25% tariff on goods coming in from Mexico announced

[gaussian]

1 in 11 households in my town house illegal immigrants.

These numbers are hard to believe given the actual number of illegals in America today. I doubt you could achieve 1:11 even in sanctuaries like Los Angeles. Can you cite some housing statistics for your zip code? I can't find any numbers close to that via Google.

U.S. consumption of rare earth compounds and metals relies heavily on imports, which rose to $160 million in 2018. Eighty percent were from China.

It's important to note that while this is true on the current level we are not forced into this. I believe we used to provide much of our own rare earth minerals, but the problem was China was able to churn out more, faster because they didn't care about pesky things like radioactive byproducts and acidic sludge that usually follow refining them.

It will hurt us for a bit while we spin up our refineries again, but we can supply our own if China wants to play ball. Things WILL be more expensive however. But as for the tariffs, there are far shorter hairs China has us by we should worry about.

 

[maxinger]

The thing is, it's actually refining of available ores. The three global hot spots are U.S., China, and Africa -- we were actually shipping *our* ore to China for refinement.

In the meantime, there is now a fourth area -- the shallows of the South China Sea -- in areas controlled by Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines, and increasingly {but furthest from home} China. Whoa! Keep that in mind when we're arguing with Japan: right off their shores are very valuable, rather toxic, necessities.

my goodness ! send ore to China for refining?!?!?

 

[tommcginnis]

my goodness ! send ore to China for refining?!?!?


View attachment 203363

Hey, it's cheaper for them to burn high-sulfur, LOW-heat Wyoming coal -- it's essentially slate soaked in kerosene, and burns *horribly*. So, it's not a far stretch for the U.S. to export the nasty processing of rare earths, and have it pay dollar-wise, too.

 

[bone]

"Chinese customs data show that the United States bought only 3.8 percent of China’s exports of rare-earth metals last year, far less than Japan, and also less than India, Italy or Spain."

"The dilemma for Beijing lies in whether to jeopardize its central role in global supply chains by halting exports of crucial components to the West. Trade hawks in the Trump administration have been quietly expressing hope that China will do just that. They see such an interruption as the best way to persuade global companies to shift manufacturing permanently out of China to the United States or to American allies, a long-term goal known as decoupling in trade circles."

China’s Supply of Minerals for iPhones and Missiles Could Be a Risky Trade Weapon
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/23/...=RelatedCoverage&pgtype=Article&region=Footer

 

[Overnight]

my goodness ! send ore to China for refining?!?!?

...

Yeah, I read an article a few days ago about how we export 70% of our rare-earth ore to China, and then import the finished product back from them. Can't find it though for linkage.

 

[Cuddles]

"Chinese customs data show that the United States bought only 3.8 percent of China’s exports of rare-earth metals last year, far less than Japan, and also less than India, Italy or Spain."

"The dilemma for Beijing lies in whether to jeopardize its central role in global supply chains by halting exports of crucial components to the West. Trade hawks in the Trump administration have been quietly expressing hope that China will do just that. They see such an interruption as the best way to persuade global companies to shift manufacturing permanently out of China to the United States or to American allies, a long-term goal known as decoupling in trade circles."

China’s Supply of Minerals for iPhones and Missiles Could Be a Risky Trade Weapon
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/23/...=RelatedCoverage&pgtype=Article&region=Footer

So China's 3.8 % of rare earth metal exports is 80% of our imports. What's your point?

 

[tommcginnis]

So China's 3.8 % of rare earth metal exports is 80% of our imports. What's your point?

His point is that China is running a word-association test. So when someone says, "OPEC." The response should be "Honda."

(OPEC used to be A Thing. Then they spanked the U.S. too much, and we took our Average Fleet Fuel Economy mpg from 8 to 21 -- in effect telling OPEC, "Don't need it that much, Omar." OPEC has never recovered. That's a structural change that does not happen overnight: rare earth consumers (including/especially defense) WILL construct the infrastructure to insure a robust supply chain which, once constructed, will rule out Chinese re-growth for the lifetime of the supply chain components. China does NOT want that, hence, "OPEC" :: Honda. )

 

[maxinger]

My taxes on my house are $16,000/year.... 1 in 11 households in my town house illegal immigrants.

Hopefully my taxes will stop rising.

hmmmm.....

Trump should have asked those landlords and
those employers who employ illegal immigrants to

pay for the multi billion dollar Great Wall of US.

 

[murray t turtle]

I thought there is a trade agreement between U.S and Mexico called NAFTA? What's the point of having a trade agreement when one side can arbitrarily impose tariffs? Does this trade agreement carry no legal effect? Wouldn't U.S lose trust among friends and potential friends? Who will dare do business with an entity who does not keep to his promises and agreements? This may impact negatively U.S business interests and the stock indices going forward.

%% Good points;
but like the Mexican mayor exhorted ''make Tijuana, Mexico great again''
Good news for the bears + common sense crowd. Sure a trade agreement is important as you noted ; border security is more important+ from day1 , he said Mexico is going to pay for the wall.Or help pay it/El Chapo,2.LOL-LOL I also disagree with his warnings scale in tariffs; hit them with 25% tariff , in 7.77 days ; not 10%+ in 10 days!!

 

[bone]

His point is that China is running a word-association test. So when someone says, "OPEC." The response should be "Honda."

(OPEC used to be A Thing. Then they spanked the U.S. too much, and we took our Average Fleet Fuel Economy mpg from 8 to 21 -- in effect telling OPEC, "Don't need it that much, Omar." OPEC has never recovered. That's a structural change that does not happen overnight: rare earth consumers (including/especially defense) WILL construct the infrastructure to insure a robust supply chain which, once constructed, will rule out Chinese re-growth for the lifetime of the supply chain components. China does NOT want that, hence, "OPEC" :: Honda. )

As I mentioned in another thread - there are plenty of experts who seem to think that rare earths are not the "ace card" China makes them out to be. And China presenting itself as an unreliable supply chain partner is only hastening the rise of other low cost labor manufacturing alternative Countries.

It turns out that rare earth metals are not that rare, and that the only thing China has going for it is cheap labor and incredibly lax environmental standards. The US, Japan, and Australia already have been hard at work establishing alternative ore and finishing supply lines since China pulled this exact same stunt in 2010 against Japan.