Featured Trump tariffs put the US auto industry in disarray

Interesting, never seen that one. It's still selling for $1200 and the gov't is still spying on you..but ok.

As I mentioned in the previous post, we should probably be more worried about the phones spying on you and tailoring ads for you based on your eye movements and other conspiratorial things rather than where and who makes them. But yeah Samsung, I do love me some Android and their cool proprietary Hybrid Assistant app that Apple refuses to let on their platform..

 

Personally, I care a lot less about the sticker price, than the reliability rating. I'd rather pay a bit more for something that won't bleed me white on repairs. That's why I'm loyal to the Toyota brand.

 

the tariffs haven't really kicked in fully. this discussion will be much more interesting down the road

 

I'm not sure they have to, we see the disarray just "talk" about them has caused with people and businesses taking advantage of customers. Uncharted seas need to be tested before sailed into to make sure it's smooth sailing for survival or the proper amount of destruction is achieved depending on who the captain is.

 

There are things that I dislike about the ID Buzz. But then again, there aren't many alternatives that hit on so many spots.

The good thing about everything being built so inferior these days is that it does curb consumerism, at least for me. I'll just keep using my current car until the wheels fall off. The same with my phone, appliances, etc.

 

Volkswagen EV van isn't the first to do stupid inaccessible stuff like that. Our Porsche tolerance was so close between spark plugs & side areas - it was most practical to drop the engine a bit just to change plugs. Then there was the notorious GenII Prius headlights that the service center charged a ton for - due to the time necessary to take stuff apart. Then luscious garage in the San Francisco Bay area did YouTube videos on a workaround for that. & the list goes on.

 

In fairness, is there even a domestic option for the parts they import?

I'd like to see more US content in electronics, but you need more than a phone and the Scanguage to support production of the core components to be competitive.

It is the only option for those complaining about Chinese phone manufacturing. How many of you guys have bought one?

The Liberty phone is $2000.
Purism– Liberty Phone

It does not use Android. The operating system, also used in their tablets and lap tops, is based on Linux. It might be the only phone on the market that can be made to not spy on you. The Light phone might also fall in that group.
The Light Phone

 

'you say tomato -'

 

Two things can be based on Linux without being the same thing.

If you try installing an Android app on a Liberty Phone, this will become clear.

 

That is not ok, and isn't true. After trump announced over 100% tarrifs on chinese products, the chinese retailiated. They have since negotiated down temporarily with 32.6% tarrifs on 86% of US goods sold in china, and 54% tarrifs on 100% of chinese goods sold in the US. Trump negotiated promises from china in his first administration, which china did not follow through on. Biden didn't fix things and kept most of trump tarrifs on, now they are much higher and china is restricting sales of rare earth metals to US defense contractors. This is a lose lose for both countries. China cheats, trump cheats, Targeted tariffs where china cheats with our allies might work, but instead the administration is targetting US allies and china has been gaining leverage pushing out the US.

Having done business in both places I can say I have worked with many good people in both countries. I don't trust either government or our own. I am not sure how these non targetted tarrifs help america or americans. One day it is jobs, but the tarrifs appear to be cutting manufacturing jobs, except in semiconductors, where good bipartsan legislation is causing investment. This administration wants to kill the chips act, but probably won't do so.

Absolutely I would agree that would be great if japan and korea moved all their production of north american vehicles to the US. I don't think there is any commitment to that and with the parts, steel, and aluminum tarrifs it is likely they will not move production here.

I simply don't believe the commitment, there are no details and most speculation is the money will go to chip plants and energy infrastructure that I would rather have in american hands. Some of that money is likely counted of the Nippon steel investment in their purchase of US Steel. Members of the current administration the VP and Secretary of state were against the purchase on national security grounds until they were in power. I don't understand how our national security is benefited by high tarrifs on canadian steel, and sending control of US steel to foriegn buys. Still the merger was good, if only because US steel was so mismanaged it shed employment even during the 25% tarrifs, now nippon steel gets to benefit from 50% tarrifs.

 

"Android is an operating system based on a modified version of the Linux kernel and other open-source software...At its core, the operating system is known as the Android Open Source Project (AOSP)[4] and is free and open-source software (FOSS) primarily licensed under the Apache License. However, most devices run the proprietary Android version developed by Google, which ships with additional proprietary closed-source software pre-installed"
Android (operating system) - Wikipedia

"PureOS is a Linux distribution focusing on privacy and security, using the GNOME or KDE Plasma desktop environment.[2][3][4] It is maintained by Purism for use in the company's Librem laptop computers as well as the Librem 5 and Liberty Phone smartphones.[5][6][7]
PureOS is designed to include only free software, and is included in the list of Free Linux distributions published by the Free Software Foundation.[8][9]

PureOS is a Debian-based Linux distribution, merging open-source software packages from the Debian “testing” main archive using a hybrid point release and rolling release model.[10] The default web browser in PureOS is GNOME Web.[11] The default search engine is DuckDuckGo."
PureOS - Wikipedia
PureOS

 

I have an old IBM laptop running an ancient Debian. Has Debian gone "End of Life"?

