Glad I Didn’t Say That! The IMF’s Muddled Message on Trade and Productivity Growth

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Christine LaGarde, Glad I Didn't Say That!, globalization, IMF, International Monetary Fund, productivity, tariffs, Trade

“[S]ince the mid-1990s….declining tariffs have lifted [worldwide] productivity ….”

–International Monetary Fund, April, 2019

“Over the past decade, there have been sharp slowdowns in [worldwide] measured output per worker and total factor productivity….Even before the global financial crisis, productivity growth was slowing in many advanced economies, such as the United States….”

– International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine LaGarde, April 3, 2017

 

(Sources Chapter 4, “The Drivers of Bilateral Trade and the Spillovers from Tariffs,” p. 103, World Economic Outlook, April, 2019, International Monetary Fund, https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2019/03/28/world-economic-outlook-april-2019#Chapter%204 and “Reinvigorating Productivity Growth,” by Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, American Enterprise Institute, April 3, 2017, https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2017/04/03/sp040317-reinvigorating-productivity-growth )

 

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(What’s Left of) Our Economy: Bullish Signals from Manufacturing About the U.S. Economy

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machine tools, manufacturing, Trade, Trump, {What's Left of) Our Economy

U.S. machine tool orders – for anyone who’s not a manufacturing junkie, could anything sound more boring? And yet, because machine tools of various kinds are what manufacturers use to make a wide range of industrial products, their sales are a key indicator of the sector’s health, and especially its future prospects. After all, if manufacturing companies aren’t feeling optimistic about their businesses, they’re not likely to be ordering many of these generally expensive devices, either to replace worn out equipment or add capacity. If orders are rising strongly, that’s strong evidence that industrial production is likely to strengthen or at least remain strong.

And even if you don’t care much about manufacturing, machine tool orders data speak volumes about whether the economy as a whole is thriving or not – a subject that’s attracted unusual attention lately because the current American recovery has lasted so long, and because some recent statistics are pointing to a growth slowdown – or worse. More specifically, these statistics can reveal whether President Trump’s trade policies are succeeding or failing to achieve one of their prime stated goals – bolstering domestic industry.

The January numbers were released today by the machine tool trade association that tracks them, and the verdict? Thumbs up on all counts. Year-on-year, new business grew by five percent, and there was even a silver lining in the 10.5 percent monthly decline from December levels: January figures almost always fall on a monthly basis (because manufacturers tend to bunch their new orders markedly toward the end of each calendar year), and this January’s decline was half the post-1998 average. In fact, the $396 million figure was the second largest January total in the 22 years during which the industry has been compiling these statistics. Particularly noteworthy: January was the month when most of the last partial federal government shutdown took place. That’s when it was hard to find many Americans optimistic about anything.

Moreover, although these numbers are incredibly volatile month-to-month, the strong surge in machine tool orders that began in early 2017 (coinciding, incidentally, with the advent of the Trump administration) continued apace through 2018 (when he began tariff-ing imports in earnest).

Since manufacturing still only makes up a little less than 11.5 percent of the whole U.S. economy (though it punches way above its weight as a jobs creator), robust machine tool orders are hardly a guarantee against a slowdown – even a significant one. And the future of the President’s trade policy, especially regarding China, remains highly uncertain. But at best, domestic manufacturers’ interest in continuing to buy the stuff that’s used to make other stuff signals that current economic pessimism is a stretch — and that if the economy does run into trouble, neither manufacturing nor President Trump’s approach to trade (which is dominated both ways by industrial goods) will deserve much blame.

Glad I Didn’t Say That! A Mixed Media Message on U.S. Farm Labor Shortages

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agriculture, automation, farm workers, Glad I Didn't Say That!, illegal aliens, Immigration, Jobs, labor shortages, Mainstream Media, robots

“With fewer undocumented workers to hire, U.S. farmers are fueling a surge in the number of legal guest workers”

– The Washington Post, February 21, 2019

 

“One February afternoon, they work about an acre apart on a farm the size of 454 football fields: dozens of pickers collecting produce the way people have for centuries — and a robot that engineers say could replace most of them as soon as next year.”

