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Monday, April 9, 2018

TRADEWAR PRIMER--Quantitative vs. Qualitative-- THE (NO) CALL TO DUTY ROSTER

ENG102-1105//ESSAY//UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, RENO//SPRING 2018//PROF M JUDD

PRELIMINARY ESSAY NOTES #002--

     (Starbucks Cantina)--Curiously, the items that are being tossed about for tariff consideration have some similarities and some major differences. Note that there is a major discrepancy first of all in the overall number of products under consideration; for China the list stands just over 100 items, for the United States, the trade cops have pegged 1300 plus items for import tax.
    


Posted on CNBC last Wednesday, the China boycott consists of products that range from foodstuffs, automobiles and chemicals:


https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/04/the-full-list-of-us-products-that-china-is-planning-to-hit-with-tariffs.html

Some of the items listed the general population probably has no interest in at all with the exception of tobacco. There appears to be some question as to why there is great emphasis on what looks like a luxury item, expensive automobiles. As if the average Chinese person needs some high-profile SUV for the upcoming ski sojourn in the Himalayas. Is this just a political statement or will it actually impact the US auto industry? In fact, many of these types of vehicles can be obtained from other sources, as can numerous items on the list. What's not on the list?  Educational materials, electronic gadgets, and household items that would make life easier and more convenient for the the working class.  There is also no mention of clothing items.

As for the reciprocal barriers being imposed by the United States, the list is far more extensive, but doesn't necessarily include familiar items that may be found in the large shopping markets like WalMart.   The media has made a big deal out of exporting soy products and steel-aluminum exports but little has been said, once again, of what's not on the list:


 https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/files/Press/Releases/301FRN.pdf

Again, it appears the average working stiff consumer may escape the escalating  standoff as many products, are just not relevant to his or her needs.  Some or most of the electronic gadgets the American can do without or can find from another market.  Much of the stuff, from chemicals to aircraft to machine motor parts have no place in the lower echelon consumer market, where demand is based on need, not on component assembly for a complete product for consumption.
Given also that there are tens of thousands of items categorized on the HTSUS, it would be difficult to hammer down just where deprivation exists for the Jenny Average in the middle and lower classes. Once again, the absence of clothing items, shoes, and personal commodities seem to have taken backstage to the tariff pegging performance currently running at the administration playhouse.
     It also appears the trade bureau had to look long and hard to come up with the comprehensive list of 1300 plus items to make the effort pay off, since there may not be as many big ticket items coming out of China to make the tariff endeavor profitable. It may be no surprise as a result that both the Hang Seng and the Dow show positive gains today as the traders, the other traders, don't see much future in threats over trade taxing, boycotts and embargoes, not now, or historically.


Sunday, April 8, 2018

TRADEWAR--China -WTO Grievance--GATT '94 & THE UNDERDEVELOPED CLAUSE

 ENG102-1105//ESSAY--UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, RENO//PROF. M JUDD SPRING 2018


(Pier 17, The Embarcadero)--Following preliminary notes regarding upcoming assignment, topic of choice, 5 pages.: The US-China Trade Dispute--








China Complaint-- G/L/1219 ; WT/DS543/1
China has requested consultations with the United States under the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Mechanism regarding the United States’ tariff measures on certain Chinese goods which would allegedly be implemented through Section 301-310 of the US Trade Act of 1974. The request was circulated to WTO members on 5 April.]   China claims the tariffs would be in excess of the United States' bound rates and are inconsistent with Article I.1 and Article II.1(a) and (b) of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and Article 23 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding.

https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news18_e/ds543rfc_05apr18_e.htm

CITED EXAMPLE :  Article I.1 of the GATT 1994, because the measures at issue fail to extend immediately and unconditionally to China an "advantage, favour, privilege or immunity" granted by the United States "[w]ith respect to customs duties and charges of any kind imposed on or in connection with" the importation of products originating in the territory of other Members.


The US Intellectual Property Dispute:       IP/D/38 ; WT/DS542/1

 China denies foreign patent holders the ability to enforce their patent rights against a Chinese joint-venture party after a technology transfer contract ends. China also imposes mandatory adverse contract terms that discriminate against and are less favorable for imported foreign technology. Therefore, China deprives foreign intellectual property rights holders of the ability to protect their intellectual property rights in China as well as freely negotiate market-based terms in licensing and other technology-related contracts.

