Trump's Trade Policies Reshape Global Power Dynamics

[Deluge]

"Frustration is mounting in Brussels and Beijing over Donald Trump’s trade policy. The former U.S. president’s tariffs have caught the elite bureaucracies off guard and exposed their own protectionist instincts. In this global power play, the United States holds the stronger cards.

On Friday, Trump unveiled his first official trade agreement since announcing a new wave of tariffs on April 2. The United Kingdom was the first to sign on, signaling a potential shift in the global trade order.

One key bargaining chip for the U.S. is ethanol: a commodity essential to industrial production and chemical manufacturing, where America commands a 52% share of the global market. In trade talks, the U.S. is leveraging its ethanol dominance as a counterweight to Chinese control over rare earth elements and other critical raw materials.

With success—Britain agreed to open its domestic market to American agricultural goods and accept a general baseline tariff of 10% on U.S. imports, all in order to maintain access to American ethanol. This could further deepen Britain’s trade deficit, which already stands at $12 billion annually—a tactical win for Trump."

https://www.newsmax.com/finance/thomaskolbe/trump-international-trade/2025/05/12/id/1210571/

I'd say more good than bad is happening here, but that's only because I'm an America First, American.  

[Michael Hardner]

It's true... Dynamics have changed quite a bit. Europe, Mexico and Canada were previously partners and close allies. 

In the last term North Korea and Russia ascended and in this term it's Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and now Syria 

. Interesting times indeed.

[Hodad]

14 minutes ago, Michael Hardner said:

It's true... Dynamics have changed quite a bit. Europe, Mexico and Canada were previously partners and close allies. 

In the last term North Korea and Russia ascended and in this term it's Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and now Syria 

. Interesting times indeed.

It's always been birds of a feather. Our allies were those with whom we shared principles and common interests. That's still true today. Unfortunately, we've molted to reveal something much, much uglier. 

[WestCanMan]

24 minutes ago, Michael Hardner said:

In the last term North Korea and Russia ascended and in this term it's Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and now Syria 

^That's^ all BS, but what has Canada done in the last ten years, MH? 

[robosmith]

20 minutes ago, WestCanMan said:

^That's^ all BS, but what has Canada done in the last ten years, MH? 

Just because FOS LIES doesn't tell the you the whole truth doesn't make it "BS." Duh

[Deluge]

1 hour ago, Michael Hardner said:

It's true... Dynamics have changed quite a bit. Europe, Mexico and Canada were previously partners and close allies. 

In the last term North Korea and Russia ascended and in this term it's Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and now Syria 

. Interesting times indeed.

Well, it certainly beats the hell out of open borders, pride encroachment, and critical race hustler theory.  

[gatomontes99]

Who is easier to control? The country that hates us and views us as an enemy or the country that depends on us for economic prosperity?

Trump is not stupid to put aside past mistakes to seek out future friendship. To be clear, "friends" that misbehave still need to be corrected. But it is a whole lot easier to make that happen when you have mutual respect and financial ties. I'm not ok with some of the Saudi and Qatar laws or the some of their well known atrocities. Maybe our economic ties will help us to adjust their behavior. The old way never worked, let's try this.

[Deluge]

1 hour ago, Hodad said:

It's always been birds of a feather. Our allies were those with whom we shared principles and common interests. That's still true today. Unfortunately, we've molted to reveal something much, much uglier. 

Your allies are global marxists and illegal aliens. America has no use for you. 

[Nationalist]

2 hours ago, Hodad said:

It's always been birds of a feather. Our allies were those with whom we shared principles and common interests. That's still true today. Unfortunately, we've molted to reveal something much, much uglier. 

The bird of Libbies...

 

[Hodad]

9 minutes ago, Nationalist said:

The bird of Libbies...

 

Crows are the smartest birds. Your subconscious really farked you on that one. 

Meanwhile, you have to settle for being chickenshit.

Edited Thursday at 08:39 PM by Hodad

[gatomontes99]

17 minutes ago, Hodad said:

Crows are the smartest birds. Your subconscious really farked you on that one. 

Meanwhile, you have to settle for being chickenshit.

Being the smartest of the bird brains is still a bird brain.

[CdnFox]

2 hours ago, gatomontes99 said:

Who is easier to control? The country that hates us and views us as an enemy or the country that depends on us for economic prosperity?

Trump is not stupid to put aside past mistakes to seek out future friendship. To be clear, "friends" that misbehave still need to be corrected. But it is a whole lot easier to make that happen when you have mutual respect and financial ties. I'm not ok with some of the Saudi and Qatar laws or the some of their well known atrocities. Maybe our economic ties will help us to adjust their behavior. The old way never worked, let's try this.

This cannot be argued. History shows it to be true again and again. This is the basic premise behind the age old phrase  "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer".  Having ties to people that you disagree with significantly increases your chances of working with them to resolve issues. This is something the democrats should have learned in the last election when they called everybody that disagreed with them Hitler and then were shocked that those people didn't vote for them

My concern with regards to this is that trump is taking allies who have financial connections to them now and turning them into enemies. It will likely be more than a decade before Canada ever looks at the US the same way. And regardless of what trump says canada actually does quite a bit for America and America's wealth comes in no small part but it's relationship with Canada.

So while what you said is true, it is equally true that trump is going off the rails by ruining relationships where the USA already had strength

[Nationalist]

2 hours ago, Hodad said:

Crows are the smartest birds. Your subconscious really farked you on that one. 

Meanwhile, you have to settle for being chickenshit.

And you love eating them...don't you.

[August1991]

8 hours ago, Michael Hardner said:

It's true... Dynamics have changed quite a bit. Europe, Mexico and Canada were previously partners and close allies. 

In the last term North Korea and Russia ascended and in this term it's Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and now Syria 

. Interesting times indeed.

Disagree.

Qatar?

[Michael Hardner]

2 minutes ago, August1991 said:

 

Qatar?

Can you think of a reason Trump might favour them?

[robosmith]

23 hours ago, Nationalist said:

And you love eating them...don't you.

Did you ever find the law that Stephen Miller fooled you into believing he was stating?

Or do you still believe what he said was actually quoting a law? LMAO

[SpankyMcFarland]

While he’s reshaping global dynamics, America’s president might want to spend a little time on this matter:

Quote

Moody’s on Friday downgraded its credit rating of the United States by a notch to “AA1” from “AAA,” citing rising debt and interest “that are significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns.”

 

Quote

“Successive US administrations and Congress have failed to agree on measures to reverse the trend of large annual fiscal deficits and growing interest costs,” Moody’s said on Friday, as it changed its outlook on the U.S. to “stable” from “negative.”

https://globalnews.ca/news/11184458/us-credit-rating-moodys-downgrade-aa1/

Debt isn’t a problem until it is and then things can go sideways very quickly. 

 

 

 

[CdnFox]

1 hour ago, SpankyMcFarland said:

While he’s reshaping global dynamics, America’s president might want to spend a little time on this matter:

 

https://globalnews.ca/news/11184458/us-credit-rating-moodys-downgrade-aa1/

Debt isn’t a problem until it is and then things can go sideways very quickly. 

 

 

 

True. I assume you would have similar words for our prime minister?

[SpankyMcFarland]

11 minutes ago, CdnFox said:

True. I assume you would have similar words for our prime minister?

Our debts are serious too but the PM and president have significant differences. There’s no militant, quasi-religious cult around Carney. If he had lost the election, no mob would have stormed our parliament.