President Trump 2.0

Originally Posted by peanut

Knowing trump, probably all part of his plan. Go high then reduce it. Makes it look like you're getting a good deal and he'll end up being the good guy all for it.

Trump receives luxury jet from Qatar ‘to use as Air Force One’

https://www.thetimes.com/article/06d...3f128c08d05258

The Trump administration is set to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 jet as a donation from the Qatari royal family, in what is possibly the biggest foreign gift ever to be received by the US government, according to a senior official.

The plane will then be donated to Trump’s presidential library when he leaves office, the official said, allowing him to continue using it as a private citizen, according to US media reports…

… The plane being donated by Qatar is expected to be retrofitted by a military contractor called L3Harris, in Texas. It is expected to be finished by the end of the year, allowing Trump to use it while in office.

A Defence Department official said it could take an extended period of time to complete the contract and complete the upgrades and modifications, if the donation goes ahead. “We’re talking years, not months,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details about a future Air Force One (AF1)…

… The present plan has been signed off on by government lawyers who concluded it does not violate the emoluments clause of the Constitution and that the Defence Department can accept the gift, the official said.

The "government lawyer" who signed it off was Pam Bondi, the US Attorney General, who was previously a lobbyist for the Qatar Government, earning $115k per month from them…

[thenry]

Sir Keir Starmer had to refuse gifts yet big orange has a massive jet on the way

Also didn't the secret service refuse Trumps request to use his own jet last term?

[Sephiroth]

A wonderful piece in the Torygraph:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/202...llying-brexit/

It is “nastier” than China. It has treated the US “very unfairly”. And it has shown no willingness to compromise. President Trump has been furiously dialling down his tariff wars over the last few days, reaching a truce with China, lifting his levies on Britain, and it is close to an agreement with Japan, with smaller economies such as Vietnam likely to follow soon afterwards. There is just one big exception. The European Union.

The global trading system, after the shock of “Liberation Day”, should soon be back to something close to normal. The US and China, the two largest economies in the world, and by far the most important trading relationship, have reached a deal that will take levies down to manageable levels and re-open the Pacific trade routes. Britain has carved out an exception for itself and many others will get what the President will no doubt refer to as great deals very soon.

The one exception will be the EU. There is absolutely zero sign of any progress, and Trump has singled out the bloc for extra criticism. There is now a real risk that huge tariffs on the EU remain in place while they are lifted elsewhere. We can see something very similar in defence, with France’s President Macron now recognising that he needs the UK as much, if not more, than the other way around. The tables have decisively turned.

And yet, the bloc only has itself to blame. The trade masterminds in Brussels, despite constantly boasting about how they are the smartest negotiators in the world, have brought this calamity upon themselves. First, they have racked up a huge surplus with the US, running to 198 billion euros a year, while fiercely protecting their own market. American cars are rarely seen in Europe because they have always faced a 10 per cent tariff; its agricultural market is closed to American exports; the EU harasses the US’s tech giants with spurious fines and cumbersome regulations; and countries such as Ireland use blatantly unfair tax deals to lure away American manufacturing.

It can hardly complain if the US has grown tired of an abusive relationship. Even worse, the EU has always treated trade negotiations as a trial of strength, ignoring the argument that a free and open economy would benefit both sides. We saw that very clearly in its high-handed approach to the Brexit negotiations. Might, its officials loftily assumed, was always right. It can hardly complain now that the Trump administration is deploying the same argument against it.

The US needs Chinese goods to fill the shelves at Walmart. And it can’t cut itself off from global trade. But it will get along just fine without buying so much from the EU. In California and Florida they can drive a Land Rover, a Lexus, or even one of the super-slick new Xiaomi electric cars instead of a BMW or a Porsche. Australian and Argentinian wine is as good as French, and Burberry is just as stylish as Prada. The EU has fallen to the back of Trump’s queue, and deservedly so – the damage that is about to befall its major exporting industries is entirely down to its own institutional arrogance.

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by Sephiroth

A wonderful piece in the Torygraph:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/202...llying-brexit/

Lots of speculation. Fewer facts.

Trump needs to be punished for making us all poorer. But I doubt the EU will do that. They will sign a deal with the US too.

https://archive.ph/QcZct Non-paywall version

High on diatribe, low on facts - for instance

American cars are rarely seen in Europe because they have always faced a 10 per cent tariff;

They’re rarely seen in Europe because they are too big, too uneconomical, and often don’t meet European (or U.K.) pollution or safety standards…

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

Lots of speculation. Fewer facts.

Trump needs to be punished for making us all poorer. But I doubt the EU will do that. They will sign a deal with the US too.

And what do you think will happen if you punish Trump?

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

And what do you think will happen if you punish Trump?

More toys on the floor and fewer in his pram!

[Pierre]

Originally Posted by Hugh

https://archive.ph/QcZct
They’re rarely seen in Europe because they are too big, too uneconomical, and often don’t meet European (or U.K.) pollution or safety standards…

It's not the 70's anymore, US cars are normal size. US Pollution standards are comparable if not even tighter when you get to some states.


I see lots of Teslas around, We have a Ford Mustang. I know the Cyber Truck doesn't currently meet safety standards.

You would think you would see more of them on the continent, especially as they're left hand drive. So I think there is more to it.

[Sephiroth]

Originally Posted by Hugh

https://archive.ph/QcZct Non-paywall version

High on diatribe, low on facts - for instance



They’re rarely seen in Europe because they are too big, too uneconomical, and often don’t meet European (or U.K.) pollution or safety standards…

Tesla abounds. Jeep is popular - round my way at least. I see an increasing number of Chryslers.

You might find it odd that I should say the following: The lesser immigration evil is to employ German/Dutch etc skilled people displaced by the industrial decline currently taking place in Europe.

Originally Posted by Pierre

It's not the 70's anymore, US cars are normal size. US Pollution standards are comparable if not even tighter when you get to some states.


I see lots of Teslas around, We have a Ford Mustang. I know the Cyber Truck doesn't currently meet safety standards.

You would think you would see more of them on the continent, especially as they're left hand drive. So I think there is more to it.

I was meaning more like the F150s and their ilk - they even have a different/ smaller version of the Ford Explorer for Europe.

This link explains the different safety standards in the US and Europe.

European Teslas are built in Berlin and China, and the European and U.K. Mustangs are a different spec to the US version.

https://etsc.eu/briefing-on-risks-to...as-equivalent/

[Sephiroth]

Hughh cannot worm his way out of the non-factual statement he made about US cars in support of his “high on diatribe” remark.

Originally Posted by Pierre

It's not the 70's anymore, US cars are normal size. US Pollution standards are comparable if not even tighter when you get to some states.


I see lots of Teslas around, We have a Ford Mustang. I know the Cyber Truck doesn't currently meet safety standards.

You would think you would see more of them on the continent, especially as they're left hand drive. So I think there is more to it.

UK and EU vehicle safety standards are essentially the same. Cybertruck is not road legal in the EU for the same set of reasons as it is not road legal here.

[Itshim]

Originally Posted by Chris

UK and EU vehicle safety standards are essentially the same. Cybertruck is not road legal in the EU for the same set of reasons as it is not road legal here.

Such a pity would love one

Originally Posted by Sephiroth

Hughh cannot worm his way out of the non-factual statement he made about US cars in support of his “high on diatribe” remark.

But they’re not US cars as sold in the USA, they are Europeanised versions - the US versions aren’t popular here.