After twenty years of standing with the U.S. as an ally,I can't help but feel like we've been left behind. The trade deficit numbers get all the attention, but they miss the bigger picture integrated supply chains, jobs on both sides, and decades of trust that don't show up on a balance sheet. Trump sees a number; I see a partnership that's been sidelined. And honestly? Being dropped like this stings more than any tariff ever could.
I think you underestimate the cynicism in Trump's incoherent policy positions.
He is largely posturing for a base that is older and grew up being able to drop out of school at 16 and get a union job, career and secure retirement between social security and a pension.
Those very people of course consistently voted to dismantle that very system.
What you're missing is the classic authoritarian/fascist yearning for a mythical golden age based on race and being the dominant class based on race and therefore getting the good jobs.
When I lived in NJ Ford Mustangs were built nearby. Union members refered their family and buds for jobs. No minorities. No women. When you believe in social dominance that is how corruption works rather than inclusion.
The cost of losing trust did show up on the balance sheet in PK's video... it's just that balance sheets don't scream because they're long term
(1) The US had a $46B trade deficit with Canada... All oil sold at a discount close to 30%... the discount is part of the USMCA
(2) July 2, the Canadian federal and provincial governments announced a new pipeline to the west coast.
This is not retaliation, but the recognition of two facts of life:
> Investment $ have to go where contracts will be respected
> The damage Trump has done to the North American car industry is permanent. Add another two years of under investment due to uncertainty and there will be nothing to negotiate.
Your point cannot be emphasized enough. If the U.S. cannot be counted on to honor its negotiated agreements, why would anyone negotiate with us? Why not seek out partners who can be counted on? The Gordie Howe Bridge is an excellent example. Canada invested heavily to create this mutually beneficial piece of infrastructure. The terms were fair and agreed upon. But because he was "lobbied" (in the form of a "donation" and possibly a crypto purchase) by a billionaire with a monopoly to protect, our President prevents the bridge from opening, and makes our word worthless.
At 92, remembering what I learned of patriotism as a child during WWII, no longer a marcher, but now a writer of postcards to prospective voters, I would like to apologize to you on behalf of Americans who understand that there are those among us who do not appreciate what you gave. May you find your niche in America and see our better selves. We are “the bad teenagers on the block” as I named US from the deck of a small boat in the French canals during the Iraq War, but there is hope still that we may find our better angels again.
Trump doesn't include services in his trade deficit numbers.
If he did, then POOF. Trade deficit gone.
But, whatever. Goal in Canada is to reduce exposure to the US as much as possible. Effect in the US will be to increase prices on all the stuff you import from us (mostly needed raw material) and decrease exports to Canada (mostly services and finished goods).
Also, if you take out the 4 million barrels per day of oil that Canada sells to the US at a discount, so that the US can export its oil at full price, the trade deficit would reverse even more in the US's favour. But Trump/MAGA don't care about facts - they simply want to dominate.
I also can't understand that if the US auto sector benefits so much from the current arrangement that Trump wants to blow up, just to show he can, why aren't the CEOs of the US auto industry making public statements in support of the current arrangement?
Lots of people are wussies if fed the right propaganda. MAGA has been brilliant at taking control of the media: FOX, WaPo, Twitter, now CBS, and soon Tik Tok and CNN, in addition to all the META channels.
And Mao! I actually saw Mao’s remains when visiting Beijing. I was not greatly impressed. IIRC there was quite a line, and I think I was the only foreigner in it. That was probably 30 years ago, or close to it.
In defense of the honor of those who stood in line, I'd guess that many just wanted to double check that he was dead.
If a "Trump Memorial" or mausoleum ever gets built, it will need to have urine detectors like those installed in Singapore's elevators. Ambrose Bierce understood such structures: the final and funniest folly of the rich.
I bet the trade deficit doesn’t include Canadians like me spending money on American Substack writers, not to mention subscriptions to NYT, WaPo and WSJ.
Yes, so why didn't Westin mention that and why didn't Krugman push back? This discredits the entire argument which went around in circles in any event.
You twice elected a pedophile criminal who spent his professional life disrespecting his suppliers—what else did you expect? We will never forget, and we are acting accordingly now. He is running his presidency just as he ran his career as a businessman—corrupt like no other.
Exactly this. If not for the Electoral College (which should have never been), he would not have won in 2016. The actual cabal that has been running this whole plot might still be at work trying to get it off the ground instead of well into it’s ruinous plan.
The Constitution and laws of the United States have a panoply of defects, most inserted by malice or stupidity by legislators and lobbyists. It is the business of "Political Science" to discover those flaws, amplify them and exploit them.
As Thomas Hofeller explained to his clients: In an election the voters choose their candidates. But in redistricting, candidates get to choose their voters. In republican party circles, Hofeller was regarded as the Leonardo of Gerrymandering.
But one-third of America is in a fair and balanced cult that says he's going to drain the swamp along with other propaganda the cult tells me I should believe.
What amazes me above everything else, and I mean there is so much else going on, is the apparent acceptance by a vast number of your citizens, not to mention the complicit silence of Republicans, of this blatant and fully corrupt presidency that the whole world is so unanimously and clearly witnessing.
Now that your institutions have been destroyed, along with anything left of your past honor and credibility, you are slowly destroying the last thing standing: your American pride.
Do not be fooled. Almost everyone on Earth despises what you have become as a country.
Shame on all of you.
Qatar’s Air Force One will always remain the ultimate symbol of this hypocritical silence and enabling corruption.
There are many who are horrified by the ignorant criminal who got elected by Americans who are equally ignorant of what democracy is and the importance of taking part in preserving it. So far we haven’t had to go underground, but at 92, child of WWII, now writer of GOTV postcards to Democratic voters, I predict that we will if necessary.
I’m truly sorry, Mrs. Whitmer, that in the twilight of your life, you must witness what has become of your once great, though always imperfect, country.
Excuse me. I never voted for the convicted felon or any other politician of his ilk. I did everything i could, monetarily and protest wise, to stop the corrupt evil politicians in the US.
Thank you, FFortier. To be able to look back at the patriotism I experienced as a child gives me a base for surviving current idiocy, however. And what I learned on the small boat in the French canals (had taught French; UNC-CH was one of top 4 in US; former Resistance connection as department chair) gave me a front seat to climate change and to see US as “the bad teenagers on the block.” Plenty of time to rehash all the history I knew of both countries and learn more. The boat allowed for my husband’s dream retirement and for me to use my education to increase my knowledge of French language and history. Made friends who remain friends through our current horrors. One called the day after DT was elected in 2016 to offer me a home. Patriotism has kept me here, though in France I could have good medical care which I am trying to find here.
Merci, bien, monsieur. Je peux ajouter que j’ai connu le dernier Résistant à Châlons-sur-Marne (maintenant Châlons-en-Champagne) qui m’a donné « Châlons sous la Botte » d’un abbé. J’avais l’intention de publier ma traduction, « Châlons Under the Jackboot » et au moment un ami insiste, mais c’est mon propre pays qui dit « faire quelque chose. »
J’imagine l’effroi que vous devez ressentir, Madame, en voyant, plus de 80 ans plus tard, renaître un culte dictatorial sur le sol même de ceux qui l’ont jadis combattu avec tant de courage.
Jusqu’ici, nous, Canadiens, demeurons fidèles aux valeurs qui ont poussé nos prédécesseurs à prendre les armes contre le fascisme.
Les États-Unis nous rappellent malheureusement qu’aucun peuple n’est à l’abri de la dérive lorsque la peur, le mensonge et le culte du pouvoir remplacent la mémoire, la dignité et les principes.
Monsieur, ici il y a beaucoup de gens ici qui continue à lutter pour la démocratie. On va voir le 3 novembre l’état de nos efforts. Après on continue. Merci de ne pas nous quitter.
Agree that Trump's problems with Canada & Mexico are almost totally a figment of Trump's delusional imagination
But I'm surprised you say, "We have a real problem with China"
What, precisely, would you say the US' "real problems" are with China?
