The casualties of Trump's trade war are mounting

[Demovictory9]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chapman/ct-perspec-chapman-trump-trade-war-elkhart-20180914-story.html

When White House economic adviser Gary Cohn showed up in the Oval Office earlier this year to give Donald Trump news of an excellent jobs report, the president’s keen grasp of economics and policy instantly came into play. “It’s all because of my tariffs,” he replied, according to Bob Woodward’s new book, “Fear.” Cohn had to inform him that the tariffs were not yet in effect.

Now they are, and the news is not so sunny. The Federal Reserve reported Wednesday that already, “Tariffs are reported to be contributing to rising input costs, mainly for manufacturers,” and worries about trade disputes have “prompted some businesses to scale back or postpone capital investment.”

Eighty percent of the world’s recreational vehicles are built in and around Elkhart County, Ind., which voted for Trump by a 2-1 margin. When times are bad, people don’t buy RVs, because they are a luxury, not a necessity. The Great Recession walloped Elkhart County, which saw its unemployment rate hit 20 percent. Nine years later, the rate is 2.3 percent — but RV sales are falling and some plants have cut production to four days a week.

Why? Trump has imposed new duties on steel and aluminum, two commodities needed to build motor homes, campers and the like. Elkhart County-based Smoker Craft, which makes recreational boats, said because of European retaliation the price of a typical new rig could climb from $30,000 to $37,000. Meanwhile, the tariffs imposed by Canada in retaliation have shriveled a market that previously accounted for a quarter of the company’s sales.

“This is a really big deal for us,” Elkhart County Commissioner Mike Yoder, a Republican, told The New York Times. “We export a lot of product and import a lot of product. If this whole trade dispute expands much more, it has serious implications, and we will once again lead the country into a recession, without a doubt.”

[Cracklin Charlie]

1. I'm driving through Missouri.

What are these farmers gonna do with all their produce? Will there be a customer to buy all these bushels?

I am not hearing enough about the effects of his idiotic “trade wars”. Should be called a war on trade.

[guillaumeb]

2. Vote based on stupidity...

expect bad consequences. Sorry Mr. Yoder, but if you suffer it is because of your uninformed vote.

[louis-t]

3. I just paid $167 for a car battery! I almost fell down.

When did THAT happen? I wonder if the price increase is due to the tariffs.

[gibraltar72]

4. They are on sale next week or the week after.

[Wellstone ruled]

6. All depends on what brand you purchased.

Yes Batteries have gone up in price since last spring. Remember,Interstate Battery filed a BK after losing their WalMart account. Purchased a new one last March,and Battery Dealer said the price increase was do to changing technologies and the loss of a major manufacturer.

Just read a piece from Bloomberg saying,China is or is going to,stop taking the old Lead Battery Plates from the US. And that was in part because of the new spun glass Technology being used by their Battery manufactures and they do not want any more Lead poisoning their population.

[John Fante]

5. Love the sarcasm in the opening paragraph.

Trump is a complete idiot, and so are the dummies that voted for him.