Trump Plays Old Game With Mexico ‘Win’

What we have read and heard about the ‘Mexico deal’ follows a pattern from Donald Trump.  He creates a crisis–recall the caravans! He creates hype and bombast, but then has some sort of a fairly general resolution, always without any details and then declares victory. His supporters are conned and coo over ‘the win’. The rest of us have memories and recall this type of behavior from Trump is what he did with the North Korean nuclear crisis in Singapore.

This weekend, and this crisis, and this resolution are no different.

“Trump boasted of ‘large’ agricultural sales to Mexico as part of a deal reached Friday on border security and illegal immigration that averted the threat of U.S. tariffs, but the deal as released had none, and three Mexican officials say they’re not aware of any side accord,” Bloomberg reports.

“Trump told his 61 million Twitter followers in an all-caps message that Mexico had agreed to ‘immediately begin buying large quantities of agricultural product from our great patriot farmers.’”

Three Mexican officials said Saturday they were not aware of any side accord in the works, and that agricultural trade hadn’t been discussed during three days of negotiations in Washington that culminated in a joint communique late Friday.

The State Department communique issued late Friday — entitled the U.S.-Mexico Joint Declaration — also made no mention of agricultural trade as part of the agreement.

The State Department didn’t respond to an inquiry made through its press department. The White House declined to comment or offer proof to back up Trump’s tweet. The Mexican foreign ministry’s press office declined to comment.

But as long as Trump supporters are calmed for a weekend…….

And so it goes.

Dow Jones To Feel Red Following (Another) Trump Insanity

For those who care about the stock market–and that should be everyone–look out for Friday.

Trump said Thursday that he would impose a 5 percent tariff on all imported goods from Mexico beginning June 10, a tax that would “gradually increase” until the flow of undocumented immigrants across the border stopped.

As of this posting Asian markets, which are now trading, are dropping and drawing much concern for Bloomberg News.

Trump is such a rube he thinks Americans paying a series of increasing taxes for Mexican goods and services is going to solve a refugee crisis originating in Central America.

Since our ‘stable genius’ thinks China is paying the tariffs imposed on that country, one has to wonder if Mexico will now be paying these new tariffs?  Only this idiot thinks placing additional taxes on Americans is the key to immigration reform!

And Trump supporters are so stupid they agree with him!  But why not–they are as under-educated as Trump proves to be each day.

Prediction: Trump Does Not Close Mexican Border

Far be it for me to predict Donald Trump will act in a rational manner.  But that is exactly what I will do concerning the bombastic and dangerous talk of closing down the border with Mexico.  The economic stakes are too high for anyone sitting in the Oval Office to do otherwise.   Even Trump.

There is no shortage of economic data to support the damage done to the economy from the 35-day US government shutdown in December and January caused by Donald Trump, and prolonged by the Republican majority in the senate.  It was a painful reminder that rash and overly partisan moves results in dire economic consequences.  Now consider that the threat over shutting down the southern border would be akin to the shutdown, but this time on steroids.

Trump blustered and fumed last week but once his spittle had dried the facts remained.  Suspending “all trade” with Mexico, as he threatened, would mean bringing one of the world’s largest trade relationships to a standstill.   Such a move would short-circuit Wall Street with stocks taking a sucker-punch, severely constrict commerce as freezing the movement of traffic across the planet’s busiest international border would stun customers and start moving prices higher on some items.  Such as avocados!  Long-term consequences are not things Trump ponders as he is a day-trader in American politics.  But many grasp should the US sabotage its relationship with Mexico it allows for an opening with both China and the EU to step in and prove to be more reliable partners.

Trump is fixated with his polls and knows he will be the first victim of such a ridiculous power play.  Trump’s poll numbers will sink as they did over the shutdown when his disapproval rating scored an an all-time high.  But a border closing would rock his numbers even more severely.

Trump is not to be taken seriously about closing the border when one takes a complete view of the matter at hand.  Even with current month-to-month numbers higher for migrants seeking asylum, the full weight of the economic relationship with Mexico far exceeds the xenophobia which controls much of his words and actions.

While some think that roughly 75,000 migrants taken into custody each month is high consider the estimated 1 million people who legally move across the border every day.  That is a stunning number which then adds to the roughly $1.7 billion in merchandise that is traded each day between Mexico and the United States, according to the US Chamber of Commerce.  Consider that over 13,000 trucks and 1,000 rail cars pass over the border each day.  They carry nearly half of all fresh fruits and vegetables consumed in the United States.

Even with Trump’s lack of reasoning, and dislike of reading and learning there is no way Trump would jeopardize this economic engine.  What would his GOP corporate board friends do when parts for their factories languish at the border?  What happens to the meat in the trucks?  And if those Trump supporters who dislike brown people do not care about the cargo in the trucks and trains what might they feel for the roughly 5 million American jobs that are directly dependent on US-Mexico trade?

There is no way Trump closes the complete border just so to stop 2,500 or so Central Americans, desperate for a better life, who daily approach to seek asylum.  Not even Trump is so idiotic to create such HUGE disaster.

And so it goes.