Tweets and Comments of the Day on Tariffs
China’s Ministry of Commerce on China Retaliation
The US has threatened to impose a further 50% tariff on China, which China firmly opposes. If the US escalates tariffs, China will resolutely take countermeasures to safeguard its own rights and interests.
Since China won’t back down, an additional 50 percent on China would take tariffs over 100 percent.
“We will eliminate the trade deficit with the United States. We intend to do it very quickly. We think it’s the right thing to do and we’re going to also eliminate trade barriers… and I think Israel can serve as a model for many countries who ought to do the same.”
That link is to a 51-second video clip of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu making promises to Trump he cannot keep.
Trump rejected them anyway as the Hill Reports.
Netanyahu was the first world leader to visit Trump and push for negotiations to eliminate the president’s global tariffs. He pledged that Israel would eliminate the trade deficit with the U.S. and eliminate trade barriers, in an effort to avoid Trump’s tariffs.
“I hope to bring a solution very quickly,” Netanyahu said.
At one point, Trump appeared to raise U.S. military assistance to Israel as potential leverage amid trade negotiations.
“We’re talking about a whole new trade — maybe not, maybe not — don’t forget we help Israel a lot, you know, we give Israel $4 billion a year, that’s a lot. Congratulations by the way,” he said, turning to Netanyahu. Trump added, “We do take care of our friends.”
Richard Hanania Responds to the video clip.
This is so funny. Netanyahu promises 1) reduction of all trade barriers; and 2) the elimination of any trade deficit. How do you do both of these things? You have free trade but magically make sure the trade balances out? That’s apparently what Trump wants. It’s like if the president demanded cutting the Pentagon budget in half but doubling the size of the military.
Vietnam’s Tariff Offer Rejected
Newsweek reports Vietnam’s Tariffs Offer Rejected by Trump Adviser—’Not a Negotiation’
Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son met with the U.S. ambassador to Vietnam, Marc E. Knapper, on Sunday and reiterated his country’s willingness to lower the import tariff rate on U.S. products to zero in hope of postponing the onset of the new tariffs, according to a government dispatch.
“Vietnam is ready to negotiate to bring the import tariff rate to 0% for US goods, increase procurement of US products that are strong and in demand by Vietnam, and at the same time create more favorable conditions for US enterprises to do business and invest in Vietnam,” according to the report on the government’s official information channel.
However, U.S. senior trade counselor Peter Navarro rejected this possibility later that day, telling Fox News: “This is not a negotiation, this is a national emergency based on a trade deficit that’s gotten out of control because of cheating.“
National Emergency Bullsheet
National emergency, what a hoot. Trump does not want zero tariffs across the board which would actually be reciprocal.
White House trade advisor Peter Navarro said Monday that an offer by Vietnam to eliminate tariffs on U.S. imports would not be enough for the administration to lift its new levies announced last week.
“Let’s take Vietnam. When they come to us and say ‘we’ll go to zero tariffs,’ that means nothing to us because it’s the nontariff cheating that matters,” Navarro said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
I would love zero tariffs across the board. By Trump’s idiotic logic, trade deficits but themselves prove “cheating”.
George Gammon Comments on X
“Trump purposely focused on cheating because it’s unquantifiable This allows him to keep tariffs as long as he wants.”
More accurately, any trade surplus is proof of cheating. For example, the US is cheating Brazil.
Video of Lutnick Defending Tariffs on Penguins
Please consider this Video Explanation by Lutnick defending tariffs on uninhabited islands. And note the location of those islands.
Trump labels Value Added Taxes (VATs) as cheating. They aren’t, and that’s a huge error in this cheating nonsense.
Also, Trump’s calculation is mathematically flawed. I will discuss those points in a another post.
I don’t deny the US and the world has legitimate issues with China. But instead off seeking global cooperation on China, Trump blasted friend and foe alike, especially Canada with which the US should have no gripe at all.
The US and Canada were in a mutually beneficial relationship that Trump destroyed. Both counties lose from Trump’s irresponsible and economically ignorant actions.
Related Posts
April 6, 2025: Michigan’s Economy Will Be the First Big Loser of Tariff Madness
Nearly 20 Percent of Michigan’s economy is directly or indirectly related to autos.
