Zeroisanumber posted:

LMAO, weren't they the ones who were slapped with a big fine for busting Iran sanctions?

codenameFANGIO posted:

America ... first?!?

quote:

How my president's tariffs would cripple my company

I am a business owner, a proud Republican, and a voter who supports President Donald Trump's campaign to level U.S. trade imbalances.

I am also angry, frustrated and a little scared, because the unintended consequences of the president's $50 billion tariffs on China would cripple my business in Auburn Hills and strip my 50 employees of their good-paying jobs.

This is crazy.

My company, Lucerne International, makes cast, stamped and forged components and assemblies for the automotive and heavy truck industries. Our largest contract is for the Jeep Wrangler. As one of the world's only companies producing Class-A forgings, we make the door, hood, windshield and tailgate hinges that sit outside Wranglers like polished jewels.

We're drat proud of this work.

It starts overseas — we have seven plants in Asia, where the hinges are manufactured. They are shipped to the Lucerne plant outside Detroit, inspected, repackaged and sent to another auto supplier for assembly before being shipped to Toledo for installation on the vehicle.

That's a supply chain: Thousands of American jobs.

Billions of American dollars.

And it's all in danger.

For some strange and destructive reasons, the proposed Trump tariffs include an obscure provision calling for a 25 percent tax on "iron or steel, aluminum, or zinc hinges and base metal parts … designed for motor vehicles."

Those are our hinges. As far as I know, no other company falls under this provision buried in a $50 billion list of products. For every $2,000 in duties proposed by the U.S., $1 directly impacts Lucerne.

For the life of me, I can't figure out why my certified woman-owned company in the heart of Trump country is being targeted.

Beijing will pass that tax onto me. My customers — other U.S. auto suppliers and U.S. auto companies — will not absorb the cost, nor will U.S. auto buyers. It's a tax on my Michigan company and my Michigan employees, and we can't absorb it.

Ninety-percent of our more than $40 million in revenue is tied to products that fall under the new tariff provision. Unless the president grants an exclusion, Lucerne will fold.

I'm angry and scared.

Scared that my president is about to make a terrible mistake.

Scared for my employees, who love their jobs, who make good money, and who get their college tuitions paid.

Scared for my community and my country, which is about to be blindsided by a bad policy forged of best intentions.

On the big picture, the president is right: U.S. trade deficit needs to be tamed. But, please, not this way — and not when Lucerne is poised to grow to $50 million in revenue next year and expand its Michigan workforce by 25 percent.

Grant us an exclusion, Mr. President. Give us time to finish our work and bring manufacturing back to Michigan.

Because there is not enough capacity to make these parts anywhere in the United States, we were planning on opening a manufacturing plant in central Michigan to reshore this work. But it takes time to bend the arc of economic change — much more time than allowed under the administration's trade strategy. It also requires a re-engineering of the American workforce.

With 4 percent unemployment, we have a hard time finding people to work in our plant outside Detroit today.

One of the reasons for the strong Trump economy: More workers in the U.S. make products that are made from steel than make steel itself. Billions of dollars are pumped into the American economy by the unique and ingenious ways U.S. companies use steel and aluminum components — like we do at Lucerne.

I wonder: Does President Trump know that his tariff on imported components threatens almost every manufacturing job in Michigan?

Does he know that my little company in my little corner of Michigan would lose 90 percent of its business overnight? Does he understand that a 25 percent tax on the components Lucerne uses would evaporate my profit margins? That it would shut us down?

I don't think he does. Because I know my president cares — and I've got to believe he will change his mind, grant sensible exclusions, and help companies like Lucerne make America great again

FMguru posted:

Yes...ha ha ha....YES!


http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180513/blog200/660491/how-my-presidents-tariffs-would-cripple-my-company

FMguru posted:

Yes...ha ha ha....YES!

quote:

It starts overseas — we have seven plants in Asia, where the hinges are manufactured. They are shipped to the Lucerne plant outside Detroit, inspected, repackaged and sent to another auto supplier for assembly before being shipped to Toledo for installation on the vehicle.

Does he know that my little company in my little corner of Michigan would lose 90 percent of its business overnight? Does he understand that a 25 percent tax on the components Lucerne uses would evaporate my profit margins? That it would shut us down?

