Trump making surprise statement on CNN now:

[applegrove]

Close friendship with the EU.....work toward for zero tariffs on non auto industrial goods and selling us soybeans. EU is going to buy a lot of soy beans. EU to diversify energy sources. Reform WTO .... negotiations to start now and also resolve aluminium and steel issues....

[rzemanfl]

1. If he tells the truth, please let us know. n/t

[jcgoldie]

2. That WOULD be a surprise!

[Hugin]

3. It has something to do with the EU and trade.

Manipulating the stock market... Rumors tickled up the indexes around 150 points in the last hour of trading.

[Wellstone ruled]

10. Bingo,

Kudlow made another phone call? Mnuchin made a phone call? Mean while,Icahn covers his Short Positions as well as Singer and other Oligarchs.

These assholes really killed a ton of 401's and IRA's today.

[gratuitous]

4. The media should just boycott this

Trump just wants 15 or 20 minutes to whine about unfairness and fake news. He won't take any questions (except perhaps a softball from Fox), then waddle off to watch himself on Fox, where they'll extol him as the second coming of Jesus, Lincoln, and Patton all rolled into one.

[Hugin]

5. You forgot Reagan and that the Trumperfella is the President...

W was supposed to be.

[dalton99a]

6. He is a goddamn attention whore

Every damn day

[leftyladyfrommo]

19. That is the under statement of the century.

What I would give for Dimfuck to just go away. I don't care where. Just be gone.

[GulfCoast66]

7. What the fuck are they going to do with soy beans?

Most countries in Europe have strong agricultural sectors. I’m sure they grow beans somewhere.

I am in agriculture major and have been to Europe nine times so I pay attention to the crops I see. I find it very interesting. I’ve seen lots of wheat and other cereal grains. Tons of corn for feeding their hogs. But can’t ever remember seeing soybeans. I’m sure someone here on DU knows more than me and will correct me if I’m wrong.

Besides, a lot of our soybeans are GMO. The Europeans are not so sanguine to GMO crops.

But of course since he’s talking, he’s lying.

[Ezior]

14. It's not warm enough for soy beans in many EU regions

And we need lots of soy beans to feed live stock.
And some more for vegetarian food / soy milk (very small amount in comparison I guess).

So I believe we import most of our soy beans. Wikipedia says France, Italy and Romania grow some soy beans themselves.

Many soy-based products I see actually use soy beans from South America. I read some criticism because rain forest in South America is cleared to make room for soy beans. So if we can buy more from North America to protect the rain forest, that's a good thing.

Also, they are often GMO from South America. I've grown less and less critical of GMO in recent years. If it helps to grow more using less resources (water, fertilizer, whatever) it might be a win against climate change...

[GulfCoast66]

21. Just looked it up. USDA data.

Europe imported 18k metric tons and that number has been flat for 20 years.

China imported 95k metric tons and that number has been increasing rapidly.

He is full of shit. All the EU will do is switch to buying fire sale price American beans.

[spanone]

8. Wasn't the EU just screwing us?

[lpbk2713]

9. Like Trump can be trusted to do what he says?

He's lying his pasty white ass off.

[kwassa]

11. Trump is completely incoherent.

[markses66]

12. Translation: Soy Bean Market Catastrophe causes Trump to completely cave on EU tariffs

This, too, will be unsustainable. China will continue to turn the screws until Trump completely caves, and they'll mock up some twisted statement proclaiming victory in their trade war.

[eleny]

13. I didn't see it but it sounds like one of Marc Maron's Dream Diary riffs on Morning Sedition

Dream Diary audio files from the old radio show
http://www.morningseditionists.com/msarchive/dreamdiary/

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

15. "EU to diversify energy sources" means he wants the EU to use more fossil fuels.

The share of energy from renewable sources in gross final consumption of energy continued rising to reach 17% in the European Union in 2016, a doubling of the share attained in 2004 at just 8.5%. [1]The Europe 2020 strategy includes a target of reaching 20% of energy in gross final consumption of energy from renewable sources by 2020 and at least 27% by 2030.[1] These figures are based on energy use in all its forms across all three main sectors, the heating and cooling sector, the electricity sector and the transport sector.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy_in_the_European_Union

Trump is probably pushing the EU to use more oil, coal and natural gas -- the fossil fuels. Right now the EU is on track to its goal of having 20% of its energy generated by renewables, principally wind and solar. Forcing the Union to move the direction he wants (more fossil fuels) would achieve several of Donnie Two Scoops' goals. He would be serving the interests of the fossil fuel industries that helped finance his inauguration. He would be repaying the industries' investment of $36 million on lobbying during the first three months after the inauguration. It would stick an eye in the Paris Environmental Accords, which determined that scientific facts proved the existence of global warming, and that countries agreed to work together to reduce the human effect on the environment. Global warming is a Chinese hoax, remember.

And I'm sure it fits into Putin's plan to destroy the European Union.

Plus it will convince Trump he's the greatest negotiator in the world -- "Only I could bring the EU to its knees" -- and most dangerously, it will show him that he can bully other countries the way he's bullied people throughout his life, and no one will put up even token resistance.

The world is so fucked.

[Ezior]

17. The EU actually needs to diversify energy sources

I'm sure Trump thinks "buy US natural gas!" when he says "diversify energy sources".
Well, I think "buy less Russian gas!" when I say "diversify energy sources".

We can do both, and at the same time work hard to get more renewable generators connected to the grid. However, it will be a long time (at least a few decades) before we no longer need natural gas imports.

And I'd rather buy them from the US than Russia. Sure, Trump is terrible, but he's a bit less terrible than Putin, because Putin is actually smart.

[0rganism]

16. Trump MO: shit all over something, then take credit for rinsing it off

what a gargantuan asshole

[rzemanfl]

20. Correction, take credit for someone else rinsing it off. n/t

[404usernamenotfound]

18. Global economy is good

If he did pull this off then what's it matter? It just moves us closer to a more global economy.