by ROGER CROOK – US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has decided that many nations who trade with his country, do not trade fairly; he uses his definition of fairness.
This statement and the threats of 25 per cent tariffs on Australian steel and aluminium exports to America has sent Australian politicians on both sides into a frenzy, fearing the wrath of Donald Trump and a trade war.
- Labor will incur as much debt as necessary to convert Australia’s power grid to 100 per cent renewable.
- It matters not that no other economy in the world has been able to achieve 100 per cent renewable energy.
- For Albanese and his mates, it’s the “green” glory – not the cost – which is important.
There were even exhortations from Peter Dutton that Albanese should go to Washington.
What utter nonsense; steel and aluminium exports to America are insignificant in the scheme of things – as you will see.
AMERICA IN TROUBLE
Gossip about tariffs generated totally unnecessary action and reaction in Canberra.
While the nation’s media – who, these days, almost totally rely on press releases rather than investigation – are still flapping around in the dark and taking the government’s word as gospel.
Had the trade minister and the Prime Minister and their legions of “advisers” (advisers is an oxymoron in Canberra) bothered to do a little research they would have found that this business of tariff imposition on the smidgeon of steel and aluminium we export to America, is a storm in a tea cup in our trade with America – and not worthy of comment.
This government has either quite deliberately – and for their own political gain – failed to tell the Australian people the truth about our two-way trade with America, or, as I suspect they don’t know, and they are panicking when there is no need.
America is in trouble. Their national debt, which Trump inherited from four years of the Biden administration (who added US$8 trillion) is truly alarming at US$36 trillion; giving America and the American taxpayer a debt to GDP ratio of 122 per cent.
Trump, unlike PM Albanese and all of his cabinet, is an experienced and highly successful business man; a proven entrepreneur and deal maker.
Unlike Albanese and his inner circle, especially Treasurer Jim Chalmers, he is able to read and understand a balance sheet.
The overwhelming evidence that Chalmers and the Labor cabinet can not read and understand a financial spreadsheet is based totally on their miserable performance over the past three years in managing the economy of this country.
Ask them about balancing expenditure and receipts and they go glassy eyed and look confused; their mantra is spend, spend and stay in power no matter the cost.
The cost of living in Australia continues to spiral out of control. Dr Chalmers is an inexperienced, ambitious and egotistical man who wrote his PhD thesis on the life and times of former ALP Prime Minister Paul Keating.
In the opinion of Albanese, that qualifies him to be in charge of the Treasury coffers and the national economy.
During the past three years Chalmers has shown no sign of being able to read a set of accounts, never mind a balance sheet.
His oppo, his partner in this paucity of ability in high office in Labor, is finance minister Katie Gallagher.
As former Chief Minister of that bastion of socialism, the ACT, she is tarred with the same brush as Chalmers and Albanese, having for the past three years given every sign that she is also economically illiterate.
Like their colleague Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen, that trio believe that the answer to all of Australia’s problems is to spend.
Spend as many billions of the taxpayer’s money and incur as much debt as is necessary to convert Australia’s power grid to 100 per cent renewable.
They aim to do this with solar panels and windmills imported from China and by continuing the massive subsidies.
Subsidies, in this case, is money the Australian Government does not have; so it has to borrow on behalf of the people, who will, for generations be saddled with the insanity of this ever-growing “climate” debt.
One hundred per cent renewable energy will they say, eliminate the 1.3 per cent of global Co2 emissions generated by Australia; and this will save the world, and Bowen will be deified.
They never mention that China and India will make up for our reduction in emissions in a couple of weeks. Worldwide emissions are increasing year on year.
It matters not to them that no other economy in the world has been able to achieve 100 per cent renewable energy; the consumers in those localities who have tried, like Germany and the State of California, have been punished with some of the highest power prices in the world.
Australia is following their example; for Albanese and Bowen it is the glory not the price which is important.
