Sigh.
April 4, 2025.
What the administration actually did is took our trade deficit with that country and divided it by the country's exports to us. Think it's just me? Here's what the BBC had to say about it:
But if you unpick the formula above it boils down to simple maths: take the trade deficit for the US in goods with a particular country, divide that by the total goods imports from that country and then divide that number by two.
Which is a totally wacked way to do this.
This actually has nothing to do with tariff rates imposed by other countries, but trade deficits.
It's an autarky baloney sandwich.
By the way, on the great businessman, the seven largest Dow Jones drops in American history:
1. Trump, 3/16/20 -2,997.10
2. Trump, 3/12/20 -2,352.60
3. Trump, 3/9/20 -2,013.76
4. Trump, 6/11/20 -1,861.82
5. Trump, 4/3/25 -1,679.39
6. Trump, 3/11/20 -1,464.94
7. Trump, 03/18/20 -1,338.46
What all of this is supposed to do is to reverse, and in a screaming hurry, the relocation of manufacturing to overseas. For example, 70% of footwear in the US is imported (only really good footwear is made in the U.S.). Your Levis are probably made in Vietnam. The problem is, reversing a trend that started in the late 1940s overnight can't be done, if at all, without massive economic disruption.
Added to that, some of what will be hit violates what Adam Smith, who didn't approve of tariffs at all, long noted, which is that if you make great whiskey in Scotland, and they make great wine in France, you don't fix things by trying to make wine in Scotland.
April 4, 2025
Never before has a president so recklessly and intentionally driven our economy off a cliff.
Theodore Roosevelt V.
China has retaliated with 35% reciprocal tariffs.
The Dow opened today and dropped 1,100 points.
Brent Crude is $64.87, heading right into the unproducible price range for Wyoming.
JP Morgan says there's a 60% chance of a recession this year.
Trump was supposed to meet the families of four US soldiers who died in Lithuania in a training exercise as their coffins returned.
He canceled, dined with Saudi golf execs and sponsors for a golf tournament at one of his resorts.
What an asshole.
The current cover of The New Yorker has an illustration of the entire Trump cabinet riding an Atomic Bomb, as in the last scene of Dr. Strangelove, as they take selfies of themselves.
So, for Wyomingites, including those who moved in and backed the Freedom Caucus (and the natives who naively did), retirement accounts are being flushed down the toilet and there won't even be jobs at Walmart, and oil is tanking so soon rigs will be stacked. Those on fixed pensions, like those who worked for school districts and the government, will be no better off, as the pension will become worth less every day.
And for more, on how this insanity will play out:
It's tariff time. How will tariffs impact you?
cont:
The view from the organization named after the man who developed the free trade theory:
Tariffs and the European Union
cont:
It should be noted that the US added 228,000 jobs in March.
cont:
"They Played It Wrong, Panicked"
Trump, on truth social, about China kicking the US in the nuts.
In reality, we played it wrong, and soon we're going to be down on the sidewalk getting kicked in the gut.
Did anyone seriously vote for this?
cont:
The Dow, so far, today: −1,662.02 (4.10%).
So, for two days, it's down nearly 3,000.
Rig counts are down by two this week, down by 30 from this time last year.
cont:
Somebody I know looking to buy a used car found the price jumped $4,000 this week due to an increased demand for used cars.
cont:
Now down 2,000 points.
cont:
Closed 2,200 points down today.
Over 3,800 points down over two days.
That's sure making America Great Again.
cont:
Things actually appear to be changing in the GOP. Ted Cruz, for one, suddenly got intestinal fortitude:
If we are in a scenario 30 days from now, 60 days from now, 90 days from now, with massive American tariffs and massive tariffs on American goods, that is a TERRIBLE SCENARIO!”
We have seen when one country jacks up tariffs, it can provoke a trade war, where each country accelerates tariffs, and the results would do a couple of things. It would DESTROY JOBS here at home and do real damage to the economy…. This is going to have a POWERFUL UPWARD IMPACT ON INFLATION.
Cruz wouldn't be saying that if he didn't figure things are about to turn on Trump.
April 5, 2025
The Trump tax bill which extends tax cuts from Trump's first term and which cuts spending passed early this morning.
This is frankly disastrous as it perpetuates an ongoing deficit crisis.
West Texas crude is $62.00/bbl.
Cont:
Stellantis is laying off 900 workers at five U.S. facilities. It directly cited the Trump Tariffs.
Stellantis N.V. is a multinational automotive manufacturing company that manufactures and sells Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram Trucks, and Vauxhall, reflecting the international nature of the automobile industry.
April 6, 2025
Trump's Commerce Secretary said the quiet part out loud yesterday. The hope is that if tariffs cause manufacturing jobs to return to the US, they'll return to AI robotic factories.
So the idea is to take jobs from Cambodians, Vietnamese, etc., and give them to robots. . . not living Americans. There's a real element of evil in that.
April 7, 2025
Stock markets are plunging around the globe. The Dow Jones opened 1,000 points lower.
On the weekend shows, the talking points were that Trump is going to negotiate, which last week he indicated he wouldn't, and that the tariffs cause a "one time price adjustment".
cont:
Looks like the Dow will close over 500 down.
April 8, 2025.
From the Tribune:
Trade wars threaten craft brewers
It has to deal with steel and aluminum prices.
cont:
Even Elon Must is criticizing the tariffs, calling Peter Navarro "dumber than a sack of bricks".
Later tonight, a 104% tariff will be imposed on China.
cont:
And now Canada is imposing a 25% automobile tax on the US starting at midnight.
$58.10. Below marketability in Wyoming.
And the Dow closed down 300 points.
cont:
Microsoft has canceled plans to build three new data centers worth in Ohio.
April 9, 2025
And good morning Wyoming. . .
cont:
Somebody obviously got to Trump and gave him the dope slap. San Francisco Chronicle:
Alert: Stocks surge after President Trump announces a 90-day pause on tariffs except for China, sending the Dow up 1,800 points
That's good news, but clearly Trump is not a stable genius.
cont:
The 10% tariff, which is still inflationary, remains.
Trump's attributing this to 75 nations contacting the US on this, which is pretty much a "dog ate my lunch" excuse. Somebody got to Trump and took away his McKinley cartoon bio and woke him up a bit.
The degree to which the US has lost credibility for being governed by an obviously dim character, of course, can't be immediately repaired.
Related Threads
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