tempers are fraying.
The European Parliament’s coordinator for Brexit said ‘the two years had been “exhausting” on both sides of the Channel, and called for Mrs May and Mr Corbyn to work together – “not only eating biscuits and drinking tea” – to come to a cross-party solution and to stop “using and abusing Brexit to get rid of each other”. ‘
A Dutch newspaper summed up the divisions in the UK:
The Scots do not want a Brexit at all, Labour wants to keep one leg in the EU, the Brexiteers want to go into battle against the EU like Don Quixote, and the Northern Irish unionists want to drag as much money out of London as possible.”
How did we get here? A timeline:
June 23, 2016: The Brits vote in a referendum to leave the European Union. The Leave side beats the Remain side 52% to 48%.
March 29, 2017: Prime Minister May triggers Article 50. The UK will officially leave the EU in two years.
November 2018: UK and EU agree to a “withdrawal agreement.” Three key points are covered: (i) To break the partnership, the UK will pay about 39 billion pounds to EU. (ii) Status of UK citizens living in the EU and vice versa. (iii) Avoid a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (which will now become the frontier between UK and EU). The “deal” has to be approved by the UK Parliament.
March 29, 2019: UK will leave the EU at 23:00GMT, bringing down the group’s membership from 28 to 27.
March 29, 2019 – December 31, 2020: Transition period, to finalize a UK-EU trade agreement and allow firms to adjust. If the withdrawal agreement is approved, no major changes will take place during this period.
What has happened in the last couple of weeks?
On January 15, the deal was voted down, by a huge margin of 432-202. On January 29, the MPs voted to send Theresa May back to Brussels to negotiate another deal. Another vote is to be held in February.
Key sticking point: The border question. The “backstop” was meant to keep an open border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
So what happens if there is no deal?
The UK will leave the EU on March 29 without a withdrawal agreement or transition period.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-46318565
https://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-7960
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47056349
The independence of central banks is under attack.
In Turkey, earlier this year, “Erdogan appointed his son-in-law Berat Albayrak as the head of treasury and finance, raising further concerns over the independence of monetary and fiscal policy.” (Seattle Times)
In the US, Jerome Powell was appointed by Trump to replace Janet Yellen as the Fed chair, but that has not prevented Trump from offering him stern advice on interest-rate policy. (CNBC)
In India, Urjit Patel, governor of the Reserve Bank of India, has resigned. Modi’s government was seeking to “curtail the RBI’s authority as a banking regulator, and even to raid its capital.” (Economic Times)
If central banks are seen as kowtowing to the dictates of the government, their credibility comes under question. The conduct of monetary policy becomes suspect, with investors and markets doubting their commitment to fight inflation.
Posted in Economic policy
The Moving Hand Writes 