Maggie's Farm

b48: German requirements that foreign vehicles undergo annual inspections and filing of a ton of paperwork in order for the vehicle to be legally driven on German roads!

Oh gee whiz. Inspections and "a ton of paperwork" are required for all cars in Germany, and in much of the United States. German cars imported into the U.S. have to pass multitude of requirements, including for pollution and safety, state and federal.

b48: Or the Chinese requirement that a US company give up its intellectual property to the Chinese government, as a condition of doing business in China?

That's a business decision. However, the Chinese government is tilting the playing field, so perhaps the U.S. should work towards a stronger agreement to protect intellectual property.

Of course, the U.S. is not only dysfunctional internally, but is losing its ability to bring international soft power to bear, has lost credibility by abrogating treaties, and is set on pushing the Chinese rather than negotiating, resulting in a Chinese domestic reaction against compromise.

b48: Would BMW and Mercedes Benz cars be so popular here if their American owners were required to undergo mandatory annual, very expensive testing and the maintenance of dozens of pages of up-to-date documentation, in order to drive them to the grocery store?

Huh? There are a multitude of rules for vehicles and drivers, federal and state, that must be met before you can "drive them to the grocery store".

OneGuy: chooses to defend the obvious bias of the German government towards American imports.

If there is bias, it wasn't shown in b48's comment. Regular vehicle inspections, and safety standards, apply to all cars in Germany, whether imported or produced domestically. Tariffs may account for some of the difference:

Cars
U.S. 2.5%
E.U. 10%

Light trucks (pickups)
U.S. 25%
E.U. 10%

Hmm. The U.S. is really protective of their light truck industry. The real problem is that the U.S. doesn't produce the types of vehicles that sell well in Europe; economical, fuel-efficient, and green.

Only about 40% of the German fleet is produced inside Germany.

OneGuy: Every city of any size has a German auto dealer or two or three as well as Japanese and South Korea auto dealers as well.

And many are now produced in factories in the United States.

OneGuy: may well be one of those anti-American Russian bots that Mueller is investigating.

Actually, we're rather fond of the Americans, and admire their aspirations and their continuing potential. Though the U.S. keeps making gross strategic mistakes, decline is not inevitable. While the U.S. will not always be able to dictate to the world — a role they have traditionally eschewed — they will continue to be a major player for the foreseeable future.

As for Russia, they are under a populist kleptocracy. The Russian people are made to feel patriotic while oligarchs siphon off their wealth, wealth that should be used to invest in a future beyond their mineral assets. A new generation will bring about change.

Our comments are our own, and freely given. You're welcome.

OneGuy: That is if they sell us a billion in merchandise that they should buy a billion in merchandise from us.

That's great from a rather naïve point of view, but you do realize that trade is by individuals reacting to market conditions? An American wants to buy a Chinese product, and gives the factory owner dollars. The Chinese owners may keep the cash for a rainy day, or buy an E.U. product, or invest in assets in the U.S. Do you think that dollars should only be used for buying U.S. products but not assets, or not to buy products or assets from other countries? The U.S. seems to like deficit spending, meaning the Chinese factory owner can invest in almost unlimited U.S. bonds.

OneGuy: What trade really is: Rich multi-national companies deciding how to carve up the world's biggest market. They buy and sell our politicians and trade negotiators.

The U.S. is not the only market, if that is what you mean. The U.S. represents ~30% of the global consumer demand, but this share is shrinking as the world continues to develop. The movement is towards China and India, where hundreds of millions are now entering the middle class.

Of course large, multinationals jockey for position, and for political influence. However, markets are by far the largest force at work. But you're right in a way. Politicians sell patriotism and Country First, while robbing the coffers of money that is needed to invest in the future.

The U.S. has great advantages; vast resources, an educated and motivated population, a tradition of open markets and free expression. However, they can't seem to grapple with the fundamental facts. They think they can hand out money to the rich, neglect infrastructure, and start trade wars, without it impacting their long-term prospects.

B. Hammer: Here is the table.

"Motor vehicles for the transport of goods: (con.)
Other {not dumpers designed for off-highway use}, with spark-ignition internal combustion piston engine: 25% {see page 13}"

B. Hammer: It also looks like if you import to the right state, you can avoid the tariff altogether.

Those are country codes, and refer to applicable trade agreements. For instance, AU refers to the United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement. A+ is for least developed beneficiary developing countries only, which generally don't produce much in the way of trucks. B is Canada and BH is Bahrain. The rest are at 25%.

The rest are at 25%.

Other than those listed under special, other countries are at 25%.

feeblemind: Christopher O’Riley, who is a regular on PBS and NPR, literally called for the enforced slaughter of Trump supporters. “Calling them Deplorables is euphemizing them. Maybe better to euthanize?” the verified twitter user quipped.

O'Riley says he meant it as a quip, but it was wrong, so he disabled his twitter account, and apologized — as he should. Now, the President of the United States has called the press an "enemy of the people". Has he apologized?

Jim: Trump clarified he was just calling "Fake News" an enemy of the people.

"It is the FAKE NEWS, which is a large percentage of the media, that is the enemy of the people!" In other words, it's not a quip, but a repeatedly stated position.

Yes, the press can be irritating, insulting, preening, pestering, a real pain. (That's almost a job description.) But they aren't the enemy of the people. The President saying so is an attack on one of the foundations of democracy.

Z: Yes, the press can be irritating, insulting, preening, pestering ...

fallible, raucous, stubborn, rivalrous, hasty, tenacious, galling, unruly, sloppy ...

None of these salient characteristics make the press "an enemy of the people".