The President of the United States posted this message on his account. He wants the Vietnamese to buy SUVs
"It is my opinion that the SUV or, as it is sometimes referred to, Large Engine Vehicle, which does so well in the United States, will be a wonderful addition to the various product lines within Vietnam"
Source: https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114784170652465525
This reads like he still, even after everything, doesn't understand how tariffs work.
I honestly can't decide if he just really doesn't know or he's this consistently dishonest. It's hard to pick cuz I have trouble believing he could be that consistent about anything.
@njm1314 @KoboldCoterie he's a conman, so pretty consistent with whichever lies the con depends on, like LEV generally means Low Emission Vehicle. He knows how tariffs work, but won't admit that. Keeping cult members in a disinformation bubble is the whole game.
He doesnt care how they work.
It think he's role playing as a "wildcard" character. He actually has said he likes being unpredictable to keep people on their toes.
politicians are not usually that dumb regardless of the image they project.
you can bet its dishonesty with just a side of stupidity, as a treat.
Frustratingly his constant repeating of this backwards understanding is working. It's starting to widely take hold and resistance in the face of constant misinformation is breaking down. I heard in the last week NPR and the BBC repeat the "foreign country will pay" as fact, not a quote, with no effort to correct or clarify.
What's the saying? Repeat a lie enough and it becomes reality?
For him to start to understand would imply the ability to learn
Uh, he doesn’t.
He still doesn't understand how tariffs work.
As I keep saying: It sounds like he thinks the word "tariff" just means "payment". Then he follows that with "[whoever he thinks should make the payment]". Tariff by Apple, Tariff by China, etc. Honestly. I don't know how else you can make it make sense.
My supposition is that he's a complete moron following advice from someone working off a protectionism 101 primer from 1834 who had Randian bullshit physically replace his brain to the point where they don't do the rest of the steps to make the protectionism work because that's the government doing stuff and therefore communism
I have never once heard anyone ever refer to an SUV as a 'Large Engine Vehicle'. Am I just unaware, or is this trump being a complete idiot again?
He’s trying to flood google results for low emissions vehicles
He didn't actually say this, someone with access to his TS/Twitter account did. They don't know wtf SUV stands for and probably made it up.
So they also have to imitate his illiterate misuse of title case for Important Words, random quotation marks for "emphasis", and littering of SHOUTY WORDS, not to mention his bizarre self-aggrandized tone and his ridiculous ways of ending messages that he thinks makes them look more important? Thank you for your attention to this matter.
I'd say it is an obvious way to try to confuse BEV with LEV... To sell more ICE-cars...
Could the term be something specific to Vietnam? Like is it a trade term?
It's not.
Jesus Christ, why the fuck are people trying to make sense of his insanity?
The term large engine vehicle sounds like came from the same guy that coined big dick energy
Vietnam will pay the US a tariff? What?
It’s for his idiots. He doesn’t care what you think or believe
Know. I don't think or believe how tariffs work, I know how tariffs work. I know he doesn't care about that either though
Trump still doesn't know what a tariff is.
Lol, one visit to Vietnam can easily show you why an SUV is not going to be a hit there. It's basically motorcycle country. Cars are pretty common too, but motorcycles are basically THE form of transportation there.
Unfortunately their governemnt is investing heavily into car only infrastructure which bikes aren't allowed to use. It's frustrating to see considering their cities are already at maximum traffic with motorbikes alone. Adding cars to the mix there just isn't possible.
Also there's no way that US automakers will be able to outcompete Vinfast and Chinese EVs who are working with better subsidies and significantly cheaper labor.
That's ok, there will be a statement at some point in the near future from some Vietnamese official denying that any of this post from Trump is true.
This has been the pattern, I've no doubt it will continue to be.
And their streets are narrow, especially in the French quarter of Hanoi and other older areas. The vehicles in use currently are often very small to make it easier to navigate the narrow roads (and street/laneway parking) and like you mention - the scooters, which are like 90% of vehicle traffic.
So American will pay between 20 and 40% tax on goods coming from Vietnam but the Vietnamese can buy US goods with no tax?
Cool.
Do Americans know this?
Every single Vietnamese person I've known has only driven motorcycles or scooters, because the roads are already too congested to handle large vehicle traffic. I know autos are available for hire, but realistically is it even worth owning an American SUV in Vietnam?
I've been to HCM city and the streets are a river of scooters. These numbers are definitely off but I remember a tour guide saying there were something like 14 million people and 16 million scooters or (I forget the actual numbers). I gotta go back there it was so much fun. Amazing food, nice people and the best coffee i've ever had.
Crossing the street in Vietnam is the weirdest experience: you just slowly shuffle out, and this literal sea of mopeds parts around you like a school of fish around a shark
And how many people can afford one even at zero tariffs?
Surprisingly probably a lot. My Vietnamese coworkers always go on about how its hard to go back and visit because it costs a lot over there now and how it isnt the place they left
Toyota hilux is the large car of choice there from what I saw. Dual cab for the family, rear tray for goods carrying and enough off road capacity for when the rain or jungle gets out of hand.
Does Trump actually think that Vietnam pays the tariffs?