– The Washington Post, February 17, 2019

 

(Sources: “With fewer undocumented workers to hire, U.S. farmers are fueling a surve in the number of legal guest workers,” by Kevin Sieff and Annie Gowen, The Washington Post, February 21, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/with-fewer-undocumented-workers-to-hire-us-farmers-are-fueling-a-surge-in-the-number-of-legal-guest-workers/2019/02/21/2b066876-1e5f-11e9-a759-2b8541bbbe20_story.html?utm_term=.225cc2cc55fe; and “Farmworker vs Robot,” by Danielle Paquette, The Washington Post, February 17, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/national/wp/2019/02/17/feature/inside-the-race-to-replace-farmworkers-with-robots/?utm_term=.24166019b5dc)

Glad I Didn’t Say That! U.S. Automakers Debunk Their Own Tariff Fear-Mongering

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automotive, China tariffs, FCA, Financial Times, General Motors, Glad I Didn't Say That!, metals tariffs, msn.com, Patti Waldmeir, tariffs, Trade, trade war

“The auto industry…fears that new tariffs, on top of those already enacted on Chinese-made vehicles and imported aluminum and steel, could have a major negative impact on the American new car market.”

–MSN.com, November 18, 2018

 

General Motors’ “head of US sales, said on Thursday: ‘We feel confident heading into 2019 because we have more major truck and crossover launches coming during the year and the US economy is strong.’”

–Financial Times, January 3, 2019

 

FCA’s head of US sales “also predicted a ‘solid’ 2019, attributing the company’s strength in 2018 to ‘the efforts we undertook to realign our production to give US consumers more Jeep vehicles and Ram pick-up trucks.’”

–Financial Times, January 3, 2019

 

(Sources “Hit hard by trade war, automakers hoping Trump will hold off on new round of tariffs,” Money, MSN.com, November 18, 2018, https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/hit-hard-by-trade-war-automakers-hoping-trump-will-hold-off-on-new-round-of-tariffs/ar-BBPOjRn & “US car sales defied predictions of a slowdown in 2018,” by Patti Waldmeir, Financial Times, January 3, 2019, https://www.ft.com/content/e538e316-0f52-11e9-a3aa-118c761d2745)

Glad I Didn’t Say That! Fuzzy Math on Trump Tariffs and Tax Cuts

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Glad I Didn't Say That!, middle class, tariffs, tax cuts, taxes, Trade, Trump

“If the administration is serious about further reducing the tax burden on the middle class, the easiest and most effective solution is to walk back…misguided tariffs and avoid imposing additional trade policies that would further increase taxes and destroy jobs.”

– Scott Hodge, President, Tax Foundation, October 30, 2018

 

Size of proposed Trump administration middle-class tax cut: 10 percent

Tax Foundation estimate of bite on after-tax middle-class incomes from all current and threatened Trump tariffs: 1.37 percent

 

(Sources: “Trump wants to cut middle-clas taxes. The easiest solution? Repeal Tariffs,” by Scott Hodge, Washington Examiner, October 30, 2018, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/trump-wants-to-cut-middle-class-taxes-the-easiest-solution-repeal-tariffs)

Glad I Didn’t Say That! Alcoa Flip-Flops on Aluminum Tariffs

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Alcoa, aluminum, Glad I Didn't Say That!, tariffs, Trade, Trump

“For investors who thought the 10% tariff on aluminum imports was supposed to be good for U.S. aluminum producers, Alcoa Chief Executive Roy Harvey explained on the post-earnings conference call with analysts why it’s actually the opposite. ‘First, because tariffs are driving only a limited increase in supply, U.S. imports will remain essential,’ Harvey said….”

– Marketwatch.com, July 22, 2018

 

“Alcoa actually benefited from the trade war, as CFO William Oplinger explained, ‘Our smelters benefited from tariffs pushing up the Midwest regional premiums, so the impact of tariffs was a net benefit to Alcoa of $27 million.’”

– Benzinga.com, October 18, 2018

 

(Sources: “Alcoa CEO explains why aluminum tariffs are hurting, not helping,” by Tomi Kilgore, Marketwatch.com, July 22, 2018, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-trump-administrations-aluminum-tariffs-are-hurting-alcoa-more-than-helping-2018-07-19 & “Alcoa Rises After Crushing Earnings, But Market Cycles Point In The Other Direction,” by Steve Miller, Benzinga.com, October 18,  2018, https://www.benzinga.com/news/earnings/18/10/12530003/alcoa-rises-after-crushing-earnings-but-market-cycles-point-in-the-othe)

Glad I Didn’t Say That: More Fake News on Trump Tariffs Fallout

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business spending, Catherine Rampell, core capex, Glad I Didn't Say That!, tariffs, Trade, Trump, uncertainty

“Threats of additional tariffs and lingering uncertainty over trade policy are also causing firms to reevaluate or delay investment, as University of Chicago Booth School of Business professor Steven J. Davis noted recently.”