Patent Infringement Courts In China/Review
Patent Infringement/China in the USA/Review

CHINA/WTO Page
USA/WTO Page  







GATT '94 SPECIFICS:
(General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade)

Article 36: Principles and Objectives:

(b) considering that export earnings of the less-developed contracting parties can play a vital part in their economic development and that the extent of this contribution depends on the prices paid by the less-developed contracting parties for essential imports, the volume of their exports, and the prices received for these exports;
(c)  noting, that there is a wide gap between standards of living in less-developed countries and in other countries;

agree as follows.
2. There is need for a rapid and sustained expansion of the export earnings of the less-developed contracting parties.
3. There is need for positive efforts designed to ensure that less-developed contracting parties secure a share in the growth in international  trade commensurate with the needs of their economic development.

**********************************

THE ESCALATION-- REVIEW

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-tariff-farmer-react-st-0408-20180407-story.html

President Donald Trump last month announced he would impose tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum. China quickly retaliated, announcing it would target more than 100 American products, including pork, stainless steel pipe and aluminum scrap. A couple of days later, China added another 100-some products, including soybeans, beef and cars. Trump fired back with another round of tariffs late Thursday.

Immediately after China announced it would impose tariffs on soybeans and other products, the price dropped by 4 percent to $9.97 a bushel. On Friday morning, they were at $10.21 a bushel, still lower than the 52-week high of $10.71 per bushel.





Facts about U.S. aluminum scrap exports:
  • The U.S. exported $2.34 billion/1.57 million metric tons of aluminum scrap worldwide in 2017. Approximately 50% of these exports went to China.
  • The U.S. exported $1.17 billion/820,000 metric tons of aluminum scrap to China in 2017. This was approximately 50% of China’s total imports of aluminum scrap that year.
  • A 25% tariff would mean a nearly $300 million price burden on a trade relationship that represents nearly 25% of the entire world’s trade in aluminum scrap.
  • The second largest exporter of aluminum scrap to China in 2017 was the European Union at $360.51 million/231,556 metric tons.
  • http://www.isri.org/news-publications/article/2018/03/26/recycling-industry-responds-to-china-s-announcement-on-aluminum-scrap-tariffs

The Gang of 106 Products that China will stick with duties-- (Codes: http://hs.e-to-china.com/)

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/04/the-full-list-of-us-products-that-china-is-planning-to-hit-with-tariffs.html

The Gang of 1333 imposed on China:
https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/files/Press/Releases/301FRN.pdf

Broken down roughly by category--
8-digit subheadings of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS)
https://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/index.htm

Radioactive components--  4
Pharmaceutical/chemical--88
Rubber--    8
Iron and Steel--150
Aluminum and alloys--27
Reactor components--4
Boiler, vapor, steam parts--15
Turbine type parts--32
Pumps, compressors--17
Dryers, distillers--25
Packaging equipment--50
Machinery, all types---10 pages
Ball bearings--
Transformers--
Motors--
Circuit assemblies--
Batteries--




THE HANG SENG--FRIDAY--




BVSP---04/06/18--





International Stock Market hours--
https://eresearch.fidelity.com/eresearch/markets_sectors/global/marketHours.jhtml

