Is there nothing that Obama can't do?
California, an important supplier of fresh fruits, dried fruits and nuts to Mexico, will be hit hard. Table grapes will face a 45% duty at the Mexican border; wine, almonds and juices among other agricultural products will pay 20%. Some 90% of Christmas-tree exports from California and 65% from Oregon go to Mexico. It's doubtful volumes will hold up beneath a 20% tariff.
Alongside Oregon, Washington state will pay dearly to protect the Teamsters. Four out of 10 pears that the U.S. exports go to Mexico and half of those come from Washington. Under the new rules, American pears now face a 20% tariff, as do a host of paper products from the Pacific Northwest and Wisconsin.
Wisconsin's scrap battery industry, which exports $128 million annually to Mexico, won't be as competitive after it pays a 20% tariff. Nor will New York's $24 million annual exports in personal hygiene products or its exports of $250 million in precious-metals jewelry. President Obama's home state of Illinois can't be happy to learn it will lose competitiveness under a 20% tariff on its plastic tableware and kitchenware exports to Mexico ($57 million annually) and on its printed leaflets and brochures ($68.7 million).
North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan sponsored the amendment that closed the border and his constituents will pay. North Dakota only exports $1 million in oil seeds annually but 80% of that goes to Mexico. They now face a 15% tariff.
At first glance, this last point looks like good news for us.
h/t Michele.
There are very serious safety concerns regarding the Mexican trucks, they already have a buffer that they can deliver in. Many of these trucks are in very sad shape.
Following in the footsteps of FDR. This is one of the main initiatives that led to the great depression in the 30's.
A few years past a Mexican truck appeared at the incoming scale at Amherstburg NS without permits or authorities, log books, or trip records.....it was subjected to a safety and impounded.
The NS diesel bears were at a loss as to how it had made it from Mexico to there mechanically----without considering all the inspection stations which had missed it somehow.
Allan and sasquatch, according to the WSJ piece the eighteen month pilot program showed that Mexican trucks had a safety record as good as American ones, but even if Mexican trucks were less safe that's not a good enough reason to start a potentially massively-damaging trade war. And you can be one-hundred percent sure that the Teamsters' demands had absolutely nothing to do with their concern for public safety. They're Teamsters -- they could give a rat.
No, this is just one more piece of evidence that the current administration is full of people picked and led by a serious maroon. These counter-shot tariffs put in by Mexico -- 45% on table grapes from California -- are coming at the worst possible time, and all because the Teamsters Union got Congress to stop long-haul trucks from coming into Mexico. Potentially massive damage to key US agriculture industries, among others, just to give the Teamsters what they want?
I'm seriously starting to wonder if it isn't Obama's intention to ruin the US economy so that he can start nationalizing, and then unionizing, major industries. I wouldn't be surprised if he's part of a fifth column, but at the very least he is dangerously unqualified for the job. They guy is going to do untold damage in his remaining 3 years and 10 months in office.
Worst President ever.
Correction: "..to stop long-haul trucks coming *from* Mexico.."
All of the tarrifs targeted at Blue-States? That's quite the coincidence, isn't it?
This is beautiful ... and I mean that in the least flattering way possible! I have close friends & extended family in Mexico, so I do fear for them but look at how quickly the Obama Kool-Aid drinkers the world over NOW realize how deeply they've been fooled! And the Obamunists within the U.S. are now going to pay increased prices for so many things.
I second EBD: Worst President Ever!
Some 90% of Christmas-tree exports from California and 65% from Oregon go to Mexico.
You can't even hear yourselves, can you?
Good for Mexico to challenge the amateur government! NAFTA violations are not to be tolerated! The US should have talked to Mexico about any non-compliant trucks first.
Ohhh man...Jimmah Carter is, unbelieveably, beginning to look good...
EBD for team leader!
Did some reading on California Christmas trees. FYI, here's a heavily abridged aka snipped column (Portland Bus. Journal Nov 21, 08)...
When the rest of the economy is chilly, demand for Christmas trees has historically spiked.
That’s good news for Oregon’s Christmas tree farmers, whose 8 million trees harvested annually supply most of the country with holiday cheer. Oregon is the country’s top producer of Christmas trees.
Oregon Christmas tree sales are worth $125 million annually.
Demand for Nordmann and Douglas Fir are up, but down for high-end noble firs.
Nobles typically retail for between $50 and $75 while Doug Firs retail for between $35 and $55.
“There are too many nobles in the ground right now."
Most Oregon Christmas trees are sold in California...
Christmas tree farmers ran into some problems with exports to Mexico last year due to pests.
“We are being more aggressive with trees going to Hawaii and Mexico,”
Mexican regulators are particularly concerned about two tree pests — the Douglas fir twig weevil and the Douglas fir needle midge.
This is great news for Canada. Canadian importers of these products can now force price reductions.
on the suppliers. Idibama economics at work. Myself I'm investing in wheelbarrows!
Once the report came out that Mexican drivers are as good as American ones, it was quickly buried and Obama let Congress give way to the Teamsters. Congress is in charge.
From Charles Krauthammer
"If you thought the AIG hysteria was a display of populist cynicism directed at a relative triviality, consider this: There are more than 6.5 million trucks in the United States. The program Congress terminated allowed 97 Mexican trucks to roam among them. Ninety-seven! Shutting them out not only undermines NAFTA. It caused Mexico to retaliate with tariffs on 90 goods affecting $2.4 billion in U.S. trade coming out of 40 states."
I don't have a dog in this fight.
This all looks bad for the US but looks good for Canada.
