# Trump may be starting a Trade War to deflect away Mueller hot on his trail **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 23, 2018, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-may-be-starting-a-trade-war-to-deflect-away-mueller-hot-on-his-trail/807302 "2018-01-23T16:12:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-may-be-starting-a-trade-war-to-deflect-away-mueller-hot-on-his-trail/807302/41 "2018-01-26T01:17:31Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Has this resulted in anything concrete? Did any countries stop doing business with the US or anything like that? Not from what Trump did this time- it is too soon. But we are already seeing a drop in tourism to the US, which is costing US businesses money. US embassies have trade missions to help companies negotiate contracts in their countries. I can imagine them being frozen out. A country offended by the US might deny docking rights to Navy ships. Americans abroad are sensitive to this kind of stuff. My daughter was living in Germany at the tail end of the Bush years - she was quite happy about Obama being elected. In general and specifically because she didn’t have to pretend to be Canadian any more. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-may-be-starting-a-trade-war-to-deflect-away-mueller-hot-on-his-trail/807302/42 "2018-01-26T02:56:40Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > A country offended by the US might deny docking rights to Navy ships. They will just blast their way into such shit hole countries! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-may-be-starting-a-trade-war-to-deflect-away-mueller-hot-on-his-trail/807302/43 "2018-01-26T14:04:47Z")
If we accept the OP’s premise, anything Trump does can be viewed as an attempted distraction from the Mueller BanHammer supposedly in the offing. I’m more willing to accept the default explanation for the tariff announcement - that Trump is a dumbbell with aggressively stupid instincts. There are ways to pressure China without necessarily shooting U.S. economic interests in the foot. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-may-be-starting-a-trade-war-to-deflect-away-mueller-hot-on-his-trail/807302/44 "2018-01-26T14:19:11Z")
Trump ran on tariffs. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-may-be-starting-a-trade-war-to-deflect-away-mueller-hot-on-his-trail/807302/45 "2018-01-26T16:23:38Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > There are ways to pressure China without necessarily shooting U.S. economic interests in the foot. Trump doesn’t consider hobbling the U.S. solar industry to be shooting oneself in the foot but removing a useless appendix. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Clu-Me-In](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@Clu-Me-In](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clu-Me-In)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-may-be-starting-a-trade-war-to-deflect-away-mueller-hot-on-his-trail/807302/46 "2018-01-26T17:01:40Z")
Moreover, he promised his base a return to fossil fuels. He’s attempting to deliver this evidenced by his Keystone Pipeline authorization and return to coal mining. To satisfy his base, he needs to damage Solar installations and alternative energy progress. He can kill 2 birds with one stone by placing big tariffs on Solar Panel imports, hoping that China responds substantially to launch some saber rattling that distracts attention from the circling vulture that is Mueller. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-may-be-starting-a-trade-war-to-deflect-away-mueller-hot-on-his-trail/807302/47 "2018-01-26T17:05:32Z")
> [@Clu-Me-In](#): > > Moreover, he promised his base a return to fossil fuels. He’s attempting to deliver this evidenced by his Keystone Pipeline authorization and return to coal mining. To satisfy his base, he needs to damage Solar installations and alternative energy progress. He can kill 2 birds with one stone by placing big tariffs on Solar Panel imports, hoping that China responds substantially to launch some saber rattling that distracts attention from the circling vulture that is Mueller. More like [Keystone Cops Pipeline.](https://apnews.com/ad8d71ac07704692a0af92cb8ed680e3) > [@](#): > > TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone pipeline leaked an estimated 210,000 gallons of oil onto agricultural land in northeastern South Dakota, the company and state regulators said Thursday, but state officials don’t believe the leak polluted any surface water bodies or drinking water systems. > > Crews shut down the pipeline Thursday morning and activated emergency response procedures after a drop in pressure was detected resulting from the leak south of a pump station in Marshall County, TransCanada said in a statement. The cause was being investigated. > > **Discovery of the leak comes just days before Nebraska regulators are scheduled to announce their decision Monday whether to approve the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline,** an expansion that would boost the amount of oil TransCanada is now shipping through the existing line, which is known simply as Keystone. The expansion has faced fierce opposition from environmental groups, American Indian tribes and some landowners. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-may-be-starting-a-trade-war-to-deflect-away-mueller-hot-on-his-trail/807302/48 "2018-01-26T18:22:12Z")