April 7, 2025: Sticker Shock – How Much Will an iPhone Cost with Trump’s Tariffs?
If consumers would pay $3,500 for an iPhone, we could bring production to the US.
April 7, 2025: What Happens if All Trade With China Comes to a Screeching Halt?
This is no longer a highly unlikely scenario after Trump threatens another 50 Percent Tariff on China.
April 7, 2025: Musk Gets Into Ugly Feud Over Tariffs With Trump’s Top Trade Adviser
I was wondering when Elon Musk would go totally rogue. It’s happened.
Nothing good can come from economic and mathematical stupidity.
Mish, here is an amusingly well written article explaining tariffs and giving 4 possible reasons for doing so. It’s basically everything you’ve written over the past few weeks distilled into one easy to read funny article. The big difference between your articles and this one is reason number 4 for the tariffs. Maybe that is the real reason.
https://www.theringer.com/2025/04/08/politics/trump-tariffs-liberation-day-explained-stock-market-news
Here’s another take on tariffs:
AEI is full of Never Trumpers, beyond the mediocrity of orthodoxies on so called tariffs.
I suspect all news you don’t personally like is Fake News, all the telltale signs are in place
AEI is so wedded to their dogma that if any evidence contradicted it , they would bury it.
Unlike yourself, of course!
Grow up. Learn to criticize the CONTENT, not the delivery medium that happens to fall outside your echo chamber.
I agree! Good article.
Deregulation?
America was supposed to flourish under trumps deregulation policies. It was a lie.
Trump now is regulating:
Where products are made.
Where materials are sourced from.
Who fabricates the products.
All in a business environment of absolute chaos.
Trump has broken his promise of “Getting government out of the way of business”.
He has instead – mandated that American businesses:
All Americans and especially business leaders should be considering if trump is on America’s side? His actions appear to be subversive and dangerous to our nation and our relationships in the world.
Tax all boomers 100% since they caused most problems
“The American people support this agreement because they know it’s good for jobs in America . And good for human rights. And the development of democracy in China.”
Bill Clinton, 10 October 2000
https://www.c-span.org/program/white-house-event/trade-relations-with-china-bill-signing/105973
The world will simply stop selling to Americs, or buying American. Like me. I have now stopped doing both.
Short term pain, for long term gain, as I no longer will have to care what Americans say or do.
Humans operate on emotion, and tariffs just cause vast anger in every tariffed nation, which makes them back their government all the way.
America is already the most hated nation, now multiply that X 10.
Some factories will be built in America, with a lot of robots, producing expensive goods no one outside of the US will buy. The ROTW will hsppily buy from China at a fraction of the price.
Good luck with those tariffs.
You sure you’re not eating imported American wheat, corn, and soy every single day??
If he is it will soon be BRIC produced.
no – I don’t eat soy or corn, and we have lots of wheat, but I don’t eat much of that either, only in bread, rarely
you think America is the only country that can produce food? I eat oats for breakfast, locally grown
the only American food we have here in large amounts is processed junk food, which I don’t eat – why do you think Amercians are so obese,anyway
food stores have big signs on which foods are not American, and the American products are piling up, few buy them, just the stupid ones who cant read labels
Full agreement apart from the hated America bit. Just disappointed that we got tariffed at 10% when that have a surplus with us. Those 787 Dreamliners pay for an awful lot of Scotch and Jaguars. But yes, boycotting US goods and services now, its American last for me. And this will not change, ever. I have a long memory and I am not in a forgiving mood.
The Senate is asleep at the wheel. A Greek tragedy.
We are at war, go Trump!
Time for his heel spurs to kick in.
You meant to write:
We are at war, go [away] Trump!
The problem is that trump and his minions are at war “Against America”…
Trump has cost Americans over $10 trillion in market losses and stopped our exports in their tracks. Just who are our farmers going to sell grain to?
The world is laughing at trump.
The S&P bounced off the bear again. The 52 week low is 4835 so we are not there either.
That much froth in just a year? That puts a different light on it. The Market is supposed to go up 8% a year plus the 3% inflation, not 20%.
