9secondkox2
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US launches semiconductor probe to explain away tariff exemptions
Or, you know, the probe is for what they say it’s for.
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Trump confirms he reduced tariffs to help Tim Cook
Incorrect. It’s because of intelligent and good people that we are finally addressing long-standing abuses and doing so in a way that is benefitting Americans as much as possible and sparing collateral damage where possible. It’s not changing your mind when you planned to do something already. Trump hinted at this previously and we saw precedent in his first term. And that El Salvador president sure seemed to respect him tremendously.avon b7 said:
If intelligent people were involved, surely none of this would have been necessary.9secondkox2 said:As I said a long time ago, intelligent people are in charge snd apple will be ok. The president will have a way to navigate Apple through some difficult decidd add jobs. And it has come to pass.Cook was wise to open the door of discussion dnd thr president has been wise in response.I know it’s popular in this particular online space to detract from the president no matter what he does, but the fact is tarriffs are necessary -yet it’s sldd add o necessary to protect Americans and American companies. The idea is to put the pressure on other countries, particularly China - and not on American companies.It’s not changing mindset. It’s continuing forward motion, msnuevering as needed. That’s only good stuff snd Apple is the better for it. As this year marks time for my iPhone upgrade and early next is my next Mac purchase, I am a pretty happy potential customer right about now.
He imposed tariffs. There were little to no exceptions. He let that situation sit while markets collapsed everywhere. He doubled down on there being no change of thought and barely hours after saying there would be no backing down, he did just that, suspending 'reciprocal' tariffs for 90 days.
Then, late Friday exemptions were put in place.
By late Sunday we were being told there were no real exemptions (according to Lutnick) but a sort of pause within a pause and everyone was 'on the hook' (according to Trump) and that new tariffs were being devised to replace the original ones but they simply weren't ready and we know no one will even dare explain them (because they are being cooked up as we speak and don't exist).
Even within the administration mixed messaging is emerging and now we are to believe Trump is 'flexible'?
It is nice to hear about walls and going over or below them, or even around them but the US decided to crash straight into them.
There is no intelligence on show here. It's the complete opposite. Chaos and reaction to the problems chaos brings.
Intelligence would never have seen this mess get to this point.
Intelligence would not have seen Trump congratulating his pals for stock market gains hours before he announced another walk back (opening him up to valid insider trading accusations).
Tim Cook and every CEO and small business owner in the US would know what trade policy is and be acting on it. That isn't happening because there is NO stable trade policy.
Everyone is running blind.The right thing to do isn’t to continue to be ripped off. Nor is it to apply tarriffs without concern for American companies.People elected the president in a number of issues. This is one. The previous admin let American get bullied around. We saw a microcosm of that with Apple and the EU. That era is over. All of a sudden we hear the eu saying they’re willing to deal. We hear them second guessing their ridiculously exorbitant fees charged against Apple for stuff they make up as they go along. America is strong again. And as a result, so are Americans and our companies. This is good. A lot of mental acrobatics to try to spin it any other way.
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Trump confirms he reduced tariffs to help Tim Cook
As I said a long time ago, intelligent people are in charge snd apple will be ok. The president will have a way to navigate Apple through some difficult decidd add jobs. And it has come to pass.Cook was wise to open the door of discussion dnd thr president has been wise in response.I know it’s popular in this particular online space to detract from the president no matter what he does, but the fact is tarriffs are necessary -yet it’s sldd add o necessary to protect Americans and American companies. The idea is to put the pressure on other countries, particularly China - and not on American companies.It’s not changing mindset. It’s continuing forward motion, msnuevering as needed. That’s only good stuff snd Apple is the better for it. As this year marks time for my iPhone upgrade and early next is my next Mac purchase, I am a pretty happy potential customer right about now.
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Apple hampered its Siri ambitions by penny-pinching
Spared no expense on a minimal market, niche headset. Then underinvested in mass market Siri, which has already been an Achilles heel.For such a brilliant company, they make some weird decisions sometimes.