> [@Clu-Me-In](#): > > Moreover, he promised his base a return to fossil fuels. He’s attempting to deliver this evidenced by his Keystone Pipeline authorization and return to coal mining. To satisfy his base, he needs to damage Solar installations and alternative energy progress. He can kill 2 birds with one stone by placing big tariffs on Solar Panel imports, hoping that China responds substantially to launch some saber rattling that distracts attention from the circling vulture that is Mueller. So you freely admit he promised to help coal, you know perfectly well that he’s talked up trade war with China for more than a decade but when he makes a move on both those things it’s just got to also be about the Mueller investigation? Ye gods. ---
**Author:** ![Clu-Me-In](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@Clu-Me-In](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clu-Me-In)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-may-be-starting-a-trade-war-to-deflect-away-mueller-hot-on-his-trail/807302/49 "2018-01-26T18:33:17Z")
He can kill 2 birds with one stone by placing big tariffs on Solar Panel imports, hoping that China responds substantially to launch some saber rattling that distracts attention from the circling vulture that is Mueller. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-may-be-starting-a-trade-war-to-deflect-away-mueller-hot-on-his-trail/807302/50 "2018-01-26T18:34:06Z")
Heard this morning on NPR–There are more solar panel installer jobs in the US than there are jobs in the steel and coal industry combined in the US. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-may-be-starting-a-trade-war-to-deflect-away-mueller-hot-on-his-trail/807302/51 "2018-01-26T18:42:15Z")
> [@Clu-Me-In](#): > > He can kill 2 birds with one stone by placing big tariffs on Solar Panel imports, hoping that China responds substantially to launch some saber rattling that distracts attention from the circling vulture that is Mueller. Why can’t they buy Canadian or German solar panels? If the Solar Industry depends on Chinese import dumping and shit labour standards then good riddance. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-may-be-starting-a-trade-war-to-deflect-away-mueller-hot-on-his-trail/807302/52 "2018-01-26T19:17:32Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Why can’t they buy Canadian or German solar panels? If the Solar Industry depends on Chinese import dumping and shit labour standards then good riddance. Nah, that is the coal industry minus the import dumping, although a lot of that gave the Chinese their liking for coal too. One more thing: [https://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/president-donald-trump-solar-panel-tariffs-china-europe-us-jobs-law/94279](https://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/president-donald-trump-solar-panel-tariffs-china-europe-us-jobs-law/94279) > [@](#): > > The petitioners who sought trade relief, U.S.-based solar manufacturers Suniva and SolarWorld, had asked the Trump administration for the equivalent of a 50 percent tariff, arguing they cannot compete with the cheap imports that have caused panel prices to fall more than 30 percent since 2016. > > Bankrupt Suniva is majority-owned by Hong Kong-based Shunfeng International Clean Energy, and SolarWorld is the U.S. arm of Germany’s SolarWorld AG. So, there is a benefit for some Chinese and Germans anyhow, and there is still uncertainty if Canadian or German solar panels will get an exception. This is because Trump has to “protect” American jobs don’t you know. /s Of course, others do not swallow that excuse. > [@](#): > > SEIA predicted that the tariffs could decrease the projected 11 gigawatt of solar forecasted to be installed in the United States this year by 2 GW and lead to the loss of 23,000 jobs this year. > > The U.S. solar industry employs more than 260,000 workers - about five times more than the coal industry. About 14 percent of those 260,000 jobs are in manufacturing, with installers making up most of the rest of the industry. > > Over the next five years, the tariffs are projected to reduce U.S. solar installation growth by 10 to 15 percent, research firm Wood Mackenzie reckons. > > **U.S. Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona, a big solar power producing state, said in a Twitter post that the tariffs amount to “nothing more than a tax on consumers.”** ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-may-be-starting-a-trade-war-to-deflect-away-mueller-hot-on-his-trail/807302/53 "2018-01-26T19:22:06Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Heard this morning on NPR–There are more solar panel installer jobs in the US than there are jobs in the steel and coal industry combined in the US. That is making steel, not working with steel as in building things, is it not? That’s still a lot of jobs. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-may-be-starting-a-trade-war-to-deflect-away-mueller-hot-on-his-trail/807302/54 "2018-01-26T20:11:10Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Nah, that is the coal industry minus the import dumping, although a lot of that gave the Chinese their liking for coal too. I don’t get your point. Or meaning even. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-may-be-starting-a-trade-war-to-deflect-away-mueller-hot-on-his-trail/807302/55 "2018-01-26T20:18:16Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > I don’t get your point. Or meaning even. Same here…no idea where Gigo was going with that. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-may-be-starting-a-trade-war-to-deflect-away-mueller-hot-on-his-trail/807302/56 "2018-01-26T20:30:25Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > I don’t get your point. Or meaning even. > [@XT](#): > > Same here…no idea where Gigo was going with that. [Maybe this.](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-column-russell-coal-usa/u-s-coal-exports-surge-but-thank-china-not-trump-russell-idUSKBN1AG0CC)July 30, 2017 > [@](#): > > U.S. coal miners are almost certainly cheering the sharp rise in exports of their product, but their good fortune is mainly the result of Chinese domestic policies that have driven up global prices for the polluting fuel. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-may-be-starting-a-trade-war-to-deflect-away-mueller-hot-on-his-trail/807302/57 "2018-01-26T20:36:55Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > [Maybe this.](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-column-russell-coal-usa/u-s-coal-exports-surge-but-thank-china-not-trump-russell-idUSKBN1AG0CC)July 30, 2017 Don’t see how that explains anything. How do you figure? ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-may-be-starting-a-trade-war-to-deflect-away-mueller-hot-on-his-trail/807302/58 "2018-01-26T20:42:59Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > [Maybe this.](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-column-russell-coal-usa/u-s-coal-exports-surge-but-thank-china-not-trump-russell-idUSKBN1AG0CC)July 30, 2017 So…you are saying that…er, no, I don’t even know how to ask the question of how this relates. What does China buying more coal and driving up the global price of coal have to do with China dumping low cost (and heavily subsidized) solar on the market, or how this relates to why we don’t simply buy from Canada and Germany (and presumably others) which was what was being asked? I’m not busting on you btw…I just don’t get it or how this all inter-relates, but maybe I’m missing something here. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-may-be-starting-a-trade-war-to-deflect-away-mueller-hot-on-his-trail/807302/59 "2018-01-26T20:45:11Z")
> [@XT](#): > > So…you are saying that…er, no, I don’t even know how to ask the question of how this relates. What does China buying more coal and driving up the global price of coal have to do with China dumping low cost (and heavily subsidized) solar on the market, or how this relates to why we don’t simply buy from Canada and Germany (and presumably others) which was what was being asked? I’m not busting on you btw…I just don’t get it or how this all inter-relates, but maybe I’m missing something here. 😕 No idea. It was the first thing I found that involved China and coal imports. I wasn’t sure what **GIGO** was getting at , either. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-may-be-starting-a-trade-war-to-deflect-away-mueller-hot-on-his-trail/807302/60 "2018-01-26T20:54:03Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > No idea. It was the first thing I found that involved China and coal imports. I wasn’t sure what **GIGO** was getting at , either. Well, then wtf? If you don’t know what he’s talking about and your 30 second Google search turns up something that you have no idea how it relates then why the fuck would you post it with a “maybe this”. And yes, I am busting on you. Sheesh. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-may-be-starting-a-trade-war-to-deflect-away-mueller-hot-on-his-trail/807302.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-may-be-starting-a-trade-war-to-deflect-away-mueller-hot-on-his-trail/807302.md?page=4)