No but he knows his idiot cult followers believe what he wants them to believe.
He might think it too.
Trump's gone woke, he's making deals with socialists! Quick, cancel his DEI funding!
Somebody check his gender.
Have you seen how tiny the roads are there?
And how shitty american cars are?
And how close japan and China are?
You should be able to fit at least one SUV:
You can totally fit 3!
That's an alley, not a road. They have perfectly normal sized roads in Vietnam.
I, for one, have never in my life heard an SUV referred to as a Large Engine Vehicle
I’m so confused? Why would Vietnam agree to a one sided “free” trade agreement.
Assuming trump has wildly oversimplified the details to sound better than they are.
Because they get cheaper tariffs on exports to the US, in the knowledge that they don’t want to import much at all from the US, so it makes Trump think he has something when he has nothing.
For Vietnam a bad deal is probably better than no deal. But also, don't believe anything Trump says.
US goods will be cheaper in Vietnam compared to other countries in the region. US companies will be more likely to invest in Vietnam compared to other countries in the region. If 20% is low relative to where their regional competitors end up it's not a bad deal. I don't think a lot of US produced goods compete with local products so its not likely to cause domestic industry much problems.
Until he changes his mind next week.
Quite a few companies in China have been outsourcing to Vietnam to avoid tariffs during the first Trump administration. They didn't reverse course after the Biden administration increased tariffs further.
Even if Trump didn't touch the 25% special tariff on Chinese goods, 20% alone justifies doing so.
I suspect they are “caving” a lot like Mexico and Canada “caved” earlier-the request made is already fulfilled.
Some countries are caving to US on war. Some on trade. VN was threatened with 46% tariffs. The 40% transhipment rate is something easily avoided. I doubt VN will import more from US. VN making a deal can still provide best value apparel to US
He's got an extensive history of lying about (among so many things) what so-and-so told him in a private meeting, only to be called out and contradicted by that very person the following day.
Throw another one on the pile, most likely.
VinFast is state owned and gets a pile of subsidies on every vehicle sold. There's also piles of taxes and regulations applied to other vehicles. The US vehicles will be uncompetitive.
Why would Vietnam be paying the tariff on Vietnamese goods going into the US? I swear the definition of a tariff changes every time I see it mentioned.
He's always said that tariffs are paid by the exporting country to the importing country. He's wrong of course, but at least he's consistent.
It’s not wrong, it’s a lie. He does absolutely know how tariffs work, but he also knows that most Americans don’t, I can promise you, if you ask a dozen random strangers who pays the tariffs, you will end up hearing the presidents words.
Trumponomics makes all this tricky math and policy shit so easy to understand!
"They pay, so they lose, which means we win."*
* Disclaimer: They never pay. It's always us.
SUV=SubUrban Vehicle
That's what I thought the acronym stood for when I was younger, because I would usually see them in suburbs. Now that I'm older, I refuse to call them sport utility vehicles because suburban vehicle is a much better description of their intended use-case.
They're great at driving onto sidewalks, or over the curb if the person in front is taking too long at the drive thru.
Considering there is nothing sport or utility about them, I think your name for them is fitting.
Volvos for dads
Vietnam will pay a 20% tariff
He still hasn't learned how they work, has he
Trump? Learning? Yeah.... nope.
More like he can never admit he was wrong
He is just so tiresome. Why won’t he just fucking choke already?
The worm eats well done steak with ketchup. Statistically he should have choked many times.
*I have zero data to back this claim, just an assumption that it would be more likely to choke on shoe leather
He still doesnt understand tariffs.
Never did, never will.
Oh man, that's the second time America lost to Vietnam
"I hate communists!" except the one that buy my Large Engine Vroom Vrooms. Thank you for your attention on this matter.
!
You know, it's getting seriously difficult for me to discern Trump's actual posts from parody accounts.
The way he writes and says things... It just sounds like someone trolling.
@Tattorack @Davriellelouna Trump himself is completely out to lunch. He doesn't know what his own policies are, only that he's been told that whatever he just signed will make him look powerful and manly. The handlers running his accounts are just having fun knowing they can make abundantly clear that the dictator has no idea what's going on and civil society is (for now) powerless to do anything. That can only go on for so long...
I almost wonder if there's a PR team making them, trying to impersonate Trump's style.
Definitely. This one was not written by him. Too many accurate details about Vietnamese titles and too many long words in general. When he writes his own they are usually in all caps, doesn't contain any large words, but frequently contains typos instead.
There is.
Since he has started signing some of his posts (like my mom signs her texts), I do wonder if the unsigned ones are posted by someone else. Or maybe he just thinks he should sign the Really Important Ones.
You're not alone! I have the same problem.
So he's putting tariffs on Vietnamese imports but exports are unburdened... So he's basically creating a trade deficit? The thing he railed against months ago?
I don't think i follow your logic, theoretically this would reduce the trade deficit. The US would be importing less from Vietnam because the people in the US have to pay 20% more, and the US would be exporting more to Vietnam as the price of the US good would be cheaper then they were before with no duties.
The US would be exporting more and importing less so the trade deficit will go down.
