Comments by "peabase" (@peabase) on "Europe to take U.S. tariff concerns to World Trade Organisation" video.

  1. It looks like the EU is constructively trying to resolve the issue. Trump is acting the playground bully here.
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  2. Maybe you can't see the forest for the trees. There are problems -- a club of 28 disparate countries is bound to have 'em -- but the EU economy is doing fine. It also bears remembering that of the two -- the EU and the US -- the EU's is the bigger economy.
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  3. Now I'm convinced that you can't see the forest for the trees. Bloomberg just reported on lower than anticipated US growth rates. Everyone can cherry-pick headlines. It goes without saying that Germany will be hurt by Trump's import tariffs. Likewise, the US economy will be hurt by the EU's counter-tariffs. Everyone suffers in a trade war. Brexit hurts the UK the most. After the referendum, the British economy went from one of the EU's best performers to a mediocre one. The EU's total economic output will obviously drop when (or, should I say, if) the UK actually leaves, but the economies of the rest won't be greatly affected. Dropping exports to the UK are offset by their British competitors' struggles, which aren't limited to the EU's internal market, but also affect the international marketplace. Trump already gave the Brits a foretaste of what lies in store in the Bombardier-Boeing trade dispute. Italy's problems are political. Like the US, they've gone populist. Instead of admitting their own issues, they're scapegoating the EU. They're clamouring for EU reform, but it's Italy that's in need of reform. Knowing Italian politics, nothing will change. Maybe the current band of populists will be replaced by another, who're pro-EU, but just as wrong about the EU. The EU can't solve their issues, only the Italians can. But let's not forget what triggered this trade war: the US trade deficit. It's a chronic problem, which suggests that generally speaking, US companies struggle to compete globally. Instead of trying to improve their competitiveness, Trump reverted to protectionism. It's a downward spiral -- now the lazy can grow lazier still.
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