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Fighting for better trade terms with China arguably makes good sense for the USA. On the other hand, picking trade fights with close allies & major partners li

Fighting for better trade terms with China arguably makes good sense for the USA. On the other hand, picking trade fights with close allies & major partners like Canada and the EU is absurd.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
ryanx435 8y ago
Trump's not "picking fights", he's getting multiple bids. The American economy is open for business to those willing to give a better deal. It is literally the same concept as attempting to get as many offers when you sell a house so you can sell to the highest bidder.
- ForHackernews 8y ago
  That doesn't make any sense. The US economy is not a single good that can only be sold once to a particular buyer.
  - agon 8y ago
    I hear Putin wants to buy.
TulliusCicero 8y ago
Yeah, I hate Trump, but it does seem true that the US' trade relationship with China is rather unfair with respect to tariffs, IP protection, and investment/subsidiary requirements.
shortoncash 8y ago
It's not absurd if it gets us better terms. If my friend was selling me a car at a higher, off-market price, I'd still haggle ("pick fights" in your terms) with him. In fact, I'd push for a friend discount. He might even give the discount to me if he thought there was more value to be had in the long term relationship.
- mikeash 8y ago
  Would you push so hard that you destroy the friendship? There’s nothing wrong with negotiating with friends, but when you go out of your way to constantly piss them off and threaten them, you’re not going to have any friends for long.
  - shortoncash 8y ago
    Negotiating for more favorable terms is destroying friendships now? Come on now. Obviously there's a boundary, but if there's a known market price, it's obvious when someone is being unreasonable.
    - mikeash 8y ago
      “Negotiating for more favorable terms is destroying friendships now?” No. I didn’t say that. Nobody said that. What?
      - shortoncash 8y ago
        You didn't say it, but the question you asked implies a stable friendship can be destroyed by "hard" negotiations. I disagree with that premise. Why? Well, I'd argue that if you're seeking "fair value" and are 1) not unreasonable, 2) your friend is not unreasonable, and 3) there is more or less a market price or consensus about the value of an object, there is little no risk of destroying the friendship -- reasonable people can seek fair value and market transactions can support claims about value. If 1, 2, or 3 aren't in place then your friendship is on shaky ground already (someone is unreasonable) or the market for an object is just hard to price (and more information is required for reasonable people to come to a consensus.)
        mikeash 8y ago
        The problem here is (1). Yes, if everybody is reasonable, you’ll be fine. That’s completely not the case here. For example, you might threaten to harm them unless they concede something to you, which may work but is not going to keep friends.

Fighting for better trade terms with China arguably makes good sense for the USA. On the other hand, picking trade fights with close allies & major partners like Canada and the EU is absurd.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

ryanx435 8y ago

Trump's not "picking fights", he's getting multiple bids. The American economy is open for business to those willing to give a better deal. It is literally the same concept as attempting to get as many offers when you sell a house so you can sell to the highest bidder.

ForHackernews 8y ago
That doesn't make any sense. The US economy is not a single good that can only be sold once to a particular buyer.
- agon 8y ago
  I hear Putin wants to buy.

TulliusCicero 8y ago

Yeah, I hate Trump, but it does seem true that the US' trade relationship with China is rather unfair with respect to tariffs, IP protection, and investment/subsidiary requirements.

shortoncash 8y ago

It's not absurd if it gets us better terms. If my friend was selling me a car at a higher, off-market price, I'd still haggle ("pick fights" in your terms) with him. In fact, I'd push for a friend discount. He might even give the discount to me if he thought there was more value to be had in the long term relationship.

mikeash 8y ago
Would you push so hard that you destroy the friendship? There’s nothing wrong with negotiating with friends, but when you go out of your way to constantly piss them off and threaten them, you’re not going to have any friends for long.
- shortoncash 8y ago
  Negotiating for more favorable terms is destroying friendships now? Come on now. Obviously there's a boundary, but if there's a known market price, it's obvious when someone is being unreasonable.
  - mikeash 8y ago
    “Negotiating for more favorable terms is destroying friendships now?” No. I didn’t say that. Nobody said that. What?
    - shortoncash 8y ago
      You didn't say it, but the question you asked implies a stable friendship can be destroyed by "hard" negotiations. I disagree with that premise. Why? Well, I'd argue that if you're seeking "fair value" and are 1) not unreasonable, 2) your friend is not unreasonable, and 3) there is more or less a market price or consensus about the value of an object, there is little no risk of destroying the friendship -- reasonable people can seek fair value and market transactions can support claims about value. If 1, 2, or 3 aren't in place then your friendship is on shaky ground already (someone is unreasonable) or the market for an object is just hard to price (and more information is required for reasonable people to come to a consensus.)
      - mikeash 8y ago
        The problem here is (1). Yes, if everybody is reasonable, you’ll be fine. That’s completely not the case here. For example, you might threaten to harm them unless they concede something to you, which may work but is not going to keep friends.