After nearly a decade of Trump/Biden trying to "de-couple" from it, the fact so little has been done in this effort leads to the conclusion we really DON'T have "real problems" with China
They are moving forward in the cleantech sector due to strategic choices the state / SOEs / private corporations have made and carried forward
As you've often noted, the US is CONSCIOUSLY MOVING BACKWARDS to continue to cripple ourselves with dependence on fossil fuels
So I don't see how we have "real problems" with China
It seems we have "real problems" with ourselves / our poor understanding of the mutual advantages of "coupling / & a political system that uniformly favors the already very rich in our society, while leaving the vast majority to "make do" with the little allotted to them
Given that, it seems our "real problems" are with ourselves, and we blame it on China
Wages are so low in China that allowing them full access to our market undermines our own wage structures. In the long run, our unemployed masses wouldn’t be able to afford their products anyway. Better-educated Americans whose jobs would not be at risk might prefer unfettered trade now, but when our unemployed craftsmen start making guillotines, they might begin to see things in a new light.
That is very outdated information. As long-time resident in Shanghai & former Chief Political Economist of Singapore-based economywatchdotcom, I think you're trafficking in long obsolescent cliches. As several studies have shown, most American workers-NOT skilled craftspeople, who are earning very high wages-have been made unemployed by automation & not job loss to China. As for your guillotine remarks, I think you're projecting your own preferences to others who don't share them. Sorry.
If we continue down a road of very high wealth for the top 10% and insanely high wealth for the 1%, etc, the 80% left out will pull the whole thing down. I don’t like references to revolution either, but “we” (and the Roberts court) are creating a society that is undermining its own foundations.
If China were a free country, I wouldn’t be as concerned that we need to put artificial constraints on its exports. But it is not, and its model for civilization under domination by The Party is a real threat. It needs to evolve, and we need to watch it encouragingly but warily as it does,
Care to elucidate? Just saying “you don’t know what you’re talking about” isn’t very helpful or constructive. I deplore what’s happening in western China. I deplore any surveillance state. I don’t like One Party rule, especially under an all-powerful dictator. I hope China will evolve away from all of that. They’ve come a very long way, but some of their advance is not in a direction I can applaud. China is crucial to world history and its future.
Much of the problem with China is how they treat their minorities and political freedom.
In terms of economic policy, their govt has largely acted in the economic interests of their citizens. They break some international economic rules, but so does the US.
Canada has long been witness to the trade misdeeds of the US, Trump only being a recent exageration.
I think it’s mainly that they keep their currency low, and are producing goods, especially cars, in this context, that are so cheap they could wipe out the European and American car industries. It’s not that what they have accomplished is bad, but that the economies and security of Europe and America would be badly undermined if their industrial bases were turned into rust belts. The US car industry was essential to winning WWII. This problem happened before with cheap, good quality Japanese cars. Tariffs helped the American car industry to adjust and start turning out its own compact cars. Toyotas were still great, and lots of people still bought them, but we also got the Gremlin. 😊. My mother had one with denim upholstery that even had a Levi’s tag.
American car companies can only produce one type of product competitively: massive, gas guzzling pick-ups and SUVs, which basically only sell in one market, North America. Except for specialized units that are necessary and used commercially for towing, farming, construction, ressource extraction, etc., they are simply obese, overpriced, inefficient fashion statements for a certain type of person, although they sell in sufficient numbers to keep US auto manufactures afloat. I would expect that there is a significant correlation between those who own those types of vehicles and the MAGA voting base.
What about the Chevy Volt? I’m sure they can do it if they try. You’re just going through a bad patch. A insane patch, but nevertheless, I remain hopeful.
Lol. Maybe taser racks. My husband says they replaced the Volt with the Bolt, and he found a picture of a guy with a gun rack inside the hatch back of his Volt, sadly. It might be AI.
I picked up on that, but I figure if you can do it once…. Fortress North America I’m less sure about. Canada has joined the Eurovision contest, and we have that border with Greenland /Denmark, and the French islands of St Pierre and Miquelon close by. There’s a nifty new electric Renault.
The Volt is a good counter example of a bad trend in North American cars. I have one. I runs entirely on electricity until the battery is low, which is so nice.
There is hope, if regulations again require high energy economy.
I think the Volt was the prefect concept: battery driven until the battery is exhausted, then an ICE generator feeds the electric motor. Battery power alone much of the time and the ICE only as needed. No range anxiety and if you can't plug it in at times, no worries.
Low currency values have nothing to do with the superiority of Chinese dominance in all cleantech sectors -- eg, EVs, industrial batteries, solar & wind installations ... Government subsidies AT THE START of China's move towards cleantech are another issue, but they are more or less gone at this point ... And I don't understand the relevance of the Gremlin -- what are you trying to say ???
Yes I think so. Technology transfer can go both ways. It went from America to Japan after the Second World War. The US used to make companies license a lot of their technology to companies around the world very affordably. They stopped doing that, post Reagan I think. That’s when mega rich companies get going. I wonder if this is a good thing. Countries like having big profitable champions and I guess it makes them more competitive, but it also seems to turn them into thugs.
We have already allowed China to dominate much manufacturing without concern for national security or the impact on jobs in this country. China also uses government to support and subsidize activities that in the West are managed by private enterprises. I believe in mostly free trade and recognize that tRump is an idiot that has zero understanding of international trade. The integration of the Mexico/USA/Canada economies across North America, particularly the auto industry, makes sense and is good for all three nations. We should be encouraging and working hard to improve the relationship rather than it being destroyed by a petulant orange criminal who would destroy this vital relationship because he apparently thinks he should rule all three nations.
Mostly semantics here. "We have a problem with ants" doesn't address whether it was us or someone else that left the food out.
Krugman obviously writing from a current American perspective. And not in the 1970s but now. It's just recognizing a basic point of economic reality that's not controversial - "we" have a "problem with China", now - is not a moral judgment or blame game, it's just a note about reality - maybe the correct way of articulating it would have been "we have a problem with allowing unrestricted imports, given China's capabilities and products in this area."
Your "clarification" does exactly the opposite. First, your "description" of the current situation is simply factually wrong. Second, you're putting words into Krugman's mouth that may have nothing to do with what he actually thinks. Pointless reply. Sorry.
If Krugman saying that China's capabilities are a problem for the us car industry is not something that's widely agreed-upon by economists of all kinds and news outlets globally, then cite one source for that. You're not arguing with Krugman or me, you're arguing with the idea that the economic conditions and strategy of us industry can be based on something out there other than things widely understood as an economic reality given the type of economy the us has.
I've driven the BYD in French Poly. It's terrific (though the headlights point too far down--don't know why). Anyway, glad to see they are coming to Canada, which will produce a used-car market for them soon, which will spill into the US. It's nuts that it's come to this.
The product lines, models being produced in China vs USA are often not apples to apples comparisons. China has multiple EV manufacturers cranking out subcompact models with modest range capabilities. Very much what Europeans would find appealing but for many Americans that misses what they really want. What they want vs what they actually need is a different discussion.
The Chevy Bolt was reasonably priced and a nice small EV. Sales began in 2017 and have never really reached the levels needed for GM to see it as worth building. (It was not a purely GM product if you look at its history.)
I have to wonder that if as gasoline prices rise and the percentage of single-person households increases, especially in urban areas, if cars like the Volt, with enough charging stations, wouldn’t be more attractive. Not everyone needs, let alone can afford, an SUV. Watching people try to park them is another warning sign.
There is so much going on there. Image, perceived safety advantage in a crash, actual carrying and towing capacity needed. Those factors are difficult to overcome in a small EV.
I think the current sweet spot for EVs is a home equipped with solar panels, a garage with a Level 2 charger in it, and a moderate commuting distance. Adding home storage batteries and V2H (vehicle to home) power transfer would be gravy on top.
Ample charging stations are the only way millions of urban and apartment dwellers could come anywhere close to that sweet spot. I agree that is a key to wider EV adoption.
Utility companies can (and I believe do) help with adding charging capacity for single-family homes. Not sure what’s available for multi-family, but a charger was added for a Tesla in the building where I used to live. Keep in mind that especially in cities, not every home (apartment, house, or other) will have a garage. Some do, some don’t. As for towing, if someone truly needs something with enough hp to tow a boat to the lake or lawn equipment to a job, obviously an EV subcompact is not going to be for them, or a gas-powered one either. My point is that there is a potential market that is not being served by US automakers and overseas manufacturers selling in the US right now, for the most part. VW is cutting back on smaller models in the US and prices are way up, for example. It reminds me of the 1970s. Drivers didn’t buy Toyotas and VWs because animosity towards Detroit or the UAW. They wanted cars that got better mileage and were easy to fix.
