This Is How You Lose the Tariff War

[Methais]

Trump is losing his mind. The average worker makes less than $4.00 USD per hour in Chinese factories that make iPhones. It would take years to establish factories in the U.S. And then who would be able to afford an iPhone made by workers who earn U.S. wages?

There was a joke about this on SNL on Saturday. The joke was that people shouldn't worry about high phone prices because their children would be entitled to an employee discount, accompanied by a photo of a young child working in a factory.

In before you make some other post about "greedy corporations prioritizing huge profits over fair wages" without a shred of self awareness.

Look how upset you are over the possibility of losing your slave labor.

Dick.

[ElevenElven]

And just like that, Democrats admitted they didn't give a single shit about Union workers or working families because they would much rather have cheap labor in foreign countries. Hey at least you're no longer demanding to own slaves yourself, you just want slaves owned by other people to make your cheap products for you.

When faced with this argument, liberals go silent or start ranting about how "evil" Trump is.

But I've never seen one actually address this very sound argument ...

[ClydeR]

The Dollar is, because of political risk in the U.S., losing its coveted status as the world's reserve currency.

Mm-Hmm.

THE DOLLAR is meant to be a source of safety. Lately, however, it has been a cause of fear. Since its peak in mid-January the greenback has fallen by over 9% against a basket of major currencies. Two-fifths of that fall has happened since April 1st, even as the yield on ten-year Treasuries has crept up by 0.2 percentage points. That mix of rising yields and a falling currency is a warning sign: if investors are fleeing even though returns are up, it must be because they think America has become more risky. Rumours are rife that big foreign asset managers are dumping greenbacks.

More...

This crisis-in-the-making was created in the White House. Mr Trump’s reckless trade war has raised tariffs by roughly a factor of ten and created economic uncertainty. Once the envy of the world, America’s economy is now courting recession, as tariffs rupture supply chains, boost inflation and punish consumers.

This comes as America’s historically bad fiscal position is becoming even worse. Net debts stand at about 100% of GDP; the budget deficit over the past year, of 7%, was astonishingly high for a healthy economy. Yet in its quest to renew and extend tax cuts from Mr Trump’s first term, Congress wants to borrow still more. On April 10th it approved a budget blueprint that could add $5.8trn in deficits over the next decade, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a think-tank. That would boost the deficit by another 2 percentage points and exceeds the combined total value of Mr Trump’s first-term tax cuts, the extra spending in the covid-19 pandemic and Joe Biden’s stimulus and infrastructure bills. It could double the pace at which the debt-to-GDP ratio rises in the coming years.

Can you believe the British use "trn" to abbreviate trillion? They're obviously new to the big debt game. We've had trillions in debt so long that everybody in this country knows what you mean with a single "T."

[Methais]

Mm-Hmm.






Can you believe the British use "trn" to abbreviate trillion? They're obviously new to the big debt game. We've had trillions in debt so long that everybody in this country knows what you mean with a single "T."

[ClydeR]

Remember supply shocks during COVID? Get ready for a supply shock arising from tariffs. Supply shocks cause more tangible and immediate distress than declining 401(k) balances. I hope your car doesn't break down and need a part.

Here it comes. Are you ready? Unless you work in the shipping industry, you have about a month left.

A total of 80 blank, or canceled, sailings out of China have been recorded by freight company HLS Group. It wrote in a recent note to clients that with the trade war between China and the U.S. leading to a demand plummet, carriers have started to suspend or adjust transpacific services.

Major ocean freight alliance ONE has “suspended until further notice” a route it had previously been planning to bring back in May, which would include ports of Qingdao, Ningbo, Shanghai, Pusan, Vancouver, and Tacoma. Meanwhile, an existing route is planning to cancel its port call at Wilmington, North Carolina.

The impact of the diminished freight container traffic to North America will be significant for many links in the economy and supply chain, including the ports and logistics companies moving the freight. If each sailing was carrying 8,000 to 10,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), that would equal a decline in freight traffic of between 640,000-800,000 containers, and lead to decreased crane operations at the ports, lower fees that could be collected, and declines in container pick-ups and transports by trucks, rails, and to warehouses for storage.

More...

[ClydeR]

President Donald Trump’s tariff onslaught has roiled Washington and Wall Street for nearly a month. If the trade war persists, the next upheaval will hit much closer to home.

Since the U.S. raised levies on China to 145% in early April, cargo shipments have plummeted, perhaps by as much as 60%, according to one estimate. That drastic reduction in goods from one of the largest U.S. trading partners hasn’t been felt by many Americans yet, but that’s about to change.

By the middle of May, thousands of companies — big and small — will be needing to replenish inventories. Giant retailers such as Walmart Inc. and Target Corp. told Trump in a meeting last week that shoppers are likely to see empty shelves and higher prices. Torsten Slok, Apollo Management’s chief economist, recently warned of looming “COVID-like” shortages and significant layoffs in industries spanning trucking, logistics and retail.

While Trump has shown signs in recent days that he’s willing to be flexible on the import taxes imposed on China and others, it may be too late to stop a supply shock from reverberating across the U.S. economy that could stretch all the way to Christmas.

More...

Social media has been flooded today with photos of empty West Coast ports.

[ClydeR]

“I’ve made 200 deals,” Trump told Time Magazine in a wide-ranging interview published Friday, “100%.”

Pressed on which countries he had made deals with, Trump refused to say, nor did he clarify the terms of the agreements. He added that he would announce them “over the next three to four weeks,” once the negotiations are “finished.”

More...

Going to announce these 100% deals over the next 3 to 4 weeks, Trump says.

[Parkbandit]

Going to announce these 100% deals over the next 3 to 4 weeks, Trump says.

Politico must be super pissed that DOGE found their sugar daddy: The American Taxpayer.

State sponsored media no more.

[ClydeR]

The White House on Tuesday slammed Amazon for reportedly planning to display the cost of President Donald Trump’s tariffs next to the total price of products on its site.

“This is hostile and political act by Amazon,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

More...

So much for Trump's pledge of honesty and transparency. This reminds me of the time Trump said if we stopped testing for COVID, the infection rate would fall.

[Suppa Hobbit Mage]

So much for Trump's pledge of honesty and transparency. This reminds me of the time Trump said if we stopped testing for COVID, the infection rate would fall.

Why didn't Amazon put inflation percentages when they were at 80 year highs on their products during the Biden administration?