If I were a corporate executive in charge of investment decision-making, I would wonder how much longer tariffs would last BEYOND Trump’s final 4 years in office. If they were permanent — meaning sustained across administrations, Democratic and Republican, the way the Cold War was cross-party-managed — then it might make sense to build in the U.S.A. But as it stands, only a limited amount of reinvestment should take place in America, if the trendlines are to make any sense. That’s unfortunate, because the countries of the world really ARE taking advantage of American largesse and laziness.
One example is Australia. In 2003, Australia cut off U.S. imports of beef because of an outbreak of mad cow disease. Okay? Okay, fine. But what happened next? For the following TWENTY-TWO years American beef has remained persona non grata in Oz. They took advantage of the temporary situation to permanently ban a big and powerful competitor. This is just one example of what the world does to America.
Even Canada, where I live, is not entirely blameless. Lumber exports have been fudged with by government-industry collaboration and dairy products are high-tariffed beyond a certain amount and the banking sector is almost impossible to penetrate. As Trump says, those Canadians, “[they’re] nasty people.”
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You can read more of my writings by going to: dark. sport. blog — on the net!
Lol! You may live in Canada, but you don’t know much about your own country. Sounds more like you believe what Trump says about Canada.
1. Lumber exports are not “fudged”.
2. Trump proudly negotiated access to 3.6% of Canada’s dairy market tariff free in USMCA. And we don’t even come close to sending you that 3.6%.
In exchange he gave Canada access to less than 1% of the US dairy market; which Canada never reaches either.
Both sides charge 200%+ tariffs for going over quota. But no one has ever paid these tariffs.
3. There are currently 79 banks operating in Canada. Sixteen of them are American banks. Citibank has been in Canada for over 100 years. JP Morgan is there. So is Wells Fargo and Amex. It is simply false to say that American banks are not operating in Canada. The reason you don’t see them much is because they simply are not interested in your typical retail branch model that most Canadian banks use. They could do that as well but it’s not profitable enough for them.
Sorry to have to teach you something about Canada.
Mish, did you buy yourself a lifetime’s worth of Nike shoes last week? They are usually the first things to go when TSHTF.
The EU is also posturing a reciprocal zero tariffs proposition likely to buy time to have continued US involvement in NATO while their defense system is reinforced/reformulated. Musk would like that – along with a 200% tariff on BYD’s.
Will the dollar remain as the reserve currency?
With the great amerikan nit wit running idiocracy, changing his mind twice a day about everything, like a schizo in an insane asylum, I suspect by a year or three from now we’ll have experienced a total great depression and stagflation. folks who thought politics does not matter forgot the republic of plato. you might find out someday that politicians will ruin you in one way or another. hat tip plato and socrates and the rest of the authors………
The mother of all cheating is to pay for real goods with printed dollars, created out of thin air for all possible purposes, including propping up a faltering domestic credit.
That other countries put up with it is insult enough, but paying tariffs on top of it, is the mother of all insults.
Trade wars are easy to win….
Xi gonna have some explaining to do as to who is suppose to buy what China wants to sell.
Zelensky says Ukraine has taken Chinese Nationals as POWs fighting alongside Russians, so sacred EU support for Ukraine is now to look the other way when it comes to trade with China?
China economy was already headed into a deep recession and other CCP top factions are not impressed with Xi. Evidenced by reported shakeups in PLA hierarchy with Xi’s people getting removed.
But yep keep on the Trump man Bad articles.
He not bad, he just thick as mince.
And that’s insulting mince.
you had nary a word to say when the celery stick was around. Take a seat.
As all things in China, nothing is forever. Good chance Xi is gone this year.
Eat at home and skip the summer vacation.
Yes, that will cause even more unemployment, but people often do the opposite of what they ‘should’ do. Take the pandemic for instance. Boxes showing up every day in front of people’s house. The retail therapy session is now officially over.