As concerns most ev vehicles / charging, dealing with utility companies is not necessary at all. If you need or want a supercharger that's one thing but my plug in hybrid charges overnight in a regular wall outlet, and it allowed me to increase the amps to make it shorter (maybe 10 vs 16 hrs), which has posed no issues. A plug in hybrid has a smaller battery than a Tesla and charging times obviously depend on the size of the battery, but EVs need not have a battery of Tesla sizes to be efficient and save people energy and dollars over several years. A simple job can be done by any electrician to upgrade the wall outlet to 240 volt so that anyone can charge at home at reduced time. A 240-volt circuit powers Level 2 charging, which can add 20–40 miles of range per hour instead of the slower times from a standard 120V wall plug. But as noted, by simply increasing the amps using a setting on the car's own included charging cables, with certain vehicles you can reduce time and charge overnight easily with a regular wall outlet!
Yes, I think western auto manufacturers are ignoring the small EV market segment. One article I recently read claimed that small car platforms weren't big/sturdy enough to incorporate the battery capacity needed for an appealing range between charges. But, that now battery technology (higher energy density) has advanced to make that achievable.
Maybe so. The Nissan Leaf has been around for a long time but never had a lot of range capacity.
For those who truly need a pickup truck chances are after paying $50K - $60K for one of those, they won't also be buying an EV for general use.
The crew cab, 4-door short bed pickup truck is popular for a reason. It can haul, be a family vehicle, and tow. I don't think you could buy a standard cab, 2-door, long bed truck without it being a special order. And if you did, you would take a beating on its resale value.
That's the situation driven by need and economics that will be hard to displace. I don't mean to excuse those who own a pickup truck and use it for a grocery getter and morning coffee fetching. And there are plenty of those out there who aren't going to change without an economic hammer.
We had a massive federal program under the inflation reduction act, which was quickly reversed and dismantled by the current administration in favor of more drilling and more use of fossil fuels. So that's a big part of where the us stands. This is not about what anyone wants - people certainly don't want to pay 4 dollars a gallon for gas. As widely documented and understood, usa is an outlier now as globally the transition to EVs proceeds.
The fact that we had a good policy that was dismantled at a young age is a major reason why we are fumbling the ball on all things energy related.
As has been noted in the media, China sets long term goals, identifies what is needed to meet them, and then gets to work while we are playing corrupt political games.
As for needs and wants, if enough people wanted to adopt a more sane lifestyle and live in a country led by knowledge rather than self interest, that's what we would have. So, it is about what people want in the end.
The Slate is an interesting product direction. It could become popular. Coming from northern states where snow and ice happens I would be leary of a rear wheel drive only pickup. I would choose the AWD version.
Japan and Asia in general have some really small utility trucks that we can't buy here for on-road use. There is a gray market where people buy them for use on large private properties.
It's perfectly legal to buy them if they are over 25 years old. Some States refuse to license them for road use, but New Jersey allows it. They have a top speed of about 40 mph, so they're limited to local roads. I've seen two or three around here; all road legal. https://www.kei-trucks.com/
Nothing personal, my fellow SF-er, but you don't really understand how the Chinese economy works at all
It's not "engineered".
In fact, the export-oriented cleantech sector is HIGHLY siloed from the domestic economy,
which, in fact, is the responsibility of Xi Jinping and at which almost every "initiative" he has tried has FAILED MISERABLY.
Hence, the cleantech sector -- which has its own infrastructure / leadership etc -- pays him homage as the "supreme leader" precisely so he can be kept away from them without losing too much face.
As far as tech transfer goes, that has been a strategy for industrialization ever since the 19th century,
when it was the US that permitted foreign investment in steamboats & railroads ONLY on condition there was IP transfer.
This was also true in the first 25 years after WWII, when there was a wave of US dfi in many large foreign markets, eg Europe / Brasil etc,
who permitted US investment only on condition of massive tech transfer.
Americans unaware of this important history get all worked up about Chinese demands for tech transfer,
but it has been a structural component of ALL DFI since the first Industrial Revolution after the Napoleonic wars -- & insisted on first and foremost by the US.
So nothing that has happened in the US/Chinese relationship is anything new in any fundamental way -- it's the way DFI has ALWAYS operated & initiated by the US
For historical reference, you might want to check out Alexander Gerschonkron's classic study, THE ADVANTAGES OF BACKWARDNESS
Allowing China to dominate certain economic areas without appropriate tarifs or other import controls to counter that domination is largely the result of the importing country to not acting accordingly.
In effect, the Biden approach seems to have been fairly well thought out.
In Canada, we have supply control of important food areas such as grain, milk, and eggs, to ensure that we keep a stable supply with reasonable prices for producers and consumers. It works well, and we haven't had the recent huge fluctuations in those prices seen in the US. The European Union and member countries do similar things in their import policies.
None of Trumps policies are thought out. When has isolationism ever worked for anyone? Ends up in paranoia and fake victimhood worship, and the Whitehouse is already there.
Fraud is the one thing that presidents are elected NOT to do.
But Trump and his family have gotten away with unimaginable fraud so far, the SCOTUS has basically said he has immunity to so, so he's doing to with gusto and creativity. He and his ilk are clearly convinced that there will not be any consequences. I expect an unprecedented number of pre-emptive pardons - including Trump once again testing the limits of the constitution by pardoning himself.
I question however how the Trump administration can credibly say to civil servants "Thou shall not steal from the taxpayer".
Mentally disordered Narcissists act like that. It's constant chaos, which focuses attention on them all the time. This is how they roll. Add to that Trump's general stupidity where he can't project the results of his decisions two steps ahead and this is the mess you have.
Like Iran. Who could have guessed they would close the Strait of Hormuz? Just about anyone with any sense. Trump believed the Bibi nonsense that as soon as the bombs started, the Iranians would revolt and overthrow their government. Trump thought he would be a hero by now.
For Trump, refusing to listen to the council of his own associates, as demonstrated by leaks.
For Israel, for thinking that they could overthrow the Iranian govt, and if they did succeed, that any new govt in Iran would accept Israel's aggression against those around it. In fact, if Iran loses the current sanctions, it will be much stronger to oppose Israel's aggression.
This had to happen. The US has sustained a total moral collapse and the only way that will change is for us—and the rest of the world—to see the full extent of the decay. When Reconstruction 2.0 begins, I hope and pray that we’ll feed a different wolf. https://www.nanticokeindians.org/about/the-tale-of-two-wolves/
Trump's emotional mindset is more that of a toddler than a third grader. As far as his knowledge base, I'm gonna spitball that we're talking maybe 2nd grade (I'm being generous).
He announced at the time that he intended to undo everything Obama had accomplished. As far as I can tell, he never acted as if he understood any of it. Obama had done it, so Trump destroyed it.
It’s certainly providing jobs for a lot of content creators. I look forward to the day when they can mostly move on. But for now, they are doing good work.
What the hell is going on with the comments on this Substack? Brian writes a thoughtful comment and gets jumped for being too long. Abandoned Afghan Ally writes and a couple of dufuses jump him. This is a new behavior here. An ugly one. It pollutes the conversation. If a comment looks too long to you, don't read it. If you don't agree with another commentor, marshall your wits ang tell them why you think them wrong. Petty ad hominems serve no purpose other than to spotlight your smallness.
You've made a specific assertion that Brian used ChatGPT to shape his comment. I'm not going to say that he didn't because I don't have evidence either way. I'm assuming that you don't either or you would have named it. So that leaves us with only the value judgment on content. If comments that not everyone embraces disappeared, Substack comment boards would be either banal or empty.
Fair enough and thank you for directing me to that. I had indeed missed it. I fault Brian for not disclosing this in the original post. If he framed what he had done and why, he could have made the comment land even harder. That said, I'm still fine with the sentiment and its length.
Always worth remembering that President Deals looked at NAFTA and declared it was terrible. The worst possible deal anyone could have come up with. And so he ripped it up and negotiated a new deal. The best deal. Because he's President Deals!
