patrick.net

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At best we can reduce the trade deficit with poor countries like Vietnam by at most 25%.

But you can't expect less wealthy countries to buy "expensive" goods and services from the USA as much as we buy their cheap goods. I think Trump realizes this.

Trump does give off the Roy Cohn-style fanfare but he is still pragmatic and just wants to achieve some tangible gains for the USA like increasing manufacturing jobs as a % of the total jobs, reverse the trend of increasing annual deficits, etc.

It's that China is the most extreme culture as far as saving face, as it does not help its nearly 94% the same ethnicity combined with its Chicom / Maoism government.

So its going to be a tough nut to crack as far as try to get a better deal for the USA, or perhaps no deal as far as reversing trends like Chicoms setting up regulator barriers to imports, stealing USA intellectual property, hacking USA infrastructure, etc.

https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/in-secret-meeting-china-acknowledged-role-in-u-s-infrastructure-hacks-c5ab37cb

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stereotomy says

China is fucked six ways from Sunday

So is the USSR and yet Donnie basically lets them piss all over his face in response to all his peace overtures.

personal

Looks like it's Pukin who uses the art of the deal on Donnie and not the other way around.

So far Pukin kept his maximalist demands (and even added new ones) while Donnie is giving up more and more.

I expected competence. This ain't it.

RWSGFY says

The Trump administration is considering reducing high tariffs on Chinese imports to 50%-65% instead of the previously imposed 145%,

- WSJ.

RWSGFY says

The Trump administration is considering reducing high tariffs on Chinese imports to 50%-65% instead of the previously imposed 145%,
- WSJ.

Eh, none of us know background on corporations located there that are negotiating. Even it's a net of 3-5 companies doing stuff in the US it was a net gain.

Basically he wasn't bringing the hammer to China, it was US and other foreign companies. If you make them see the light and they move back or move their manufacturing here, that's a huge win. That was the end goal. Overall tariffs at the end of the day are trivial long term. He could move them weekly. Businesses want stability and we can control that.

Trump is now surrendering to China as well. Man this isn’t going to change anything.

WookieMan says

RWSGFY says

The Trump administration is considering reducing high tariffs on Chinese imports to 50%-65% instead of the previously imposed 145%,
- WSJ.

Eh, none of us know background on corporations located there that are negotiating. Even it's a net of 3-5 companies doing stuff in the US it was a net gain.

Basically he wasn't bringing the hammer to China, it was US and other foreign companies. If you make them see the light and they move back or move their manufacturing here, that's a huge win. That was the end goal. Overall tariffs at the end of the day are trivial long term. He could move them weekly. Businesses want stability and we can control that.

Trump set up a shipbuilding council in the White House because that is one manufacturing sector that is related to national security.

He should have identified some key manufacturing areas besides semiconductors and electronics such as antibiotics and medical equipment. Do the same as he did for the shipbuilding council.

We should have enough manufacturing capabilities and capacity in these manufacturing sectors that are national security related. We use Los Alamos National Lab for critical services instead of a Chinese manufacturer, so the same concept should apply.

This is what Trump should explain to the public, and he needs to realize we can't expect trade with a poorer or 3rd world country to not result in some trade deficit.

Their citizens can't buy all the Chevy Corvettes coming off the production line or their small businesses afford hiring New York white collar labor such as lawyers, advertisers, etc.

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Fortwaye says

Trump is now surrendering to China as well. Man this isn’t going to change anything.

Will see how much China wants to give in some if we show them the respect of being 5000 years old and having the largest manufacturing capabilities.

https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-considers-exempting-some-goods-us-tariffs-source-says-2025-04-25/

The trade deficit in 2024 was around $920 billion.

So Trump likely wants it to be less than that to show an improvement over Birdbrain Biden, just like Trump is trying to cut from Birdbrain Biden's 2025 budget to reduce the deficit.

I think a large part of Trump's mentality is he is trying to do all this within 6 months to compensate for Birdbrain Biden's Marxist agenda during 2021 to 2024.

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Soo, 100 days of friendly sounds, concessions, Witkoff's hand on heart and all that jazz...scratch that.... more like 200 days of that since the first phone calls from Donnie to Vlady-buddy has started right after the election. And what do we have to show for it? Soviets are still firmly on their maximalist demands. Here's Lavrov in interview with Brazilian newspaper named Globo(homo) on 04/28/25 (but reads as something from '23):

The international recognition of Crimea, Sevastopol, the DPR, the LPR, the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions as part of Russia is another imperative.
All the commitments Kiev assumes must be legally binding, contain enforcement mechanisms and be permanent.
Demilitarising and de-Nazifying Ukraine is also on the agenda, along with lifting sanctions, withdrawing lawsuits and cancelling arrest warrants, as well as returning Russian assets subjected to the so-called freeze in the West.
We will also insist on obtaining solid security guarantees for the Russian Federation in order to shield it from any threats emanating from hostile activities by NATO, the European Union and some of their member states along our western border.

