Saturday, May 06, 2017

Trade policy

I thought this was a very well written article that explains in simple terms why the Trump administration's reactionary trade policies doesn't make much sense.
Also, US home builders' stocks slid right after this announcement......

Excerpt:

"US timber lands are mostly privatized. That means logging companies have to pay out to landowners to harvest timber. In Canada, timber lands are controlled by provinces. Those provinces aren't out to make a profit the same way private landowners are, and as such, Canadian lumber companies don't have to worry about landowners jacking up prices if timber prices are higher.

In other words, Canadian companies can keep their lumber cheaper because they're not as subject to the whims of the market. You can complain and whine about this all you want, but this is the structure Canada, a sovereign nation, chose.

And we chose another one — one that makes us less competitive than our neighbour."

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