And then President Deals looked at took office again, and he looked at the trade deal between Canada, Mexico, and the US, and declared it was terrible. The worst possible deal anyone could have come up with. And so he ripped it up and negotiated a new deal. The best deal. Because he's President Deals!
And now, President Deals is looking at the deal he negotiated last year, and declares it was terrible. The worst possible deal anyone could have come up with. And so he ripping it up and and will negotiate a new deal. The best deal. Because he's President Deals!
He made a lot of money off MAGA rubes who bought his $Trump crypto, now almost worthless. I saw an interview with one buyer who wasn’t even angry. It really is a cult.
The way decisions are made by this administration is exposed by the current refusal of the Trump administration to open the fully completed Gordie Howe bridge. The only other bridge open to truck traffic between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario was purchased by a billionaire family, the Marouns in the late 1970s. According to Snopes, “(T)he U.S. upgraded its side of the bridge to connect with interstates 75 and 96 (in a contentious process that involved Matty Maroun, the family patriarch, going to jail for ignoring court orders to build the on-ramps) in the late 200s and early 2010s.” The Marouns have attempted to preserve their profits from the tolls charged to truckers by opposing the construction of the new bridge, suing the U.S. and Canadian governments (suit was dismissed) and funding a ballot measure “that would require voters across Michigan .,.to vote on any new international bridge (it failed).” Since then the Marouns have donated generously to Republican politicians, including a $1 million donation to a Trump super PAC, and in February, 2026, Matthew Maroun, son of the patriarch, met with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Hours later, according to the NY Times, Trump announced that he would block the opening of this new bridge, although it was complete and scheduled for opening ceremonies in June. Here, as usual, the Trump administration is acting to benefit the few - the members of the billionaire class - at the expense of many others, Americans and Canadians, who would benefit from improved transit between the two cities. Blocking a needed bridge between the U.S. and Canada also fits perfectly into Trump’s recent vindictive trade stance with Canada, the latest being his administration’s delays in negotiating the USMCA, as Professor Krugman notes. Hence also the image of this bridge that headlines this Krugman post.
I just wrote about this bridge too, before seeing your post. My guess is that Trump won't act to resolve this until Whitmer is out of office - hoping a Republican governor will replace her.
But where is Mark Carney? Does he have no leverage?
JL, considering the latent antagonism Trump has shown to Carney, I don’t see that he does. Trump will keep the bridge closed as long as it’s in his self-interest to do so. A classic example of crony capitalism hurting the wider public.
He has a certain amount. He's cut deals to sell Canadian products elsewhere (mainly China and Europe). The contracts for Canadian LNG have eliminated new European contracts with the United States. Canada has reduced its sales of oil to the U.S. and eliminated the discounted prices as a result. Aircraft are now being purchased from Saab and Airbus, instead of Lockheed and Boeing. Canada has reduced the flow of water to the U.S., which cuts electrical generation. And for their part, Canadian citizens have dramatically reduced purchases of good made in the States and visits to the States.
But, no, he can't remove the barricades on the U.S. side of the river.
Good points. News reports indicate that Hoekstra and Trump claim that new negotiations about the agreed-on business arrangement must take place before the U.S. agrees to open the bridge. That doesn’t seem favorable to a near-future resolution.
Other news reports state that Trump is insisting that Carney give half the bridge to the U.S. government. Since the State of Michigan owns half the bridge, I think this has no solution. IMO, either the bridge stays closed until after Trump is out of office, or the State creates a new on-ramp using local roads.
The problem stems, in part, from Trump's lack of understanding about the complexity of modern manufacturing. He can tour a plant, but he will not understand how it works. In his mind, for example, it seems that an auto plant is akin to River Rouge, the huge vertically integrated Ford plant from before WW2. He does not ask how many parts total went into a 1938 Ford, and what complexities were then necessary, in comparison to the case now. On parts, the current cars have probably double the parts, down to the nuts and bolts, that cars had in the '30's, but the sophistication of those parts, from sensors, wiring harnesses, range of alloys, range of substances, is hugely changed for the better. Think to the cameras and lidar sensors on the bumpers, all inconceivable in the past. The key issue here is that Trump does not seem to understand the economies of scale in the modern world.
Trump promised to increase manufacturing jobs in the U.S. His staff monitors and reports to him the status of his promises. He knows US manufacturing jobs have been decreasing in spite of his greatly increased tariffs. Sunsetting low tariffs with Canada and Mexico is not about US jobs. It is to give Trump the opportunity to use the purchasing power of the US to extort Canada and Mexico for their money, resources and/or political control that Trump can monetize directly to himself or by trading these pirated treasures with US corporations and Oligarchs for political support and more riches. Corruption is often dressed in lofty national goals, but it is just about taking someone else’s money and resources.
Are you *sure* he knows any of that? His toadies are probably telling him what they think he wants to hear. Look at his explosion when someone posted an aerial photo of the sparse crowd at his big show in DC.
Yes, it has been reported many times that Trump monitors progress toward his campaign promises. He also watches TV news frequently.it would be difficult to miss reports on manufacturing employment.
After twenty years of standing with the U.S. as an ally,I can't help but feel like we've been left behind. The trade deficit numbers get all the attention, but they miss the bigger picture integrated supply chains, jobs on both sides, and decades of trust that don't show up on a balance sheet. Trump sees a number; I see a partnership that's been sidelined. And honestly? Being dropped like this stings more than any tariff ever could.
I think you underestimate the cynicism in Trump's incoherent policy positions.
He is largely posturing for a base that is older and grew up being able to drop out of school at 16 and get a union job, career and secure retirement between social security and a pension.
Those very people of course consistently voted to dismantle that very system.
What you're missing is the classic authoritarian/fascist yearning for a mythical golden age based on race and being the dominant class based on race and therefore getting the good jobs.
When I lived in NJ Ford Mustangs were built nearby. Union members refered their family and buds for jobs. No minorities. No women. When you believe in social dominance that is how corruption works rather than inclusion.
The cost of losing trust did show up on the balance sheet in PK's video... it's just that balance sheets don't scream because they're long term
(1) The US had a $46B trade deficit with Canada... All oil sold at a discount close to 30%... the discount is part of the USMCA
(2) July 2, the Canadian federal and provincial governments announced a new pipeline to the west coast.
This is not retaliation, but the recognition of two facts of life:
> Investment $ have to go where contracts will be respected
> The damage Trump has done to the North American car industry is permanent. Add another two years of under investment due to uncertainty and there will be nothing to negotiate.
Your point cannot be emphasized enough. If the U.S. cannot be counted on to honor its negotiated agreements, why would anyone negotiate with us? Why not seek out partners who can be counted on? The Gordie Howe Bridge is an excellent example. Canada invested heavily to create this mutually beneficial piece of infrastructure. The terms were fair and agreed upon. But because he was "lobbied" (in the form of a "donation" and possibly a crypto purchase) by a billionaire with a monopoly to protect, our President prevents the bridge from opening, and makes our word worthless.
At 92, remembering what I learned of patriotism as a child during WWII, no longer a marcher, but now a writer of postcards to prospective voters, I would like to apologize to you on behalf of Americans who understand that there are those among us who do not appreciate what you gave. May you find your niche in America and see our better selves. We are “the bad teenagers on the block” as I named US from the deck of a small boat in the French canals during the Iraq War, but there is hope still that we may find our better angels again.
Keep writing those postcards!
I don't see how the US will get out of the current mess.
But I know this:
The action most likely to succeed is for the electorate to do something big money doesn't see coming.
We Canadians and Mexicans are every bit as disposable as you Afghan allies. I’m sorry for your situation though.
??? I still see that last sad Hercules running from the Taliban.
AI slop
probably just used it for translation
The last three sentences are especially obvious
Trump doesn't include services in his trade deficit numbers.
If he did, then POOF. Trade deficit gone.
But, whatever. Goal in Canada is to reduce exposure to the US as much as possible. Effect in the US will be to increase prices on all the stuff you import from us (mostly needed raw material) and decrease exports to Canada (mostly services and finished goods).
Also, if you take out the 4 million barrels per day of oil that Canada sells to the US at a discount, so that the US can export its oil at full price, the trade deficit would reverse even more in the US's favour. But Trump/MAGA don't care about facts - they simply want to dominate.