FMguru posted:

Yes...ha ha ha....YES!


http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180513/blog200/660491/how-my-presidents-tariffs-would-cripple-my-company

FMguru posted:

Yes...ha ha ha....YES!


http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180513/blog200/660491/how-my-presidents-tariffs-would-cripple-my-company

FMguru posted:

For the life of me, I can't figure out why my certified woman-owned company in the heart of Trump country is being targeted.

Powered Descent posted:

Perhaps she accidentally allowed her woman certificate to expire.

Sheng-Ji Yang posted:

im just a small business owner, with thousands of american employees and 7 factories in china. i support leveling the trade imbalance, except in my textbook case. please trump i love you please MAGA

Joseph Heller posted:

Major Major’s father was a sober God-fearing man whose idea of a good joke was to lie about his age. He was a longlimbed farmer, a God-fearing, freedom-loving, law-abiding rugged individualist who held that federal aid to anyone but farmers was creeping socialism. He advocated thrift and hard work and disapproved of loose women who turned him down.
...
Major Major’s father was an outspoken champion of economy in government, provided it did not interfere with the sacred duty of government to pay farmers as much as they could get for all the alfalfa they produced that no one else wanted or for not producing any alfalfa at all. He was a proud and independent man who was opposed to unemployment insurance and never hesitated to whine, whimper, wheedle and extort for as much as he could get from whomever he could.

Volcott posted:

https://www.npr.org/2018/05/11/609541010/ranchers-sour-on-trump-administration-over-proposal-to-bring-back-grizzly-bears

FMguru posted:

Yes...ha ha ha....YES!


http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180513/blog200/660491/how-my-presidents-tariffs-would-cripple-my-company

VitalSigns posted:

Zeroisanumber posted:

Lol.

What did these people expect?

quote:

we were planning on opening a manufacturing plant in central Michigan to reshore this work

Dixie Cretin Seaman posted:

https://mobile.twitter.com/AngeloJohnGage/status/996124472116736001

cucked like clockwork, every 17 years.

Epic High Five posted:

cuckaida

Dixie Cretin Seaman posted:

https://mobile.twitter.com/AngeloJohnGage/status/996124472116736001

cucked like clockwork, every 17 years.

large adult son posted:

still can't get over the fact that she says they make hinges only to say that the chinese actually make them literally in the next paragraph and that they repackage them and send them on
the fact that she has 40 million dollars in revenue for running I don't even know what (they inspect? or something?) is amazing, but dreams always end

anotherone posted:

the subtext here is that he's simply not going to vote anymore

actually reading the other tweets I guess that's his message? what a crazy world

large adult son posted:

still can't get over the fact that she says they make hinges only to say that the chinese actually make them literally in the next paragraph and that they repackage them and send them on
the fact that she has 40 million dollars in revenue for running I don't even know what (they inspect? or something?) is amazing, but dreams always end

anotherone posted:

the subtext here is that he's simply not going to vote anymore

anotherone posted:

the subtext here is that he's simply not going to vote anymore

actually reading the other tweets I guess that's his message? what a crazy world

FMguru posted:

Given what happened the two other times he posted, that's probably for the best.

In reality, the next time another shouty rightwinger promises to reverse eight years of progress under a Democratic president, this smoothbrain will be first in line to vote for him. And then, a year later, complain about how he got tricked again

Dixie Cretin Seaman posted:

judging by his twitter feed it is clear that this is the best possible outcome

Dr. Killjoy posted:

Cranky Lawyer is some weird Berniebro and not a Trump supporter but
https://twitter.com/eleebeck/status/996512123487440901?s=21
really wanna know her opinions on child porn

FMguru posted:

Her dad (who founded the company and left it to her) was a big muckitymuck at GM, so my guess is the company has a long-term contract with GM or Ford or whoever to provide these parts and subcontracts the actual work overseas. Not sure why GM doesn't just cut out the middleman and deal directly with Chinese suppliers.

Dr. Killjoy posted:

Cranky Lawyer is some weird Berniebro and not a Trump supporter but
https://twitter.com/eleebeck/status/996512123487440901?s=21
really wanna know her opinions on child porn