The Markets--
https://tradingeconomics.com/stocks

HSI Indexes--
https://www.hsi.com.hk/HSI-Net/

À SUIVRE

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

NATIONAL GUARD--The Mexican War 1846-48--ESSAY, HIST101 UNR: HENRY CLAY SPEECH


History 101C.1001
Univ of Nevada, Reno
Professor CB Strang
Fall 2017

Primary Source Essay: Henry Clay Speech; Lexington, Kentucky  November 13, 1847





      Deception, invasion, occupation, unfettered military action by the Commander-in-Chief; does this sound like something out of the last decade? Hardly. It was the Mexican War  of 1846-1848. Although it was brief, casualties were staggering and war crimes allegations dominated the subsequent treaty that ended hostilities. Before it ended, but after General Winfield Scott captured Mexico City; Henry Clay, a Kentucky Whig who  lost to James K. Polk in the 1844 Presidential election, gave a speech in Lexington in 1847. The war developed over the annexation of
Texas into the Union along with a border dispute linked to the territory.
      In opening remarks of his speech, Clay denounced the war as illegal, precipitated by a false clause written into the preamble. However, in a letter addressed to the Senate delivered on May 11, 1846, the President states his case for war with Mexico. In it, Polk argued that the Mexican government had changed hands and adopted a military posture. Even as US naval forces were drawn back from Vera Cruz and the diplomat Slidell arrived and requested a meeting with the Foreign Minister, Mexico City refused to negotiate. Following this rebuttal, Polk ordered troops across the Rio Nueces, claiming that the border had been drawn beyond that and revenue had been agreed upon to be extracted from that district, with a revenue officer already appointed by Congress. It was this redeployment beyond the Rio Nueces that exacerbated the conflict when a dragoon patrol from the American camp along the Rio Bravo del Norte was ambushed and close to a dozen soldiers killed. (1)
      Inasmuch as the speech compares aggression to former empire seekers such as Alexander, Caesar and Napoleon, it is worth noting Clay’s assertion that Congress does not have the power to intervene and halt a war once it has been declared, leaving the President alone to determine its progress and conduct. Quoted from the speech text:
      “If it be contended that a war having been once commenced, the President of the United States may direct it to the accomplishment of any objects he pleases, without consulting and without regard to the will of Congress, the Convention will have utterly failed in guarding the nation against the abuses and ambition of a single individual.” (2)
      The United States would have to wait 126 years to see any kind of legislation that would address the authority of the President in the conduct of war. The War Powers Resolution of 1973 would only check the Commander-in-Chief’s authority in undeclared wars with various restrictions and requirements for the Executive Branch to be held liable to the Legislative Branch in the absence of consent by Congress to engage in hostilities against a foreign adversary. Henry Clay was perhaps the most visionary politician of his time to discover this flaw in the Constitution that allowed even the most altruistic leader the opportunity to become a despot. (3)
      Clay then turns his attention toward the possibility of the annexation of Mexico into the US empire, steadfastly arguing against such a proposal. He cites 100,000 troops that would have to be stationed in Mexico on a continuous basis to suppress rebellion; he notes the probability of a new political party, the Mexican vote, in Congress, that would undermine the interests of the nation to the north as a whole. He offers the conflict that would be created by the Catholic nation below the Rio Grande being ruled by the Protestant nation to the north and finally, the rejection of slavery into Mexico. The issue of slavery is examined in detail in the speech and not just from the interests of the plantation owners. Clay indirectly refutes the abolitionist demand for immediate emancipation, claiming the slaves were too ignorant and disorganized to contribute to the society. In addition, the fact that slaves were, if not dominant numerically in some states, they would be a significant force to be reckoned with if they were given the vote.
      All of this he rationalized into the calculus of annexation of Mexico and in the end, Clay introduces resolutions that he believed would prevent the United States from entering into costly wars, both in the lives of soldiers and the national debt. Looking back on this incredibly visionary speech, one can only become speechless himself that most of what Henry Clay warned against and proposed has fallen on deaf ears.


REFERENCES:
(1) The Congressional Globe, 1846.
https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llcg&fileName=016/llcg016.db&recNum=830
(2) Speech of Henry Clay, Lexington Mass Meeting, 1847
https://archive.org/details/speechofhenryclay00inclay
(3) War Powers Resolution 1973
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/warpower.asp

JC Langelle    Grade Received : "A"

    
    
    

NATIONAL GUARD-- Coastline Blockade from Fort Jackson--WAR DECLARED ON MEXICO..

TO WIRES FROM TAMPICO PRESS  SUBJ LATE TELEGRAPH..


(The Cantina)---Dispatch just arrived from our correspondent south of the border--


(Translated from the rough copy---


IMPORTANT FROM MEXICO! WAR DECLARED !!
We are indebted to Capt. Turpin of the Pey-tona for the following memoranda taken from the manifest of the steamship Alabama, ;which arrived at New Orleans on Monday evening last, (about an hour before the Poytona's depar-ture)) in 2G hours from Galveston. Further advices will be looked for with great interest. "Off Bar of South West Pass, spoke the U. S. Steamer Col. Hartley, direct from Brasos Santiago, bound for this port. The Col. H., reports that WAR HAS BEEN DECLARED BY MEXICO AGAINST THE UNITED STATES, AND THE WHOLE OF THE MEXICAN COAST WAS NOW UNDER BLOCKADE FROM FORT JACKSON. P. S. The Col. II., will be up to the city to night."
Louisville Daily Courier 27 April 1846







Sunday, April 1, 2018

FRENCH 112.1005-- Jeux de Role #010--"TRÈS BIEN POUR TESLA"

FRENCH 112.1005  -UNR SPRING 2018--MME C REDDEN  

JEU 010- "  Très Bien pour Tesla."