I also can't understand that if the US auto sector benefits so much from the current arrangement that Trump wants to blow up, just to show he can, why aren't the CEOs of the US auto industry making public statements in support of the current arrangement?
Americans in general seem to be wussies. If it doesn't effect them directly they don't seem to care. By the time they notice it will be too late.
Rest of the world is protecting themselves from the expected blowout.
Lots of people are wussies if fed the right propaganda. MAGA has been brilliant at taking control of the media: FOX, WaPo, Twitter, now CBS, and soon Tik Tok and CNN, in addition to all the META channels.
Good question. Taco?.
Trump’s To-Do List:
1. Wreck North American auto industry with crippling tariffs and uncertainty. Destroy cross-border trade.
2. Wreck European auto industry with crippling tariffs.
3. The Chinese auto industry wins! Woo-hoo!
4. Build an enormous mausoleum (MoreForDon) in case he ever dies.
That mausoleum is his "ballroom." They'll embalm his body and put it in a glass case, just like Lenin.
And Mao! I actually saw Mao’s remains when visiting Beijing. I was not greatly impressed. IIRC there was quite a line, and I think I was the only foreigner in it. That was probably 30 years ago, or close to it.
In defense of the honor of those who stood in line, I'd guess that many just wanted to double check that he was dead.
If a "Trump Memorial" or mausoleum ever gets built, it will need to have urine detectors like those installed in Singapore's elevators. Ambrose Bierce understood such structures: the final and funniest folly of the rich.
I've read of that, but not much. Congrats on being there!
Don’t give him ideas!
I bet the trade deficit doesn’t include Canadians like me spending money on American Substack writers, not to mention subscriptions to NYT, WaPo and WSJ.
Yes, so why didn't Westin mention that and why didn't Krugman push back? This discredits the entire argument which went around in circles in any event.
You twice elected a pedophile criminal who spent his professional life disrespecting his suppliers—what else did you expect? We will never forget, and we are acting accordingly now. He is running his presidency just as he ran his career as a businessman—corrupt like no other.
I did not! Try voter suppression and the Electoral College for starters.
Exactly this. If not for the Electoral College (which should have never been), he would not have won in 2016. The actual cabal that has been running this whole plot might still be at work trying to get it off the ground instead of well into it’s ruinous plan.
The Constitution and laws of the United States have a panoply of defects, most inserted by malice or stupidity by legislators and lobbyists. It is the business of "Political Science" to discover those flaws, amplify them and exploit them.
As Thomas Hofeller explained to his clients: In an election the voters choose their candidates. But in redistricting, candidates get to choose their voters. In republican party circles, Hofeller was regarded as the Leonardo of Gerrymandering.
But one-third of America is in a fair and balanced cult that says he's going to drain the swamp along with other propaganda the cult tells me I should believe.
Instead of draining the swamp, he's created one.
It’s not fair to blame the commenters here. None of them voted for 🍊. I say this as a Canadian.
What amazes me above everything else, and I mean there is so much else going on, is the apparent acceptance by a vast number of your citizens, not to mention the complicit silence of Republicans, of this blatant and fully corrupt presidency that the whole world is so unanimously and clearly witnessing.
Now that your institutions have been destroyed, along with anything left of your past honor and credibility, you are slowly destroying the last thing standing: your American pride.
Do not be fooled. Almost everyone on Earth despises what you have become as a country.
Shame on all of you.
Qatar’s Air Force One will always remain the ultimate symbol of this hypocritical silence and enabling corruption.
There are many who are horrified by the ignorant criminal who got elected by Americans who are equally ignorant of what democracy is and the importance of taking part in preserving it. So far we haven’t had to go underground, but at 92, child of WWII, now writer of GOTV postcards to Democratic voters, I predict that we will if necessary.
I’m truly sorry, Mrs. Whitmer, that in the twilight of your life, you must witness what has become of your once great, though always imperfect, country.
Excuse me. I never voted for the convicted felon or any other politician of his ilk. I did everything i could, monetarily and protest wise, to stop the corrupt evil politicians in the US.
The comment is presumably not directed at PK’s readers.
Thank you, FFortier. To be able to look back at the patriotism I experienced as a child gives me a base for surviving current idiocy, however. And what I learned on the small boat in the French canals (had taught French; UNC-CH was one of top 4 in US; former Resistance connection as department chair) gave me a front seat to climate change and to see US as “the bad teenagers on the block.” Plenty of time to rehash all the history I knew of both countries and learn more. The boat allowed for my husband’s dream retirement and for me to use my education to increase my knowledge of French language and history. Made friends who remain friends through our current horrors. One called the day after DT was elected in 2016 to offer me a home. Patriotism has kept me here, though in France I could have good medical care which I am trying to find here.
"Vive la résistance!"
Mes hommages madame.
F
Merci, bien, monsieur. Je peux ajouter que j’ai connu le dernier Résistant à Châlons-sur-Marne (maintenant Châlons-en-Champagne) qui m’a donné « Châlons sous la Botte » d’un abbé. J’avais l’intention de publier ma traduction, « Châlons Under the Jackboot » et au moment un ami insiste, mais c’est mon propre pays qui dit « faire quelque chose. »
Merci encore de votre attention. It’s impetus.
J’imagine l’effroi que vous devez ressentir, Madame, en voyant, plus de 80 ans plus tard, renaître un culte dictatorial sur le sol même de ceux qui l’ont jadis combattu avec tant de courage.
Jusqu’ici, nous, Canadiens, demeurons fidèles aux valeurs qui ont poussé nos prédécesseurs à prendre les armes contre le fascisme.
Les États-Unis nous rappellent malheureusement qu’aucun peuple n’est à l’abri de la dérive lorsque la peur, le mensonge et le culte du pouvoir remplacent la mémoire, la dignité et les principes.
Je vous salue une dernière fois bien bas, Madame.
Monsieur, ici il y a beaucoup de gens ici qui continue à lutter pour la démocratie. On va voir le 3 novembre l’état de nos efforts. Après on continue. Merci de ne pas nous quitter.
"Do not be fooled. Almost everyone on Earth despises what you have become as a country." Everywhere I have been anyway.
Agree that Trump's problems with Canada & Mexico are almost totally a figment of Trump's delusional imagination
But I'm surprised you say, "We have a real problem with China"
What, precisely, would you say the US' "real problems" are with China?
After nearly a decade of Trump/Biden trying to "de-couple" from it, the fact so little has been done in this effort leads to the conclusion we really DON'T have "real problems" with China
They are moving forward in the cleantech sector due to strategic choices the state / SOEs / private corporations have made and carried forward
As you've often noted, the US is CONSCIOUSLY MOVING BACKWARDS to continue to cripple ourselves with dependence on fossil fuels
So I don't see how we have "real problems" with China
It seems we have "real problems" with ourselves / our poor understanding of the mutual advantages of "coupling / & a political system that uniformly favors the already very rich in our society, while leaving the vast majority to "make do" with the little allotted to them
Given that, it seems our "real problems" are with ourselves, and we blame it on China
Your reply ???
Wages are so low in China that allowing them full access to our market undermines our own wage structures. In the long run, our unemployed masses wouldn’t be able to afford their products anyway. Better-educated Americans whose jobs would not be at risk might prefer unfettered trade now, but when our unemployed craftsmen start making guillotines, they might begin to see things in a new light.
That is very outdated information. As long-time resident in Shanghai & former Chief Political Economist of Singapore-based economywatchdotcom, I think you're trafficking in long obsolescent cliches. As several studies have shown, most American workers-NOT skilled craftspeople, who are earning very high wages-have been made unemployed by automation & not job loss to China. As for your guillotine remarks, I think you're projecting your own preferences to others who don't share them. Sorry.
If we continue down a road of very high wealth for the top 10% and insanely high wealth for the 1%, etc, the 80% left out will pull the whole thing down. I don’t like references to revolution either, but “we” (and the Roberts court) are creating a society that is undermining its own foundations.
If China were a free country, I wouldn’t be as concerned that we need to put artificial constraints on its exports. But it is not, and its model for civilization under domination by The Party is a real threat. It needs to evolve, and we need to watch it encouragingly but warily as it does,
Your comments about the US are well-founded ... Those about China much less so ...