Because of the high price of energy both Germany and California are gradually losing their highly productive industrial base. In Germany’s case to China and in California’s case to other States within the Republic; Tesla’s huge moved to Texas is just one example.
America’s balance sheet is dreadful. Their spending far exceeds their income, and unlike his predecessor Joe Biden, President Trump refuses to just print more money, so he is applying first principles to the economics of his country and demanding they live within their means.
One frightening statistic that has confronted Donald Trump is that the interest paid on national debt is greater than the current expenditure on defence.
One of the first moves Trump made after moving in to the White House was to warn the world he was going to impose tariffs on a range if not all goods being imported into America.
LARGESSE
One of his reasons for imposing tariffs is that over many years, many nations, especially those who live on the borders of America, Mexico and Canada, and those who rely on his country for their defence, especially in Europe and particularly in the EU have taken advantage of America’s generosity and largesse.
He claims NATO countries have for a long time imposed tariffs by another name on all goods imported from America.
All the countries in Europe have either a GST or a value added tax (VAT), which in the EU varies between 17-27 per cent.
In some cases, countries Trump claims it is just a straight out and unfair imposition, like the 150 per cent tariff India enforces on American alcohol and the 100 per cent on agricultural products.
India exports more than US$12.7b in pharmaceutical drugs to America without paying a tariff, but drugs going the other way pay more than 10 per cent in duties.
Trump has determined that one of his – and his nation’s – biggest challenges is to stop the annual loss of at least 100,000 American lives, mostly young people, to drug overdose; especially from fentanyl.
Fentanyl – and its ingredients – are almost totally manufactured in China and exported into America primarily through Mexico, and partly through Canada. It is an insidious practice by China which is attacking the very foundation of American society.
In an attempt to stop this illegal traffic, Trump has imposed heavy tariffs of at least 25 per cent on all goods exported by them to the United States; both Canada and China have retaliated.
Trump has said stop the fentanyl and bring your manufacturing into America and we will give you a good deal.
There has been a deal of wailing, weeping and gnashing of teeth in Australia with the threat of the imposition of a steel and aluminium tariff on exports to America.
There is considerable speculation and tension that those tariffs may be extended to Australian beef and lamb exports, which some claim, would devastate meat producers in this country.
So what are the facts?
Last year imports into Australia from America totalled $34.7b of which about $9b was in food products; America is our second biggest provider of food, by far the biggest is New Zealand.
Last year Australian exports to America totalled $14.73b; beef exports were $4.2b and sheep meat $1.2b. The value of steel and aluminium which is subject to a 25 per cent tariff is about $1b.
America has a trade surplus with Australia – of nearly $18b in 2024.
ARROGANCE
While on this subject, it is worth mentioning China and the arrogance of their naval sightseeing and live fire practice during their circumnavigation of Australia.
We had to rely on commercial airlines to tell us where they were because we do not have a navy that can stay at sea for any length of time.
The reason for this “Pirates of Penzance” situation is that we don’t have a tanker to refuel our navy at sea.
Both of our tankers have been out of commission for some time. The best we can manage is to follow for as long as we can and then high tail to the nearest port to refuel. So far China have not waited for us to catch up!
Talking of China, remember the brouhaha when Prime Minister Morrison asked China about the origin of the COVID virus? They got annoyed and in retaliation for Morrison’s impudence they cancelled our exports of wine, barley, cray fish and beef.
Then, when socialist Albanese became prime minister, he went to China and was feted; he was called a “handsome boy” among other things and was rewarded with the lifting of the export bans.
What neither Albanese or Morrison told us is that while the bans were in place and our producers were suffering, we were importing ever increasing amounts of food from China, all as if nothing had happened!
To rub salt into the wounds, the Chinese imports competed with Australian products on price by packaging their products in exactly the same containers as their Australian competitors.
Next time you are in the supermarket have a careful look at the country of origin of the peaches, apricots and other fruits.
You will see some in exactly the same plastic containers as the same fruits from Ardmona and the Riverland.
It’s time! My word it’s time! PC
