Gold Silver Reports – Tallying Up the Trade-War Victims – President Donald Trump has taken flak for saying “trade wars are good and easy to win,” but merely responding “trade wars are bad and easy to lose” isn’t much more convincing. What we really need are hard numbers. In the latest corporate earnings season, we’re starting to get them.
The overall impact of Trump’s trade aggressions and threats is not huge so far. But for many American manufacturers – which should benefit from protectionism…, you’d think — tariffs have pushed costs higher, eating into profits, writes Brooke Sutherland.
In her story and on Twitter, she’s been tracking results from General Electric Co., General Motors Co., Honeywell International Inc., United Technologies Corp. and other industrial companies. Some, such as GE and GM, see more pain from the tariffs than others.
The wars have been limited so far, though, and costs will mount as companies have to adjust their businesses to a new, post-trade-war world, Brooke warns: “There’s a cost to overturning the status quo; it’s just a question of who bears it.”
If you’re wondering who might bear that cost, you might want to look in a mirror. – Neal Bhai Reports