Maybe some US businesses will move to Canada to avoid those unfait taxez, and create new jobs for Canadains, which will energize our economic growth, or Canda will export more stuff to Mexico, and so on and so forth.
I do not like Obama at all, he is obviously a phoney, an amteur and a socialist, but in the end he might make My Canada a better place to live in.
I feel sorry for my friends and neighbors in the USA...they are stuck with Obama for at least 4 years...
"Some 90% of Christmas-tree exports from California and 65% from Oregon go to Mexico.
You can't even hear yourselves, can you?"
- STephen
What's the problem? 90% of California's trees go to Mexico, and 65% of Oregon's trees go to Mexico. Or did you have a problem with 155% of the trees?
Oh, and
Worst
President
Evah!
chri$t. Is there anything else the unions can f-up?
In 1946 the us and Canada utterly dominated every sector of the modern economy. Now every sector that was dominated by unions from shipbuilding to steel to autos to consumer electronics is gone going or a shadow of it's former self. And now with the American economy in crisis they push us into a trade war. Their self-centred greed clearly knows no bounds.
A medium-sized meteor hitting DC (one just big enough to take out the capital region) would be about the best "stimulus" program I could think of.
Take out all the politicians (both sides,) bureaucrats, lawyers, journalists and lobbyists all at once.
It would be the best thing that happened to America since they dumped English tea in Boston harbour.
how soon before the states doe's this to us
Obama wants to start talks with Iran and in the meantime relations with Mexico are going to hell. How many of you think Obama will accomplish anything with Iran?
Warwick,
I am desperately "waiting for that asteroid"...Maybe a small chunk could break off entering the atmosphere and hit Ottawa too: PM Harper and his family preferably out of town on that day though. ;-)
Smoot, meet Hawley.
"How many of you think Obama will accomplish anything with Iran?"
I do,
He just emboldened and encouraged Iran and turned his back on Israel...
He's accomplishing stuff daily. All anti American, anti Democratic, unconstitutional, treacherous and stupid.
Yes, between teleprompter speeches and talk show appearances (Vitamins for his ravenous and insatiable narcissism), his late night parties with lefty elites at the WH and a weekend retreat at Camp David after only one month in power; Daddy O still manages to find time to "accomplish". Like many a sucessful Wall street bigwig that spends most of his time being entertained, he delegates the work. To the Democrat congress that is.
Obama: Yes he can!
I'm just waiting for the great "O-so-humble" to guest host on Leno or Letterman. Lord knows he has to find something he is good at.
"Allan and sasquatch, according to the WSJ piece the eighteen month pilot program showed that Mexican trucks had a safety record as good as American ones"
That "study" was thrown out.
Mexico does NOT have the same safety regulations that Canada and the United States does. Period.
i drive a small truck part-time. the current vehicle inspection sticker has a u.s. flag, a canadian flag and a mexican flag on the sticker. it is designed to be accepted in all three countries.
This may not be a popular comment here, but, our old friend, M. Chretien, may, just may, have dome us a huge favour in eliminating political contributions from business and labour. Mr. Harper, of course, extended that in creating maximum contribution limits.
The "representatives" in the US Congress look more and more like the representatives of Big Labour, Big Agriculture, Big Environment, Big Business, Big Lumber and so on, than representatives of the American people.
As someone above has already asked, how long before Big A and Big L come after our cattle and lumber again?
The education of President Barack Obama will be a very costly proposition to the world and future generations. Hoping for the change that Asteroid will bring.
I'm seriously starting to wonder if it isn't Obama's intention to ruin the US economy... The guy is going to do untold damage in his remaining 3 years and 10 months in office.
You are correct, EBD. Limbaugh has said for weeks that every downturn in the US economy is a "win" for Obama: more bogus evidence that free market capitalism doesn't work, and that the government is the cure for everything. They've nationalized the banks, and the auto sector is transitioning nicely, too.
Unfortunately, elections have results, and the US is finding out more every day they've elected a complete lightweight for this job. Or a teleprompter. Americans have let the politics of race & envy, white guilt and class warfare make them forget what their country was founded upon, and it's biting them hard.
Obama's actually starting to make jimmy carter look good, and those are words I never thought I'd see.
mhb23re
A trade war for 100 trucks from Mexico.... check it out. 100 trucks and they are going to risk a multi-billion dollar trade war to pander to the oh so trustworthy Teamsters union. Brace for impact Canada. We're next.
Just another of the many, many ways Obama's screwing up America.
Yup. Americans will wish they could bring back Dubya.
If only American truckers were reasonable and willing to work for 20 or 30 dollars per day and run their trucks with three men crews.
They have brought this problem on themselves. I'll bet some even insist the AC works in the truck. Jeeeeeeeeez
Fractured - sarcasm has to be grounded in reality to actually make a point.
What part of "violation of trade laws" and "pandering to scum that buy politicians" failed to register with you?
I happen to be part of that bretherin which is qualified to pilot a rig. Notwithstanding safety issues with Mexican trucks....97 trucks do not constitute a meaningful threat and individually can be weeded out at US inspection stations...outside of NAFTA.....
Here in Ontario, our major menace is Quebec trucks, which our inspectors "green light" unless grossly overloaded or with obvious defects such as missing wheels/tires.
I agree, that Canada can expect at least more non-tariff barriers to Canadian goods. Already Canadian trucks face harrassment at US scales.
US trucks in Ontario are easily nailed....Ontario's new regs requiring trucks be governed to limit speed to 105 Km make them an easy target----many US states have speedlimits well in excess and operators are not going to computer interface their power units to enter Ontario or forego longer travel times in the US.