Abject and total failure of "wag tail and show belly" diplomacy.

It took 2 years for the Bidet/Potatus regime to instigate the Ukraine war.

Give it time . . .

Soo, Donnie keeps making concessions and friendly sounds towards Pukin and getting absolutely nowhere. The Art of the Deal seems to be not really a thing.

Donnie has no cards?

stereotomy says

It took 2 years ...

Give it time . . .

Are we now saying Donnie didn't understand the problem will take years to solve (which makes him kinda dumb) or he was simply lying through his teeth to his voters (which makes him ...... )?

Eric Holder says

stereotomy says

It took 2 years ...

Give it time . . .

Are we now saying Donnie didn't understand the problem will take years to solve (which makes him kinda dumb) or he was simply lying through his teeth to his voters (which makes him ...... )?

If it were just Russia, maybe he could have done it. Instead, he had to bitch slap the Euro Neocons and Globohomo sock puppets enough to make them look so stupid they'd give up trying to sabotage his plans. They can't lay off the hookers and blow, and it's starting to come out, as well as the pedo shit.

An assessment of the art of the deal in action:

German Defense Minister Pistorius commenting on Trump:

"I believe that he (Trump) overestimated his negotiating position, his personal power. Trump's first major mistake was right at the beginning, when he promised that Ukraine wouldn't join NATO and even offered Ukrainian territory."

"You don't do this. (...) It has created a situation where it is much harder for us to establish a ceasefire or peace."

Pistorius further elaborates regarding the Trump-Putin talks :

"My expectations were already low, but even those were undercut. Politically, nothing is really moving forward, except that we are running in circles."

Source: Spiegelonline

Donnie is flopping hard.

RWSGFY says

German Defense Minister Pistorius commenting on Trump:

What credibility does Germany have on anything in terms of Russia? Have they stopped buying Russian oil/gas? Have they stopped trading with Russia through proxies?

Have they even met their minimum NATO spending goals?

This video from 6 years ago of a German delegation laughing at Trump when Trump rightfully warned that Germany is enabling Russia and will be totally hostage to them never gets old.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LLZBVTid4I

The Art of Two Weeks:

https://x.com/mouw5284/status/1928070969253302410

The fuckers admit not negotiating in good faith, mock Donnie's efforts:

Senior Russian security official Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday that the point of holding peace talks with Ukraine was to ensure a swift and complete Russian victory.

"The Istanbul talks are not for striking a compromise peace on someone else's delusional terms but for ensuring our swift victory and the complete destruction of the neo-Nazi regime," the hawkish deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council said on Telegram.
"That's what the Russian Memorandum published yesterday is about."

Medvedev was referring to a set of Russian demands presented to Ukraine at talks in Istanbul on Monday.

RWSGFY says

The fuckers admit not negotiating in good faith

Are you honestly surprised by this ?

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AD says

RWSGFY says

The fuckers admit not negotiating in good faith

Are you honestly surprised by this ?

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Of course not. I was never under illusion they can be negotiated with without first being properly fucked up. But the POTUS, in his infinite wisdom, apparenly thought (and still does) that making puppy eyes and cooing sounds will somehow bring them to the table in earnest.

No deal here:



or here:

RWSGFY says

No deal here:

Trump came in blustering like a protege of Roy Cohn.

But as long as he is an improvement over your favorite president Birdbrain Biden then I am willing to tolerate that.

I know you are upset there is no more an open border and there are less welfare state giveaways like student loan forgiveness.

I see USAID's budget is cut in the 2026 proposed budget about 47% compared to Birdbrain Biden's 2025 budget.

Who says Elon Musk did not have any positive effect on cutting waste like at USAID ?

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Elon was trying to do the right thing, but in the end it turned out that Trump just used him for PR and was never serious about cutting spending.

One of the most naive and contradictory aspects of Trump’s foreign policy, in my view, is his stance on Iran and Ukraine.

Trying to persuade Iran not to build nuclear weapons by offering security and economic guarantees, while simultaneously abandoning Ukraine—which gave up its nuclear arsenal in exchange for similar guarantees—sends a deeply inconsistent message. It undermines U.S. credibility and weakens the value of such guarantees in the eyes of other states.
9:59 AM · Jun 4, 2025
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https://x.com/Teoyaomiquu/status/1930308400828821843