Care to elucidate? Just saying “you don’t know what you’re talking about” isn’t very helpful or constructive. I deplore what’s happening in western China. I deplore any surveillance state. I don’t like One Party rule, especially under an all-powerful dictator. I hope China will evolve away from all of that. They’ve come a very long way, but some of their advance is not in a direction I can applaud. China is crucial to world history and its future.
Much of the problem with China is how they treat their minorities and political freedom.
In terms of economic policy, their govt has largely acted in the economic interests of their citizens. They break some international economic rules, but so does the US.
Canada has long been witness to the trade misdeeds of the US, Trump only being a recent exageration.
It is always easier to blame somebody else, but empires crumbles from within.
I think it’s mainly that they keep their currency low, and are producing goods, especially cars, in this context, that are so cheap they could wipe out the European and American car industries. It’s not that what they have accomplished is bad, but that the economies and security of Europe and America would be badly undermined if their industrial bases were turned into rust belts. The US car industry was essential to winning WWII. This problem happened before with cheap, good quality Japanese cars. Tariffs helped the American car industry to adjust and start turning out its own compact cars. Toyotas were still great, and lots of people still bought them, but we also got the Gremlin. 😊. My mother had one with denim upholstery that even had a Levi’s tag.
American car companies can only produce one type of product competitively: massive, gas guzzling pick-ups and SUVs, which basically only sell in one market, North America. Except for specialized units that are necessary and used commercially for towing, farming, construction, ressource extraction, etc., they are simply obese, overpriced, inefficient fashion statements for a certain type of person, although they sell in sufficient numbers to keep US auto manufactures afloat. I would expect that there is a significant correlation between those who own those types of vehicles and the MAGA voting base.
What about the Chevy Volt? I’m sure they can do it if they try. You’re just going through a bad patch. A insane patch, but nevertheless, I remain hopeful.
Were there after market rear window gun racks available for the Volt? /s
Lol. Maybe taser racks. My husband says they replaced the Volt with the Bolt, and he found a picture of a guy with a gun rack inside the hatch back of his Volt, sadly. It might be AI.
Ha, ha.
Likely not - and probably the reason it got discontinued! /s
I liked the Volt. But I'm not sure if you are aware that GM discontinued it in 2019.
I picked up on that, but I figure if you can do it once…. Fortress North America I’m less sure about. Canada has joined the Eurovision contest, and we have that border with Greenland /Denmark, and the French islands of St Pierre and Miquelon close by. There’s a nifty new electric Renault.
The Volt is a good counter example of a bad trend in North American cars. I have one. I runs entirely on electricity until the battery is low, which is so nice.
There is hope, if regulations again require high energy economy.
I think the Volt was the prefect concept: battery driven until the battery is exhausted, then an ICE generator feeds the electric motor. Battery power alone much of the time and the ICE only as needed. No range anxiety and if you can't plug it in at times, no worries.
Low currency values have nothing to do with the superiority of Chinese dominance in all cleantech sectors -- eg, EVs, industrial batteries, solar & wind installations ... Government subsidies AT THE START of China's move towards cleantech are another issue, but they are more or less gone at this point ... And I don't understand the relevance of the Gremlin -- what are you trying to say ???
The Chinese are definitely in the lead on renewables, by quite a bit.
Didn’t the Japanese also build car manufacturing in the US?
Yes I think so. Technology transfer can go both ways. It went from America to Japan after the Second World War. The US used to make companies license a lot of their technology to companies around the world very affordably. They stopped doing that, post Reagan I think. That’s when mega rich companies get going. I wonder if this is a good thing. Countries like having big profitable champions and I guess it makes them more competitive, but it also seems to turn them into thugs.
When 30k in dollars can buy a well-made Chinese ev, the price point of Chinese competition would destroy the North American industry.
We have already allowed China to dominate much manufacturing without concern for national security or the impact on jobs in this country. China also uses government to support and subsidize activities that in the West are managed by private enterprises. I believe in mostly free trade and recognize that tRump is an idiot that has zero understanding of international trade. The integration of the Mexico/USA/Canada economies across North America, particularly the auto industry, makes sense and is good for all three nations. We should be encouraging and working hard to improve the relationship rather than it being destroyed by a petulant orange criminal who would destroy this vital relationship because he apparently thinks he should rule all three nations.
But that only underscores my point that the "problems" we have with China are fundamentally SELF-INFLICTED ...
Mostly semantics here. "We have a problem with ants" doesn't address whether it was us or someone else that left the food out.
Krugman obviously writing from a current American perspective. And not in the 1970s but now. It's just recognizing a basic point of economic reality that's not controversial - "we" have a "problem with China", now - is not a moral judgment or blame game, it's just a note about reality - maybe the correct way of articulating it would have been "we have a problem with allowing unrestricted imports, given China's capabilities and products in this area."
Your "clarification" does exactly the opposite. First, your "description" of the current situation is simply factually wrong. Second, you're putting words into Krugman's mouth that may have nothing to do with what he actually thinks. Pointless reply. Sorry.
If Krugman saying that China's capabilities are a problem for the us car industry is not something that's widely agreed-upon by economists of all kinds and news outlets globally, then cite one source for that. You're not arguing with Krugman or me, you're arguing with the idea that the economic conditions and strategy of us industry can be based on something out there other than things widely understood as an economic reality given the type of economy the us has.
https://www.nbcnews.com/world/asia/chinese-evs-take-world-storm-united-states-rcna344680
I've driven the BYD in French Poly. It's terrific (though the headlights point too far down--don't know why). Anyway, glad to see they are coming to Canada, which will produce a used-car market for them soon, which will spill into the US. It's nuts that it's come to this.
The product lines, models being produced in China vs USA are often not apples to apples comparisons. China has multiple EV manufacturers cranking out subcompact models with modest range capabilities. Very much what Europeans would find appealing but for many Americans that misses what they really want. What they want vs what they actually need is a different discussion.
The Chevy Bolt was reasonably priced and a nice small EV. Sales began in 2017 and have never really reached the levels needed for GM to see it as worth building. (It was not a purely GM product if you look at its history.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Bolt
I have to wonder that if as gasoline prices rise and the percentage of single-person households increases, especially in urban areas, if cars like the Volt, with enough charging stations, wouldn’t be more attractive. Not everyone needs, let alone can afford, an SUV. Watching people try to park them is another warning sign.
There is so much going on there. Image, perceived safety advantage in a crash, actual carrying and towing capacity needed. Those factors are difficult to overcome in a small EV.
I think the current sweet spot for EVs is a home equipped with solar panels, a garage with a Level 2 charger in it, and a moderate commuting distance. Adding home storage batteries and V2H (vehicle to home) power transfer would be gravy on top.
Ample charging stations are the only way millions of urban and apartment dwellers could come anywhere close to that sweet spot. I agree that is a key to wider EV adoption.
Utility companies can (and I believe do) help with adding charging capacity for single-family homes. Not sure what’s available for multi-family, but a charger was added for a Tesla in the building where I used to live. Keep in mind that especially in cities, not every home (apartment, house, or other) will have a garage. Some do, some don’t. As for towing, if someone truly needs something with enough hp to tow a boat to the lake or lawn equipment to a job, obviously an EV subcompact is not going to be for them, or a gas-powered one either. My point is that there is a potential market that is not being served by US automakers and overseas manufacturers selling in the US right now, for the most part. VW is cutting back on smaller models in the US and prices are way up, for example. It reminds me of the 1970s. Drivers didn’t buy Toyotas and VWs because animosity towards Detroit or the UAW. They wanted cars that got better mileage and were easy to fix.
The little truck I mentioned above can charge from a standard 110 volt outlet. Takes all night, but it works.
