Can the world trust Trump? This golf video might have the answer
A video of the American president near a sand trap on a Scottish fairway shows one of his caddies dropping a golf ball onto the grass in a convenient location for Trump to seemingly play his next shot.
The move seemed to spare Trump from the harder work of getting his ball out of the bunker and onto the green. The caddy leaned down, dropped the ball behind him and walked on as if nothing had happened. Trump was able to climb out of his golf buggy and prepare to play a more favourable shot.
Presidents cheat at golf. Bill Clinton was famous for it. But the video spread at the very moment Trump was engaged in big talk that raised a big question: can anyone rely on anything he says?
A few days ago, Trump claimed his trade deal with Japan included a $US550 billion ($843 billion) investment fund to spend on American assets under his direction, but the Japanese later described it as an ambition rather than a binding promise.
On Sunday, he announced a $US600 billion investment from Europe under a trade deal with the European Union, but EU officials admitted they could not direct companies to spend the money. It is highly likely they are rebadging funds that would be invested anyway.
Then, on Monday, he said he wanted most countries to incur tariffs in the range of 15 to 20 per cent on their exports to America. This is in line with the Japanese and EU outcomes, which both applied a 15 per cent tariff on most of the products they ship to the US. But it is out of line with the rates he has imposed elsewhere – like 35 per cent on Canada, 30 per cent on Mexico and 50 per cent on Brazil.
What does this mean for Australia? The signal is that it may incur tariffs of 15 to 20 per cent. Right now, Australian exports are subject to a baseline rate of 10 per cent, but the final rate is meant to be set by this Friday.
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