I'm looking at various flavors of Arduino tiny for a home project. The key requirements:

• low power - vampire power from a J1772 signal line
  • low duty cycle, lowest power
  • moderate duty cycle, modest power
• wireless - KISS (bluetooth?) for sensor and adapter pair
  • broadcast sensor
  • receive only adapter
• automotive grade
• MacOS compatible development
  • complied, not interpreted

My last microcontroller was a TI MSP430 which worked perfectly fine. A casual search has shown things are much improved.

Bob Wilson

 

According to the Wiki it is still supported and updated as of 2023.

 

Historically tariffs between China and USA have been heavily in China's favor. Not to mention all the other ways they wage unfair trade. IP theft, currency manipulation, outright ban of US companies, it's not just tariffs.

Which country is more trustworthy? You can trust Japan to a certain extent, you can't trust China at all.
Which country already has more auto factories here than any other country?
Which country is flying spy balloons over US territory, and actively importing fentanyl?

So everyone is just lying about the Japan deal, nothing is going to happen (The Orwell TV has people hating Trump so much, they don't want anything good happening to their own country if Trump is involved)

""WASHINGTON/TOKYO, July 23 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump struck a trade deal with Japan that lowers tariffs on auto imports and spares Tokyo from punishing new levies on other goods in exchange for a $550 billion package of U.S.-bound investment and loans....
It is the most significant of a clutch of agreements that Trump has bagged...
As part of the deal, Japan will buy 100 Boeing planes and hike defense spending with U.S. firms to $17 billion annually,...
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with Bloomberg Television that Japan received the 15% rate on auto tariffs "because they were willing to provide this innovative financing mechanism" that he did not think other countries could replicate""

And it's not just Japan, it's Germany also

""Audi building plant in USA to please Trump
Audi, the luxury arm of Volkswagen Group, is exploring plans to build a manufacturing plant in the United States as part of efforts to reduce the impact of ongoing trade tensions with the U.S. government....
internal estimates suggest the investment could reach up to €4 billion ($4.6 billion).......
Currently, Audi does not operate any manufacturing plants in the United States. However, its parent company Volkswagen operates a production facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and is building another near Columbia, South Carolina.""

 

Yep; just like the Microsoft phone, Blackberry, old Nokia - If customers can't find or install the apps they want. They're going to switch back to an Android or Apple based environment.
What about the Windows S environment laptops - most people who bought them reverted back to full untethered Windows environment. Windows S only allowed you to download apps from the windows store - alegality secured tested apps.

 

Seems like most of the Microsoft store functionality has been sunset as well, no access to former movies or virtual media purchases .

 

I agree but the US doesn't produce many things that china does. Trump failed in negotiating for the US in his first term, and did it in bad faith. Biden had 4 years to fix things and kept trump policies other than the chips bill which is bring semiconder manufacturing back to the US. No surprise that china reneged on some fuzzy elements, and that trump claimed a victory. I think he is botching negotiations again. First half of the year china grew at 5%, the US at 1.25% as countries move away from the US and do more business with china.

No but there is nothing in writing and the agreement as I read it is bad for the US.

Tarrifs on cars produced in Japan sold in America went up from 2.5% to 15%, they were lowered from the threat, but raised significantly on not just autos but just about everything imported from Japan. So yes this is a form of misleading. US consumers and businissss will pay more. The $17B was mostly old, up from $14B. Since tariffs are now 25% for autocrats, and 50% on steel and aluminum I doubt this relatively lower on Japanese cars built in Japan vs moving manufacturing to the US will increase auto employment. IF it does it will take years. Because of the ham handed way the tariffs have been done investment in manufacturing in Autos has decreased and manufacturing has lost 37,000 jobs since liberation day. With so much winning. How many jobs do you think will be created in autos and other things tariffed.

It is a win for trump, because he can claim victory while raising taxes on the working class. He also gets to pressure individual companies and that helps his ego. I expect fewer auto and steel workers in 5 years.

 

I bet dollars to donuts that it doesn't produce cars within Tramps' term, unless he pulls a Putin and tries to stay in power. It's just like the empty Apple promises to hire 20K US employees that's made to every president, when they step into office. LG did the same and finally shuttered plans to open that factory in the upper mid-eastern state.

Tariff on raw materials is going to really jack up prices, so the best we can hope for is an assembly plant. If we lose more jobs than we gain from tariff; is that really a win?????? Don't even get me started on average household debt of US families.

YMMV

 

Do those tariffs help the unionized factory workers building American cars? The ones who lauded DJT before the election.
UAW members at Detroit 3 face big drop in bonuses from tariffs - Automotive News