As concerns most ev vehicles / charging, dealing with utility companies is not necessary at all. If you need or want a supercharger that's one thing but my plug in hybrid charges overnight in a regular wall outlet, and it allowed me to increase the amps to make it shorter (maybe 10 vs 16 hrs), which has posed no issues. A plug in hybrid has a smaller battery than a Tesla and charging times obviously depend on the size of the battery, but EVs need not have a battery of Tesla sizes to be efficient and save people energy and dollars over several years. A simple job can be done by any electrician to upgrade the wall outlet to 240 volt so that anyone can charge at home at reduced time. A 240-volt circuit powers Level 2 charging, which can add 20–40 miles of range per hour instead of the slower times from a standard 120V wall plug. But as noted, by simply increasing the amps using a setting on the car's own included charging cables, with certain vehicles you can reduce time and charge overnight easily with a regular wall outlet!
https://recharged.com/articles/how-to-install-240v-outlet/
Yes, I think western auto manufacturers are ignoring the small EV market segment. One article I recently read claimed that small car platforms weren't big/sturdy enough to incorporate the battery capacity needed for an appealing range between charges. But, that now battery technology (higher energy density) has advanced to make that achievable.
Maybe so. The Nissan Leaf has been around for a long time but never had a lot of range capacity.
For those who truly need a pickup truck chances are after paying $50K - $60K for one of those, they won't also be buying an EV for general use.
The crew cab, 4-door short bed pickup truck is popular for a reason. It can haul, be a family vehicle, and tow. I don't think you could buy a standard cab, 2-door, long bed truck without it being a special order. And if you did, you would take a beating on its resale value.
That's the situation driven by need and economics that will be hard to displace. I don't mean to excuse those who own a pickup truck and use it for a grocery getter and morning coffee fetching. And there are plenty of those out there who aren't going to change without an economic hammer.
We had a massive federal program under the inflation reduction act, which was quickly reversed and dismantled by the current administration in favor of more drilling and more use of fossil fuels. So that's a big part of where the us stands. This is not about what anyone wants - people certainly don't want to pay 4 dollars a gallon for gas. As widely documented and understood, usa is an outlier now as globally the transition to EVs proceeds.
https://www.nbcnews.com/world/asia/chinese-evs-take-world-storm-united-states-rcna344680
The fact that we had a good policy that was dismantled at a young age is a major reason why we are fumbling the ball on all things energy related.
As has been noted in the media, China sets long term goals, identifies what is needed to meet them, and then gets to work while we are playing corrupt political games.
As for needs and wants, if enough people wanted to adopt a more sane lifestyle and live in a country led by knowledge rather than self interest, that's what we would have. So, it is about what people want in the end.
What I'm looking at is the Slate pickup truck coming out next year. I friend of mine has actually put down his order for one. https://www.motortrend.com/news/2027-slate-truck-electric-first-look-review
The Slate is an interesting product direction. It could become popular. Coming from northern states where snow and ice happens I would be leary of a rear wheel drive only pickup. I would choose the AWD version.
Japan and Asia in general have some really small utility trucks that we can't buy here for on-road use. There is a gray market where people buy them for use on large private properties.
It's perfectly legal to buy them if they are over 25 years old. Some States refuse to license them for road use, but New Jersey allows it. They have a top speed of about 40 mph, so they're limited to local roads. I've seen two or three around here; all road legal. https://www.kei-trucks.com/
I haven't seen any in Virginia. Didn't know they were road legal in any state.
Thank you - this argument felt inadequate to me as well.
Krugman did a 3 deep dive articles on the China trade deficit.
Here is the final one, which includes links to the earlier parts
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/chinas-trade-surplus-part-iii?utm_campaign=posts-open-in-app&triedRedirect=true
They do manipulate their currency, mostly to keep their exports low priced.
China engineers its economy on a way that emphasizes exports and reduces the internal market for imports.
Further, they force legal terms on foreign companies that make it easier for local businesses to obtain IP and compete.
Yes, the US is racing to the bottom, but China is also putting a hand on the scales.
Two things can be true at the same time.
Nothing personal, my fellow SF-er, but you don't really understand how the Chinese economy works at all
It's not "engineered".
In fact, the export-oriented cleantech sector is HIGHLY siloed from the domestic economy,
which, in fact, is the responsibility of Xi Jinping and at which almost every "initiative" he has tried has FAILED MISERABLY.
Hence, the cleantech sector -- which has its own infrastructure / leadership etc -- pays him homage as the "supreme leader" precisely so he can be kept away from them without losing too much face.
As far as tech transfer goes, that has been a strategy for industrialization ever since the 19th century,
when it was the US that permitted foreign investment in steamboats & railroads ONLY on condition there was IP transfer.
This was also true in the first 25 years after WWII, when there was a wave of US dfi in many large foreign markets, eg Europe / Brasil etc,
who permitted US investment only on condition of massive tech transfer.
Americans unaware of this important history get all worked up about Chinese demands for tech transfer,
but it has been a structural component of ALL DFI since the first Industrial Revolution after the Napoleonic wars -- & insisted on first and foremost by the US.
So nothing that has happened in the US/Chinese relationship is anything new in any fundamental way -- it's the way DFI has ALWAYS operated & initiated by the US
For historical reference, you might want to check out Alexander Gerschonkron's classic study, THE ADVANTAGES OF BACKWARDNESS
So siloing is perhaps an example of engineering, hmm? Look at the 3rd definition:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/engineering
And "everybody" does something doesn't prove China didn't.
You might reread Krugman :
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/chinas-trade-surplus-part-iii?utm_campaign=posts-open-in-app&triedRedirect=true
You're really reaching on all fronts ...
Krugman is good on many things, but there are other sources on which he depends,
eg Charles Kindleberger, his mentor at MIT
Try reading some foundational books, which it doesn't appear you've done
PK cites sources.
You don't.
I could have added other citations, but you would still be sure you were right.
And you admitted my points.
Or are "silos" magical things that appear spontaneously to manage the Chinese economy?
I have admitted NONE of your trivial / irrelevant / baseless "points"
You really need to work on your reading comprehension, in addition to everything else
Please cease this tiresome and pointless obsessiveness
There is a lot of truth in that.
Allowing China to dominate certain economic areas without appropriate tarifs or other import controls to counter that domination is largely the result of the importing country to not acting accordingly.
In effect, the Biden approach seems to have been fairly well thought out.
In Canada, we have supply control of important food areas such as grain, milk, and eggs, to ensure that we keep a stable supply with reasonable prices for producers and consumers. It works well, and we haven't had the recent huge fluctuations in those prices seen in the US. The European Union and member countries do similar things in their import policies.
None of Trumps policies are thought out. When has isolationism ever worked for anyone? Ends up in paranoia and fake victimhood worship, and the Whitehouse is already there.
I disagree. I think his policies have been highly successful in inflating his and his family's bank accounts.
Only that is not what presidents are supposed to be elected for.
I'm sure even Trump is aware of this fact. He just thinks he will get away with it.
Fraud is the one thing that presidents are elected NOT to do.
But Trump and his family have gotten away with unimaginable fraud so far, the SCOTUS has basically said he has immunity to so, so he's doing to with gusto and creativity. He and his ilk are clearly convinced that there will not be any consequences. I expect an unprecedented number of pre-emptive pardons - including Trump once again testing the limits of the constitution by pardoning himself.
I question however how the Trump administration can credibly say to civil servants "Thou shall not steal from the taxpayer".
Mentally disordered Narcissists act like that. It's constant chaos, which focuses attention on them all the time. This is how they roll. Add to that Trump's general stupidity where he can't project the results of his decisions two steps ahead and this is the mess you have.
Like Iran. Who could have guessed they would close the Strait of Hormuz? Just about anyone with any sense. Trump believed the Bibi nonsense that as soon as the bombs started, the Iranians would revolt and overthrow their government. Trump thought he would be a hero by now.
That reveals more than one delusion.
For Trump, refusing to listen to the council of his own associates, as demonstrated by leaks.
For Israel, for thinking that they could overthrow the Iranian govt, and if they did succeed, that any new govt in Iran would accept Israel's aggression against those around it. In fact, if Iran loses the current sanctions, it will be much stronger to oppose Israel's aggression.
I don't see that Trump had any thought of isolationism. What he desires is domination.
This had to happen. The US has sustained a total moral collapse and the only way that will change is for us—and the rest of the world—to see the full extent of the decay. When Reconstruction 2.0 begins, I hope and pray that we’ll feed a different wolf. https://www.nanticokeindians.org/about/the-tale-of-two-wolves/
Trump's addiction to being the center of attention is killing our nation.
Yes. When Trump cancelled Obama’s Iran agreement, he acted as if he actually understood what it was. It was the equivalent of Elon and his chain saw
Trump pretends he knows everything, like a third-grade bully who never grew up. No offense to third-graders.
