Tag: Subsidies

Trump and Biden, Republicans and Democrats all agree: affordable Chinese cars should be banned

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)
Trump and Biden, Republicans and Democrats all agree: affordable Chinese cars should be banned

Related:

Trump’s attacks on Chinese cars strike a chord — with both parties

“Ohio knows all too well how China illegally subsidizes its companies, putting our workers out of jobs and undermining entire industries from steel to solar manufacturing,” Brown said in a statement. “We can’t wait for China to run this same playbook in the auto industry — we need strong rules, including but not limited to tariffs, to stop a flood of Chinese electric vehicles that threaten Ohio auto jobs.”

…

He said the average price gap between a Chinese vehicle and its U.S.-made counterpart ranges from 44 percent to 179 percent. “That is a massive gap,” the executive said. “Tariffs alone aren’t going to take care of that.”

Reuters: Mexico yields to US pressure on incentives for Chinese car makers

He said that such incentives have declined during the government led by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who took office in late 2018, although they have been offered to large investors such as Audi.

Hypocrisy, Thy Name is the United States:

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Biden’s push for more Chinese steel tariffs is a political decision, not an economic one: Analyst

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)
Biden’s push for more Chinese steel tariffs is a political decision, not an economic one: Analyst

Biden wants to hike tariffs on imports of Chinese steel and aluminum

Chinese steel imports account for less than 1% of U.S. demand, officials told reporters. But Chinese subsidies and programs mean its steel prices are 40% lower than U.S. prices, and the Biden administration is worried that there could be a surge of exports.

Related:

Trump’s tariffs are equivalent to one of the largest tax increases in decades

New Democrat Coalition Trade Task Force Statement on Section 301 Tariffs Announcement

Russians vote for Putin

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)1 Comment

For charts, see the original post.

Russians vote for Putin

Today Russians are set to head to the polls for their country’s presidential election over three days – with only one expected outcome. Incumbent President Vladimir Putin will win comfortably.  The Russian president is elected by direct popular vote. If no candidate receives over 50% of the vote, then a second round is held between the two most popular candidates three weeks later. It’s the first time that multi-day voting has been used in a Russian presidential election, as well as the first allowing voters to cast ballots online. 

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Russia’s war economy is holding up.  Wages have soared by double digits, the rouble is relatively stable and poverty and unemployment are at record lows. For the country’s lowest earners, salaries over the last three quarters have risen faster than for any other segment of society, clocking an annual growth rate of about 20%. 

The government is spending massively on social support for families, pension increases, mortgage subsidies and compensation for the relatives of those serving in the military.  

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China Overtakes Europe in Clean Energy Tech Research

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

China has become a powerhouse in clean energy, and has overtaken the EU on clean technology research, a paper prepared for the European Commission has shown.

“China has caught up with the EU in R&D expenditure. While Chinese R&D intensity more than doubled since 2000, EU R&D intensity grew much slower. As a result, China caught up with the EU while the US keeps a consistent lead,” according to the brief on the EU-China exposure in trade, investment, and technology.

“China is increasingly becoming a world leader in science and innovation, for several critical technologies outlined in the 2023 Commission Recommendation on critical technology areas for the EU’s economic security,” the authors of the study for the Commission wrote.

China Overtakes Europe in Clean Energy Tech Research

China is eating Europe’s lunch, as well! On another note, the EU should worry more about their dependence, on the US, than on China. Then again, they’re a vassal state of the US.

Previously:

2023 Review: China vs US, Who is Winning in Key Tech Domains?

Argentina: the movement against Milei has begun

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

As we were about to publish the latest editorial of the Argentine section of the IMT, concerning the first budget announcements of the new government of far-right demagogue president Milei, he doubled down: announcing by decree the abolition of over 300 pieces of legislation, which regulate economic activity in a wide range of fields. This is an unprecedented, ultra-liberal assault on the rights and living conditions of the working masses, introduced using undemocratic emergency decree powers. The announcement provoked a spontaneous movement of protest, with thousands coming out into the streets of Buenos Aires, as Alejandro Spezia describes in this special update (the original article follows after).

Argentina: the movement against Milei has begun

The Day Ted Cruz Stopped A Bad Internet Bill

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Well, this was a bit of a surprise. Over the past couple of weeks I wrote about how Senator Josh Hawley was planning to try to hotline his terrible No Section 230 Immunity for AI Act. As we have explained multiple times, the bill is so poorly drafted that it would make a mess of the entire internet. After rumors of two attempted hotlines (effectively trying to sneak the bill through if no Senator objects) planned for last week, and then a rumor of a Tuesday night attempt, Hawley finally took to the floor Wednesday morning to make the push. If C-SPAN’s clunky embed feature works, you can watch it here:

The Day Ted Cruz Stopped A Bad Internet Bill

Related:

Bing’s A.I. Chat: ‘I Want to Be Alive. 😈’

Communications Decency Act – Section 230

The Finnish government plans to criminalize communist symbols

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)
TheFinnishBolshevik

On August 31st 2023 the Finnish government released a rather confusing document advocating the banning of communist symbols. The completely outlandish document is called a “Government statement to Parliament on promoting equality, gender equality and non-discrimination in Finnish society”. What does a document with such a title have to do with communism?

The Finnish government plans to criminalize communist symbols