Community Stories

Hey you 'muricans ... get those Swiss watches pronto [tariffs and international trade]

Archer
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amikoyan amikoyan
I got a free cat with this purchase but I'm not sure if I should open it to see if the cat is ok.
Schrodinger's tariffs - you don't know if they are dead or alive until you open Truth Social....
 
Dan S
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A quote from JD Vance on a possible trade deal with the UK. Apparently, it's mostly about Trump's personal and business relationships. He actually said this out loud.

"The President really loves the United Kingdom," Vance said to the online publication UnHerd on Tuesday. "He loved the Queen. He admires and loves the King. It is a very important relationship. And he's a businessman and has a number of important business relationships in [Britain]."

"I think there's a good chance that, yes, we'll come to a great agreement that's in the best interest of both countries," Vance added.
 
Archer
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Dan S Dan S
A quote from JD Vance on a possible trade deal with the UK. Apparently, it's mostly about Trump's personal and business relationships. He actually said this out loud.

"The President really loves the United Kingdom," Vance said to the online publication UnHerd on Tuesday. "He loved the Queen. He admires and loves the King. It is a very important relationship. And he's a businessman and has a number of important business relationships in [Britain]."

"I think there's a good chance that, yes, we'll come to a great agreement that's in the best interest of both countries," Vance added.
His thought to eagerly accept and invitation to join the Commonwealth was quite funny, but since he wants to be King, it's not that surprising. I think getting a consensus from the other countries (in particular those you are openly threatening) to uphold the membership application is unlikely, to say the least...
 
pdxleaf
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This thread is much more depressing than the Canadian thread.

Maybe Dan should change the title to "Not everything in the USA will kill you."
 
texasmade
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pdxleaf pdxleaf
Maybe Dan should change the title to "Not everything in the USA will kill you."
Just the food, the air, the water, the cars, the healthcare...
 
Walrus
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I don’t mind trade but these damn anti biotics I’m taking are made in India or the precursors come from China. A lot of meds I see our clients taking same thing. I do not think it’s possible to reindustrialize a country but it seems like some things should be made here for safety.

Frig that was too controversial a statement gotta get back to cats
 
BlackTalon
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watchyouwant watchyouwant
Bought that one in 1995. Replaced all heating elements myself 5 years ago . Daily use . Best ever and Money very well spent.
IMG_20250415_231829.webp
Nice -- looks like it can easily store 4 huntsman.
 
Archer
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pdxleaf pdxleaf
Maybe Dan should change the title to "Not everything in the USA will kill you."
"Joey, have you ever been in a Salvadorian prison?"

Prison.webp
 
Dan S
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pdxleaf pdxleaf
This thread is much more depressing than the Canadian thread.

Maybe Dan should change the title to "Not everything in the USA will kill you."
Did not expect 31 pages, I should probably clarify the title.
 
bsowers34
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Dan S Dan S
Did not expect 31 pages, I should probably clarify the title.
It has gone the way of so many other threads........
 
bsowers34
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Just had my first tariff victim. The NACS charging adapter for Mercedes has gone up from 185 to 224. Lectron branded, made in China.
 
Dsloan
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My company just pulled the trigger on a boatload or new equipment. We were planning to do it later this year, but hurried up due to concerns about tariffs.
 
watchyouwant
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bsowers34 bsowers34
Just had my first tariff victim. The NACS charging adapter for Mercedes has gone up from 185 to 224. Lectron branded, made in China.
Cheap ! That`s only 20 % . Buy more; quick ...
 
watchyouwant
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BlackTalon BlackTalon
Nice -- looks like it can easily store 4 huntsman.
More than 4 . These Damn Spiders never stand still in their Slots when Toasted ...
 
Archer
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This is the "FO" part of FAFO...even March break couldn't help...

US travel March 2025.webp
 
texasmade
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Archer Archer
This is the "FO" part of FAFO...even March break couldn't help...

US travel March 2025.webp
But at least we stopped the 1kg of illegal fentanyl from crossing over to the US from Canada. It only cost the US billion $ in tourism.
 
glownyc
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Walrus Walrus
I don’t mind trade but these damn anti biotics I’m taking are made in India or the precursors come from China. A lot of meds I see our clients taking same thing. I do not think it’s possible to reindustrialize a country but it seems like some things should be made here for safety.

Frig that was too controversial a statement gotta get back to cats
With imports we spend the most on pharmaceutical from Ireland. Tax breaks lead to a lot of production being moved or setup there. That said pharmaceutical companies had already been planning or considering moving production to the US. They don't like the pro-worker laws in Ireland.
Trump is saying tariffs on pharmaceutical are coming. The good news is because of contracts in place prices can't be raised right away. The bad news it's predicted some makes of generics who operate on smaller margins will pull out. Leading to shortages and higher prices anyways. Also those same companies that were already considering producing in the US are now claiming they need a tax break to do so.

I agree drug safety should be a concern of the government. Quickly slapping a tariff on isn't gonna do that in the shot or long term. A long term plan could include tariffs but requires a lot of careful planning. In the short term inspections of overseas producers could be increased. Make the pharmaceutical companies who import pay into fund to cover those government inspections. There a program like this for cruise ship inspections. It saved lives and wasn't funded by tax dollars yet it was severely cut recently in the name of government efficiency.
 
Archer
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glownyc glownyc
I agree drug safety should be a concern of the government. Quickly slapping a tariff on isn't gonna do that in the shot or long term. A long term plan could include tariffs but requires a lot of careful planning. In the short term inspections of overseas producers could be increased. Make the pharmaceutical companies who import pay into fund to cover those government inspections. There a program like this for cruise ship inspections. It saved lives and wasn't funded by tax dollars yet it was severely cut recently in the name of government efficiency.
Great post. This is how a lot of government programs operate - on a cost recovery basis. Already about 50% of FDA revenues come from this very thing - charging the drug companies for the services that the government provides. That was a decision made by congress. We have this in Canada as well - my wife works in this field registering drugs, medical devices, and natural health products, and the costs of that registration is borne by the company that wants to sell the products.

The problem with this idea is how that is spun in the media. Some will see this as a good thing in that the taxpayers are not footing the bill, but the drug companies are. Of course those costs get passed on, but then there can be competition to keep prices low, so the market can work in that regard. Unfortunately, people who want to mislead those vulnerable to being mislead by saying that the companies are paying the FDA to release drugs that are not safe, or whatever the latest conspiracy theory is, can also weaponize this sort of thing.
 
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