– Catherine Rampell, The Washington Post, September 3, 2018

U.S. “core capex”* spending since first Trump non-trade law tariffs (late March): +0.92 percent

U.S. “core capex” spending during comparable (April-June) period, 2017:  -0.03 percent

U.S. “core capex” spending during same period, 2016: -1.63 percent

U.S. “core capex” spending, advance reading, June-July, 2018: +1.40 percent

*business spending on non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft

(Sources: “Trump promised farmers ‘smarter’ trade deals. Now he has to bail them out,” by Catherine Rampell, The Washington Post, September 3, 2018; New Orders, Nondefense Capital Goods Excluding Aircraft; Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders, Time Series/Trend Charts, Business and Industry, U.S. Census Bureau; “Monthly Advance Report on Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders,” Release Number: CB 18-118 M3-1 (18)-07, U.S. Census Bureau, August 24, 2018, https://www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/adv/pdf/durgd.pdf)

Glad I Didn’t Say That: No Obama Learning Curve on Immigration

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Barack Obama, crime, Ed Gillespie, Fairfax County, gang violence, gangs, Glad I Didn't Say That!, illegal immigrants, illegal immigration, immigrants, Immigration, MS-13, Virginia, Virginia governor's race

“[I]n Fairfax County [Virginia] MS-13 related incidents in the first 4 months of this year jumped more than 160 percent compared with 2015.”

—WJLA.com, Washington, D.C., June 30, 2016

“This [MS-13] problem is horrible. This is four murders in this park. Obviously, we’ve had other murders in the region in the past few weeks. This is getting out of control and we need to stop it.”

—Fairfax County police chief Ed Roessler, March 3, 2017

“Along with Los Angeles, ICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] considers Northern Virginia a hub for MS-13.”

—Fox5DC.com, Washington, D.C., July 27, 2017

Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie’s ads spotlighting MS-13 threat are “really trying to deliver…fear. What he really believes is if you scare enough voters, you might score just enough votes to win an election. It’s just as cynical as politics gets.”

—Former President Barack Obama, October 19, 2017

Glad I Didn’t Say That! Laughable Claims of China Smog Progress

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air pollution, China, environment, Glad I Didn't Say That!, smog, The New York Times

I’m pleased to announce the introduction of a new category of posts on RealityChek – which I’ll be calling “Glad I Didn’t Say That!” These items will consist of examples of statements made by prominent American leaders, economists, businessmen, journalists, and others that are flatly contradicted either by readily available facts and/or data – and sometimes even by other statements made by these individuals themselves, or by the governments, companies, universities, news organizations, or other institutions with with they’re associated. Prominent among these will be predictions about policy decisions, like trade agreements, that have been wildly off-base.

In my quarter century (!) of writing about these topics, it’s become clear to me both that such statements and contradictions are not only in massive oversupply, but that the ineptitude they reveal is rarely, if ever, covered. The inevitable result: Individuals and institutions that should enjoy zero credibility on any number of public issues continue to be taken seriously – often with disastrous policy consequences.

In other words, “Glad I Didn’t Say That!” is another effort on RealityChek to introduce the idea of accountability into American policy and politics. And because crowd-sourcing is such an effective and exciting new way to share information and accomplish important goals, I invite all eagle-eye readers to send me any examples you believe deserve highlighting. One tip: the simpler and more straightforward, the better!

And here’s the first in this new series – which also shows the format I’ll be using. Revealingly, it comes from the same newspaper – on the same day!

“China Has Made Strides in Addressing Air Pollution, Environmentalist Says”

–The New York Times, December 16, 2016

“Beijing, Bracing for 5 Days of Heavy Pollution, Issues Red Alert”

–The New York Times, December 16, 2016

(Sources: “China Has Made Strides in Addressing Air Pollution, Environmentalist Says,” by Didi Kirsten Tatlow, The New York Times, December 16, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/16/world/asia/china-air-pollution-ma-jun.html and “Beijing, Bracing for 5 Days of Heavy Pollution, Issues Red Alert,” by Jane Perlez, ibid., http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/16/world/asia/beijing-air-pollution.html?_r=0)