Well, Trump said all along he’d do it and by golly he has. He’s just announced a round of tariffs including on Mexico and Canada. He just can’t get it through his head, or if somehow HE does his MAGAs don’t that foreign countries don’t pay a single penny of those tariffs. The people/businesses that import them do, and then pass along the cost to consumers. Higher prices that often affect more than the specific goods I should add. There are ripple effects. It’s not hard to understand this, at least if a person has an open mind and pays attention to actual facts from actual economic experts. MAGAs however insist on deluding themselves that Trump is THE expert on any and everything. If their Trumpy says ‘Chy-ner’ will pay billions to the U.S. Treasury (or Mexico, or Canada) then that’s all they need to hear.
However it’s official now as reported by various outlets including The Guardian. It’s only round one of this new trade war but Trump has started a chain reaction that’s going to hit his MAGAs and everyone else in their wallets. Here’s the basics:
Goods exported from Canada and Mexico to the US will be hit with a 25% tariff, while products from China face a 10% levy, the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told reporters on Friday.
Canada has pledged to retaliate with a “forceful but reasonable” response. Mexico has also drawn up plans, but declined to provide details. China has said it will “firmly defend” its interests.
Trump has claimed imposing duties on goods from overseas will raise hundreds of billions of dollars for the federal government, while forcing countries – even two of America’s closest allies – to bend to his demands.
Who the hell knows what goes on in what’s left of Trump’s mind? Does he actually believe the b.s. he feeds the masses that foreign countries pay billions to us in tariffs? Or, is the biggest CON man in history so sure of himself that he believes he can keep conning his supporters into believing his lies. When regular folks including HIS voters see costs and overall inflation shoot up Trump will blame it on others. He might well get away with it again given a media that’s pretty much beaten into submission by him. The wild card of course will be Fox. Will Rupert Murdoch tell them and the WSJ to start slapping Trump down on this? We’ll have to wait and see but the effects of this new round of trade war will go world-wide and the Murdoch empire is international in scope.
Yes, Trump and his minions screwed the pooch big time on the matter of shutting down the flow of federal funds. However Trump imposed tariffs in his first term and so it’s likely this has been better thought through and will be implemented without much difficulty. As the linked article notes it DOES take some time for tariffs to take effect but I don’t see Trump backing down on this one. Especially after the humiliation of having to back down on the federal funding ‘temporary’ shutdown.
So get ready folks. Higher prices are coming. And if the Federal Reserve sticks to it’s guns the lower interest rates Trump is demanding of them won’t. In fact, the inflation that will result from the tariffs is more likely than not to cause interest rates to go UP. If that means a recession then the Fed will accept that, or I think they will. Just in time for the midterms. In the meantime settle in for a rough ride.
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Trumpler knows full well what his tariffs on our allies will do. He just doesn’t give even half a shit. Why should he? He’s been re-elected, he’s got lots of money and nobody but ass lickers around him. He’ll blame higher prices on immigrants and Commies and Rachel Maddow, not to mention the vestiges of the Biden administration. All he cares about is his imaginary tough-guy image and pleasing his handler, Putin.
He’s walking in Hitler’s shoes….
Help me understand why tRUMP was elected. He just screwed our friends and allies, while embracing our enemies. He scares the shit out of me.