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Trump gives Apple a giant break with wide-ranging tariff exemptions
No matter what the guy does, you’ll find a reason to hate on the man. That’s “The real TDS.” Any time he does something that not even haters can hold against him, you’ll accuse him of painting a bullseye there.AppleZulu said:
Talk about the real TDS.9secondkox2 said:
Wrong. I said all of the above - including that Apple would sail through due to exemptions. Mike W. even commented directly telling me "it's not going to go the way I think it will go" in response to one of my posts on the matter. I also added late that The USA has indeed been getting ripped in world trade forever now and that it's about time someone stands up to global bullies. Manufacturing does belong back in the USA - but also elsewhere. America doesn't need to abdicate all manufacturing. Much healthier to be both a product AND services economy. The fact is Trump is very easy to read and to predict when you realize that he has America's best interests at heart ad takes action accordingly. It is no surprise that he initiated reciprocal tariffs or that he paused them when the word wanted to make a deal. It's also not shocking at all that he kept up the tariffs on China, but did so in a way that doesn't hurt American companies (though it also weakens the tariff impact on China) - who he is doing this on behalf of. It's the art of the deal in action - set an extreme goal, get them scrambling, then when the entrenched positions are broken, maneuver the chess pieces, keep them guessing, and settle on the realistic area you wanted all along.I know it's popular on this site to hate on the man, but it doesn't make much sense.Xed said:
No, you said that the world has been ripping the US off and that Apple needs to bring manufacturing back to the US. Trump giving in yet again with this exemption doesn't hurt China and doesn't bring "jobs" back to the US. But nice try.9secondkox2 said:As I’ve been saying since before this whole thing happened.
As I have been saying all along, Apple is going to be OK. They have someone standing up for them on the global stage. I have a sneaking suspicion that more is to come with the EU as well.Trump has no one’s interests at heart but his own. This was not some masterful “art of the deal.” This was and still is an economic clusterf*ck foisted on the world by an egomaniacal narcissist, surrounded by a bunch of servile sycophants who won’t tell him no, even if it means destroying the entire world economy.These are not even remotely “reciprocal tariffs.” They are simplistic ChatGPT math, based on individual trade deficits, not other countries’ tariffs imposed on US imports into their countries, all dumped on a chart like a list minute homework project where the assignment was “give me a chart of big tariffs on every country in the world, except Russia.” You can paint bullseyes around every one of Trump’s randomly thrown darts, but you’re not convincing anyone that any of it has been a carefully planned strategy.When I was a kid, there was this old lady who lived nearby. When she decided to not like someone, there was no getting in her hood side. If it was quiet in the neighborhood, she’d accuse our parents of being restrictive. If we were playing and making noise, our parents were suddenly too carefree. If we mowed the lawn, we were making a racket. If we didn’t, we were disorderly, etc. we learned that hee and others like hee are just going to be that way. Nothing you can do. So we always treated her with kindness but expected nothing in return. And sure enough, we got nothing but derogatory treatment. But that wouldn’t stop us from living out who we were at heart. We just did our best to be good neighbors and let her be who she was. Turns out she was a bitter person who couldn’t be at peace unless she had something to complain about. It was sad really. It was a great neighborhood for blocks around. But the only friends she had were a couple other older ladies who lived to find fault just like here.A better way would be to give someone the benefit of the doubt. You can question a certain move. But you can’t really proclaim it as a failure until it actually is one. And when a good move is made, it should be acknowledged as such. Not mental gymnastics about “oh someone must have moved the dartboard at light speed.” That just erases all credibility and ends up just constant, rambling complaining.I’ve been on this forum long enough to see that you’re a smart guy and post sensible things when certsin sensitive subjects are not in play. Don’t fall into that. You don’t have to like anyone. But fairness and objectivity are virtues to live by.If we look at Apple themselves, cook initiated reaching out to the president prior to him being president. I don’t remember that happening before (and gave more to trump than to bidens inaguration) - not even in the midst of a time where Apple was getting eviscerated by foreign powers. I personally don’t think he had the confidence the previous folks would do anything about it. But he could have confidence that Donald Trump would. So perhaps he cozied up a bit. Cook may not even like trump. I don’t know. But if he could trust that the president would do the right thing, then that’s a plus, no matter how you try to spin it. Lobajd behild, the world gets put in notice, the eu isn’t so sure of itself and China grts tariffed with apple avoiding the pain thus far. That’s quite a detailed roadmap. Sometimes you just have to give credit where it’s due and leave the preconceived judgements at the doir.
