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I was pondering in why the EU never really got targeted directly like Canada and Mexico with Trumps tarifs. I think this is it. And it would be incredibly bad

I was pondering in why the EU never really got targeted directly like Canada and Mexico with Trumps tarifs. I think this is it. And it would be incredibly bad for US tech billionaires if the EU started to move home all these contracts.

andrewflnr 2y ago
Nothing so rational, I'm sure. Tariffing Canada was already insane and he didn't care.
- tossandthrow 2y ago
  Your point exactly - why didn't he do the same to the EU?
  - kivle 2y ago
    Who says he won't? I think he is just waiting for the market to stabilize first. When the DOW has flattened out and started to rise again, he will do it.
  - andrewflnr 2y ago
    His particular personal obsessions? Errant random neuron firings? Who knows. But definitely not an accurately calculated balance of incentives, is all I'm saying.
  - Cthulhu_ 2y ago
    "fentanyl"; this weird conspiracy theory that Canada and Mexico are somehow major drug producers / importers and that they don't do enough to stop it or "illegal immigrants". Even though only 1% of fentanyl enters the US from Canada.
    - willhslade 2y ago
      Look, I'm both Canadian and not a supported of Trump, but people keep repeating this "1% of fentanyl enters from the US from Canada", and it's a little disingenuous. 1% of the fentanyl entering the US that is CAUGHT is CAUGHT at the Canadian border. We don't actually know how much is entering because we aren't catching or examining everything. Admittedly, this is likely because Mexico does produce and export more fentanyl. Carry on.
- lenkite 2y ago
  > Tariffing Canada was already insane and he didn't care. Was it really ? It seems a bold and smart move. Some Canadian companies have already moved to the USA and many are contemplating moving this year if the tariffs still hold.
berkes 2y ago
Indeed. In many quarterly reports of large tech companies, the revenue from the whole of Europe combined is sometimes bigger than that from the US. European revenue is often a close second. It's truly significant if this revenue dissapears. Which is why I am baffled by how e.g. Zuckerberg is flailing at Europe and the EU. If EU regulations cut services off, or users move elsewhere out of fear or disagreement, that would be a crippling drop in revenue. For some tech companies enough to put them under, I'd say.
Cthulhu_ 2y ago
In some ways, these contracts are already 'home' in that the datacenters used are in Europe; they meet all the data protection and locality laws, get certified for it, etc. But, if the US parent company or its government decides to pull weird shit - like Alexa changing its data collection policy one-sided - it'll be too late to withdraw the data and reliance. A major current day concern is the US siding with Russia and putting sanctions on the EU by for example pulling the plug on US tech companies' services in the EU unless they also withdraw any military aid from Ukraine. It's a huge escalation but given how unstable and rash the US leadership is at the moment, that's the kind of scenarios we have to consider.

andrewflnr 2y ago

Nothing so rational, I'm sure. Tariffing Canada was already insane and he didn't care.

tossandthrow 2y ago
Your point exactly - why didn't he do the same to the EU?
- kivle 2y ago
  Who says he won't? I think he is just waiting for the market to stabilize first. When the DOW has flattened out and started to rise again, he will do it.
- andrewflnr 2y ago
  His particular personal obsessions? Errant random neuron firings? Who knows. But definitely not an accurately calculated balance of incentives, is all I'm saying.
- Cthulhu_ 2y ago
  "fentanyl"; this weird conspiracy theory that Canada and Mexico are somehow major drug producers / importers and that they don't do enough to stop it or "illegal immigrants". Even though only 1% of fentanyl enters the US from Canada.
  - willhslade 2y ago
    Look, I'm both Canadian and not a supported of Trump, but people keep repeating this "1% of fentanyl enters from the US from Canada", and it's a little disingenuous. 1% of the fentanyl entering the US that is CAUGHT is CAUGHT at the Canadian border. We don't actually know how much is entering because we aren't catching or examining everything. Admittedly, this is likely because Mexico does produce and export more fentanyl. Carry on.
lenkite 2y ago
> Tariffing Canada was already insane and he didn't care. Was it really ? It seems a bold and smart move. Some Canadian companies have already moved to the USA and many are contemplating moving this year if the tariffs still hold.

berkes 2y ago

Indeed. In many quarterly reports of large tech companies, the revenue from the whole of Europe combined is sometimes bigger than that from the US. European revenue is often a close second. It's truly significant if this revenue dissapears. Which is why I am baffled by how e.g. Zuckerberg is flailing at Europe and the EU. If EU regulations cut services off, or users move elsewhere out of fear or disagreement, that would be a crippling drop in revenue. For some tech companies enough to put them under, I'd say.

Cthulhu_ 2y ago

In some ways, these contracts are already 'home' in that the datacenters used are in Europe; they meet all the data protection and locality laws, get certified for it, etc. But, if the US parent company or its government decides to pull weird shit - like Alexa changing its data collection policy one-sided - it'll be too late to withdraw the data and reliance. A major current day concern is the US siding with Russia and putting sanctions on the EU by for example pulling the plug on US tech companies' services in the EU unless they also withdraw any military aid from Ukraine. It's a huge escalation but given how unstable and rash the US leadership is at the moment, that's the kind of scenarios we have to consider.