I don't think that's how it will work on reality as even with that 20% goods produced in Vietnam will still be cheaper then those made in the US. Same with US goods in Vietnam, where even if they don't cost any more then the equivalent Vietnamese good due to tarrifs, they'll still cost a lot more due to labor and shipping costs.
I stopped trying to make sense of fascist's activities based on policy, morality, or even consistency, and now see them as doing or saying whatever is most advantageous at the time, even if it directly contradicts their previous assertions. Now their actions almost always make sense and are very predictable.
You can't reason with people like this, only maneuver them into a position where what you want is also most beneficial (or least detrimental) for them.
You receive: selling your shit in my country at a disadvantage
I receive: selling my shit in your country at an advantage
???
It’s funny to think about how when any of these GOP people talk about China, they always emphasize “the Chinese COMMUNIST Party” to dog whistle that they are “bad,” but now we are happy to trade with another communist country?
Person. Woman. Man. Camera. SUV.
Every time I read something he's written or hear him speak I feel like I'm stupider
Is he aware that us car manufacturing has been decimated by china?
Why would they buy us suv, when china is right there and they can buy straight from the factory?
Is he also aware that basically the entire world outside of America thinks American cars are shit?
No our president is a legit tard
...vietnam doesn't have enough room for mopeds, let alone SUVs...
Vietnam
SUV
Vietnam:
They will pay the tariffs! That’s how tariffs work. /s
Transshipping? Oh shit, is he deporting trans folks to Vietnam?
/s just in case
Honestly they might be better off there.
"Thank you for your attention to this matter" is a phrase stolen from fifth-rate middle-management corporate power wannabes. We are not his employees and do not work for him. I'd believe him more if he ended his endless emails with "...and always remember. Fuck You".
I thought communists were bad. Or is that what liberals think? Are Republicans okay with communists now? What's even happening? 😂😂😂
That's his position this week. Who knows what it'll be next week. It only takes one errant tweet for him to turn on you.
transshipping
Did that MAGGOT just say the Bad Bad trans word? How the fuck are his removed followers not trying to Hang him yet?
I hate this. I hated that the rise in private car ownership was messing up the flow of Vietnam scooter traffic. Now it'll just be worse. I hope Vinfast is able to succeed, and VN residents buy electric scooters and cars made by their own citizens.
At least VN just got its first subway.
i'm sure he can't even place vietnam on a map
"we will give you paying us taxes and in exchange we can ravage your economy"
this is a caricature of a caricature of itself. its kind of funny that the literal president of the united states is saying shit like this. this just cannot be true.
Dementia.
In other words Vietnamese will not pay extra for US cars but US citizens will pay extra for EVERYTHING that comes from Vietnam. LOL
Hasn't really been large engines in a decade now. All new stuff has boring ass tiny engines with turbos
SUVs have never really had a good engine to weight ratio.
The first batches of Ford Explorer have a V6 that frankly cannot handle mountain highways because of the thing's weight.
It is my great honour to announce that I have made a trade deal with the round device on the wall. I bet the batteries, for free and it will correctly tell the time twice a day.
The greatest trade deal of all time.
Decouple from this idiotic country's economy. It's going to take a while but we all have to do it. Too much risk of stupidity spreading.
Fucking lol
It would be delusional for any US car company to invest in dealership/repair network for Vietnam. China is next door to them, and they have good trade relations with them. Better value cars, and they also make high end SUVs.
Burger World!!!
Man shit on huge trade deals to brag about conning Vietnam in to no tarrifs. We live in the worst fucking timeline.
Well, we all know he is crazy, so this is actually normal for him.
@Davriellelouna
Who cares wtf he wants. Don't repost trolls. 🧌
Actually this looks like a troll account.
/Block
Yes, the country known for driving scooters instead of cars will start buying SUVs that don't even fit the streets in many cities
Vietnam also halted the expansion of McDonald’s because local street food is cheaper and better.
Vietnamese food is the shit
@groet and American SUVs would break an axle or drive shaft or get stuck in the mud puddles on the rural roads. SUVs are really impractical unless you build your whole infrastructure around them. @Davriellelouna
...what? Being good off-road, or on bad roads, is [supposed to be] the entire point of SUVs.
Edit: Okay, okay, I get it. Language changes and "SUV" doesn't mean what I want it to mean. I'm well aware that I'm No True Scotsman-ing, but that doesn't make me any less mad about it! 😠
A representative sample chosen from among the replies wrote:
SUVs are supposed to be trucks with seats in the cargo area!
All the car-based junk they build these days aren't real SUVs, and shouldn't exist because they're objectively inferior to station wagons and minivans.
Every SUV ought to be an acutally-off-road-capable one, and the only people who should buy them are ones who actually take them off-road.
The real problem there would be gas stations. Even Top Gear used scooters and motorcycles when they did a trip in Vietnam. And the big moron hated motorcycles.
don’t be surprised when the capitalists see this obvious issue as an “opportunity” for development of bigger streets etc. ie: profit.
Of course.. Ford Explorers and Lincoln Escalade are already being prepared for sal.... wait.... never being shipped to Vietnam.