Trump's emotional mindset is more that of a toddler than a third grader. As far as his knowledge base, I'm gonna spitball that we're talking maybe 2nd grade (I'm being generous).
He announced at the time that he intended to undo everything Obama had accomplished. As far as I can tell, he never acted as if he understood any of it. Obama had done it, so Trump destroyed it.
It's doing a pretty fair number on the rest of the planet too.
It’s certainly providing jobs for a lot of content creators. I look forward to the day when they can mostly move on. But for now, they are doing good work.
What the hell is going on with the comments on this Substack? Brian writes a thoughtful comment and gets jumped for being too long. Abandoned Afghan Ally writes and a couple of dufuses jump him. This is a new behavior here. An ugly one. It pollutes the conversation. If a comment looks too long to you, don't read it. If you don't agree with another commentor, marshall your wits ang tell them why you think them wrong. Petty ad hominems serve no purpose other than to spotlight your smallness.
Brian had four somewhat quotidian complaints that he used ChatGPT to blow up into a bad college freshman essay using someone else's writing style.
ChatGPT generated content is sort of the extreme opposite of a thoughtful comment.
You've made a specific assertion that Brian used ChatGPT to shape his comment. I'm not going to say that he didn't because I don't have evidence either way. I'm assuming that you don't either or you would have named it. So that leaves us with only the value judgment on content. If comments that not everyone embraces disappeared, Substack comment boards would be either banal or empty.
I suppose that just proves I read the entire thread and you didn't.
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/the-end-of-north-america-157/comment/287317659
That is Brian describing exactly how he used ChatGPT.
Fair enough and thank you for directing me to that. I had indeed missed it. I fault Brian for not disclosing this in the original post. If he framed what he had done and why, he could have made the comment land even harder. That said, I'm still fine with the sentiment and its length.
I preferred the Tolkien version Gemini did.
You can almost see the MAGA hats on the orcs marching out of Mordor.
Always worth remembering that President Deals looked at NAFTA and declared it was terrible. The worst possible deal anyone could have come up with. And so he ripped it up and negotiated a new deal. The best deal. Because he's President Deals!
And then President Deals looked at took office again, and he looked at the trade deal between Canada, Mexico, and the US, and declared it was terrible. The worst possible deal anyone could have come up with. And so he ripped it up and negotiated a new deal. The best deal. Because he's President Deals!
And now, President Deals is looking at the deal he negotiated last year, and declares it was terrible. The worst possible deal anyone could have come up with. And so he ripping it up and and will negotiate a new deal. The best deal. Because he's President Deals!
Or President Steals
He Just made $1B through bribes, how much is he making to destroy NAFTA? That’s what is top of his mind.
$1B is what he disclosed. It does not include the back room deals or how much his family made. $1B is probably about 20% of the real number.
He made a lot of money off MAGA rubes who bought his $Trump crypto, now almost worthless. I saw an interview with one buyer who wasn’t even angry. It really is a cult.
Now it is time to buy the dip lol
Yep, a real bargain 😄
Trump's actions concerning USMCA remind me of that joke "What borders on stupidity?" The answer is, of course, Mexico and Canada.
Will trump try to hold auto manufacturers in a vise until they pay him off? The grift grows bigger by the moment.
The way decisions are made by this administration is exposed by the current refusal of the Trump administration to open the fully completed Gordie Howe bridge. The only other bridge open to truck traffic between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario was purchased by a billionaire family, the Marouns in the late 1970s. According to Snopes, “(T)he U.S. upgraded its side of the bridge to connect with interstates 75 and 96 (in a contentious process that involved Matty Maroun, the family patriarch, going to jail for ignoring court orders to build the on-ramps) in the late 200s and early 2010s.” The Marouns have attempted to preserve their profits from the tolls charged to truckers by opposing the construction of the new bridge, suing the U.S. and Canadian governments (suit was dismissed) and funding a ballot measure “that would require voters across Michigan .,.to vote on any new international bridge (it failed).” Since then the Marouns have donated generously to Republican politicians, including a $1 million donation to a Trump super PAC, and in February, 2026, Matthew Maroun, son of the patriarch, met with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Hours later, according to the NY Times, Trump announced that he would block the opening of this new bridge, although it was complete and scheduled for opening ceremonies in June. Here, as usual, the Trump administration is acting to benefit the few - the members of the billionaire class - at the expense of many others, Americans and Canadians, who would benefit from improved transit between the two cities. Blocking a needed bridge between the U.S. and Canada also fits perfectly into Trump’s recent vindictive trade stance with Canada, the latest being his administration’s delays in negotiating the USMCA, as Professor Krugman notes. Hence also the image of this bridge that headlines this Krugman post.
I just wrote about this bridge too, before seeing your post. My guess is that Trump won't act to resolve this until Whitmer is out of office - hoping a Republican governor will replace her.
But where is Mark Carney? Does he have no leverage?
JL, considering the latent antagonism Trump has shown to Carney, I don’t see that he does. Trump will keep the bridge closed as long as it’s in his self-interest to do so. A classic example of crony capitalism hurting the wider public.
He has a certain amount. He's cut deals to sell Canadian products elsewhere (mainly China and Europe). The contracts for Canadian LNG have eliminated new European contracts with the United States. Canada has reduced its sales of oil to the U.S. and eliminated the discounted prices as a result. Aircraft are now being purchased from Saab and Airbus, instead of Lockheed and Boeing. Canada has reduced the flow of water to the U.S., which cuts electrical generation. And for their part, Canadian citizens have dramatically reduced purchases of good made in the States and visits to the States.
But, no, he can't remove the barricades on the U.S. side of the river.
Good points. News reports indicate that Hoekstra and Trump claim that new negotiations about the agreed-on business arrangement must take place before the U.S. agrees to open the bridge. That doesn’t seem favorable to a near-future resolution.
Other news reports state that Trump is insisting that Carney give half the bridge to the U.S. government. Since the State of Michigan owns half the bridge, I think this has no solution. IMO, either the bridge stays closed until after Trump is out of office, or the State creates a new on-ramp using local roads.
Crony capitalism and lack of respect for existing contracts on display!
He definitely hates Canada because we did not agree to become the 51st state. So do most MAGAs.
The problem stems, in part, from Trump's lack of understanding about the complexity of modern manufacturing. He can tour a plant, but he will not understand how it works. In his mind, for example, it seems that an auto plant is akin to River Rouge, the huge vertically integrated Ford plant from before WW2. He does not ask how many parts total went into a 1938 Ford, and what complexities were then necessary, in comparison to the case now. On parts, the current cars have probably double the parts, down to the nuts and bolts, that cars had in the '30's, but the sophistication of those parts, from sensors, wiring harnesses, range of alloys, range of substances, is hugely changed for the better. Think to the cameras and lidar sensors on the bumpers, all inconceivable in the past. The key issue here is that Trump does not seem to understand the economies of scale in the modern world.
Interesting question - how many parts then, how many now! I'm sure it's much more then double.
The 1938 Ford: Under 5,000 Parts
A typical pre-WWII car like the 1938 Ford Deluxe or Standard (famous for its Flathead V8 engine) was made of roughly 3,000 to 5,000 individual parts.
A Modern Car: Roughly 30,000 PartsToday, the average modern gas-powered car is made up of approximately 30,000 individual parts.
Trump promised to increase manufacturing jobs in the U.S. His staff monitors and reports to him the status of his promises. He knows US manufacturing jobs have been decreasing in spite of his greatly increased tariffs. Sunsetting low tariffs with Canada and Mexico is not about US jobs. It is to give Trump the opportunity to use the purchasing power of the US to extort Canada and Mexico for their money, resources and/or political control that Trump can monetize directly to himself or by trading these pirated treasures with US corporations and Oligarchs for political support and more riches. Corruption is often dressed in lofty national goals, but it is just about taking someone else’s money and resources.
Are you *sure* he knows any of that? His toadies are probably telling him what they think he wants to hear. Look at his explosion when someone posted an aerial photo of the sparse crowd at his big show in DC.
Yes, it has been reported many times that Trump monitors progress toward his campaign promises. He also watches TV news frequently.it would be difficult to miss reports on manufacturing employment.