US-based multinational companies will be exempt from global tax deal(apnews.com)

40 pointsby petethomas3 days ago6 comments

sgnelson3 days ago
I'm not an international trade lawyer/expert by any means, but this seems like an unfair government subsidy. I guess the WTO won't care though.
But since this does seem like a government subsidy, I predict over the longer term this will only hamper US companies, not help them. And when this exemption inevitably disappears, US companies will end up further behind because they did not have to compete to the same level as other international corporations.
America has always bent the international order for it's own ends, but it seems like the real innovation and competitiveness that we did have is slipping away and we're left with nothing but trade barriers and monopolies. It's not going to work out well long term I predict.
- garbawarb3 days ago
  Nah. The United States has the biggest lead and it's on the decline, but who's on the ascent? China? It'll be a long long time before any other country comes close to U.S. economic competitiveness.
  - immibis3 days ago
    FWIW the unique economic position of America is pretty much solely due to the fact it prints the world reserve currency (which is because it was geographically isolated from WW1/2) and not much to do with its actual production. When that fails it becomes just another (very big) country that will have to produce as much as it consumes.
    DerArzt2 days ago
    And all of the instability over the last year has countries re-evaluating USD as the world reserve currency (I would imagine at least).
stephen_g3 days ago
It feels like actions by the current US administration are damaging the US's reputation around the world in a way that will take generations to repair. Do US based HNers release how much of the world is now hoping for the US's economic decline (and corresponding loss of geopolitical power) in a way few felt just two years ago?
- silisili3 days ago
  I think you underestimate how insular the US is, because of its size, location, and historical strength.
  Without trying to sound rude, I don't imagine most Americans care at all what the rest of the world thinks of the country.
  - hshdhdhj44443 days ago
    Which may go a long way to explain why Americans live such a lower quality of life compared to people in countries with much lower per capita incomes.
    The insularity and the constant rah rah telling Americans that they live in the greatest country in the world is why they think it’s completely normal for massive numbers of Americans to live homeless and die in huge number of deaths of despair relative to their economic peers.
- Jblx23 days ago
  >how much of the world is now hoping for the US's economic decline
  Is there a good way to quantify this? Ideally going back at least 20 years?
  - stephen_g3 days ago
    Maybe there are surveys or something? But it's just the vibe I get from family, friends, colleagues from here in Australia, as well as people online (like on Mastodon which has a lot of Europe based users). Feels like a big shift since the start of 2024. People around the office I work in have cancelled holidays planned to Hawaii and the States too, especially just recently with the social media requirement on the ESTA which tipped a few people over the edge.
    stephen_g3 days ago
    *Sorry got my years mixed up, I meant since the inauguration of the current president so start of 2025.
- SpicyLemonZest3 days ago
  I just don't understand why you would frame the observation this way. What do you want US based HNers to do about it?
  - PearlRiver3 days ago
    Vote? Do they still do that over there?
    SpicyLemonZest3 days ago
    Not in the way you may be expecting. Only Americans in what we call "swing states" get meaningful votes in presidential elections - because of how our system works, once you know that one candidate or the other is going to win your state, how much they win by doesn't matter. I still vote as a civic obligation, but I don't have any friends or family members in swing states, so neither my voting nor my advocacy has any effect whatsoever on who becomes President of the USA.
    The election schedule is also infrequent with no provision at all for early elections. Most Americans haven't voted since November 2024, won't get to vote again until November of this year, and the next opportunity to vote for president isn't until November 2028.
- postsantum3 days ago
  No, it's just the world reverting to its usual state. US might decline a bit but it will devour weak suckers first
- parineum2 days ago
  Reputation will be tarnished right up until the next administration offers up something shiny and all will be forgiven.
  > Do US based HNers release how much of the world is now hoping for the US's economic decline
  Do non-US HNers realize how much of the world isn't commenting online? Europe is having it's own right wing populist surge right now. Someone is voting for those parties.
greatgib3 days ago
This is so much a total joke, because one of the first purpose of this agreement, was for European countries to be sure that big US companies like Google and Apple would not evade the European countries high corporate tax rates by evading profits.
Now, it is like the stupid "flight ticket tax to fund buying condom in Africa" created by France, we will be the only ones having worse conditions when the rest of the world enjoy better corporate profit conditions...
Sabinus3 days ago
On what grounds does the USA argue it's largest companies need an exception? Which companies qualify?
- 09283740822 days ago
  grounds? Sith don't need grounds:
  > "I Am Altering the Deal, Pray I Don't Alter It Any Further." —AS
zb33 days ago
> a historic victory in preserving U.S. sovereignty and protecting American workers and businesses from extraterritorial overreach
It seems only US is allowed to be sovereign according to US
Extraterritorial overreach is ok if the US does it, not ok if done to US.
- parineum2 days ago
  The US wants to act in it's own best interest. It also wants everyone else to act in the US' best interest.
  Same as everyone else.
Tepix3 days ago
I'm disgusted.