CELESTE and SHANNON are at the car dealers and are going to buy a new car, they are greeted by SALES:

SALES: Bon après-midi, comment allez-vous aujourd'hui?
(Good afternoon, how are you today?)

CELESTE: Très bien merci.  (Very well thank you.)

SHANNON: Très bon Monsieur, nous sommes ici pour acheter une voiture. (Very good, Mister, we are here to buy a car.)

SALES: Bon, quel genre de voiture? (Good, what kind of car?)

CELESTE: Je veux une Subaru pour mon chien. (I want a Subaru for my dog.)

SHANNON: Non, une Toyota pour mon grand-père à l'hôpital VA.  (No, a Toyota for my grandfather to the VA hospital.)

CELESTE: Votre grand-père peut prendre le bus.  (Your grandfather can take the bus)

SHANNON: Je ne veux pas de chiens dans la voiture. (I don't want dogs in the car.)

CELESTE: Je ne veux pas de grands-pères dans la voiture. (I don't want grandpas in the car.)

SHANNON: Nous achetons un Toyota. (We are buying a Toyota.)

CELESTE: Non, nous achetons une Subaru. (No,  we are buying a Subaru.)

SALES: Je pense avoir une réponse. (i think i have an answer.)

SHANNON:   Qu'est-ce que c'est?  (What is that?)

SALES: Tesla a une nouvelle voiture. (Tesla has a new car.)

SHANNON ET CELESTE: Tesla?

SALES: C'est vrai. (That is true.)

SHANNON ET CELESTE: Quelle voiture est-ce? (What car is it?)

SALES: C'est un Subayota. (It is  a Subayota.)

SHANNON: Subayota?

CELESTE: Qu'est-ce qu'un Subayota? (What is a Subayota?)

SALES:  C'est une Subaru pour chiens, (It is a Suburu for dogs,)

SHANNON: Pour ses chiens? (For her dogs?)

SALES: Oui, et un Toyota pour son grand-père. (Yes, and a Toyota for her grandfather.)

SALES mobile phone rings, he begins a conversation over the mobile phone.

SALES: Excusez-moi pour une minute s'il vous plaît. (Excuse me for a minute please.)

SALES: (into mobile phone) Bonjour? (pause) Oh, bonjour ma fille. (Pause) Quoi, tu veux de l'argent? (Hello? (pause) Oh Hello, my daughter. (pause) What, you want money.)

While SALES talks on phone, CELESTE and SHANNON have a discussion of their own, so that everybody is talking at once.

CELESTE: Votre grand-père peut prendre un bus pour l'hôpital VA. (Your grandfather can take a bus to the VA hospital.)

CELESTE: Votre chien perd les cheveux dans la voiture. (Your dog loses hair in the car.)

SALES: Je suis désolé ma fille je n'ai pas d'argent aujourd'hui. (I am sorry my daughter i have no money today.)

SHANNON:  Tesla est bon. (Tesla is good.)

CELESTE: Très bien pour Tesla. (Very well for Tesla.)

SALES: (into phone)  Peut-être que demain j'ai de l'argent. Au revoir. (Maybe tomorrow i have money. Goodbye.)

SALES: Avez-vous d'accord? (Have you agreed?)

CELESTE: Oui, nous allons acheter un Subayota. (Yes, we will buy a Subayota.)

SALES: Très bien, voulez-vous voir la voiture? (Very good, do you want to see the car?)

SHANNON:  Oui s'il vous plaît. (Yes, please)

SALES: Très bien, c'est à côté. (Very good, it is next door.)

SHANNON: Bon pour Tesla. (Good for Tesla.)

CELESTE:  Je préfère Tesla Subayota. (I prefer Tesla Subayota.)

SHANNON:  Oui. (yes.)

SALES: Très bien, j'ai de l'argent pour ma fille. (very good, i have money for my daughter.)

SALES: Merci, nous avons fini. (Thank you, we have finished.)