Everything you said is true. If these tariffs aren’t struck down by the courts, America is going into a 2nd Great Depression and will take much of the world with us. America is basically a debt Ponzi which is destined for collapse. Trump’s tariffs are poorly configured, will just make deficits worse, and could result in worldwide financial collapse. Take a look at Smoot-Hawley, passed in 1930. International trade collapsed and they were both voted out of Congress in 1932 along with Hoover. The thing about Trump is he doesn’t mind looking stupid as long as he gets on the front page above the fold. He’s almost certainly a Putin agent and is damaging Ukraine, NATO, our relationship with Europe as well as our relationship with Canada, Mexico and many other countries. Nobody trusts America now.
I wouldn’t say no one trusts America now, but there is definitely a credibility issue in DC.
When did anyone trust America?
Courts? where is congress? I have more positive reactions to the tariffs in the short run than do you, but Congress continuing to play it’s rip van winkle act needs to stop. This issue requires broader discussion/debate, and not just in chat rooms. WTF is congress?
Cui bono? 0% tariffs on Russia. It could not possibly be more obvious this administration is a Russian puppet.
The lead comic with Trump pissing in his own face is a gem!
This has devolved into Trump bashing. The cartoon was uncalled for. I’m out.
Get past it. Many here are open minded. Some are stuck.
Buh-bye!
Trump bashing is necessary now. No serious economist is with Trump on these tariffs. Musk objects and will soon be kicked out of DOGE. His Nazi salute didn’t help him much. Everything that touches Trump become corrupted. Trump will never succeed in erasing trade barriers unless America imports nothing, which is probably impossible. Trump has spun a fantasy and tens of millions of idiots believe him.
Cue the Trump humpers: “But Trump knows more about the economy and tariffs than all the world’s experts put together”
Great – Goodbye
You need a thicker skin. The sacred cows need to be thrown out the window.
He’ll go vice-signaling in a safe space for conservatives
BYE FELICIA
Fuck off douchebag.
Toughen up, bro. But at least you didn’t call us a bunch of anti-anglosaxonites.
goodbye Farwell so long
When people criticize what so far appears to be stupid policies that’s not bashing. The problem in Politics these days is people become fanboys of their Politicians and Political Party, unwilling to Call them Out. It’s so weird how Politics has almost taken on a religious ferver, a blind devotion to “their side”. You need to stop looking at the Political Party and start looking at it as It’s the government regardless of the party vs the people. Always hold them accountable, both sides, when they do bad things.
I recently saw the Chinese electric vehicle in Brazil
its nice
Musk should really have kept his eye on his ball, and his shareholders’. EV policy has blundered in the US from confusion to incoherence, as has so much else. Now maybe we will have coal-powered cars?
Barriers have two sides, and China learned some centuries ago that walling everyone out can lose global standing. Mussolini’s Italy is also a good illustration of well-meaning tough-guy grandstanding and attempted autarky and empire that descended through farce to tragedy.
Musk has no serious ev competition in the US at this time. Tesla does in China and sales are dropping there.
Musk has some EV competition, it’s called “how much of a douchebag Musk is”
They all think THEY will be the one that doesn’t go under the bus.
Study recent example: Section 232 and Section 301 Tariffs (2018–2023)
Indeed. Wrote a long one on this yesterday about hubris and knowing trade results when negotiations are on going. Did not get a response. Mish is pot committed on total doom regarding tariffs. Even after getting 2018 dead wrong.
Anyone who thinks those tariffs worked is clueless.
And no one said tariffs is that they lead directly to a one-for-one increase in consumer prices of the tariffed goods.
So you are posting an strawman myth that never existed.
You and OPmoney are in the same clueless bucket.
I have gone over this many times so you you have a poor memory too.
Yet you saying costs of cars will be going up 8-10k are a straw man. BMW updated their costs as of MAY 1. Guess what. No increases except 2 models and those increases were a total of 1400 per car….Further, you miss that the money collected through tariffs will be used by the government for either debt reduction or tax relief. You act as if its lost forever.
How do you get parts that are subject to a tariff into a car and onto a US lot that fast? Spoiler: you don’t.
Sure you do. You pay the tariff. And the producer will eat some of it
Higher prices are not a concern for the millions of unemployed living under highway overpasses or in sidewalk tents who are hired into well paid manufacturing jobs. Free trade theorists made Chicago into such a crime ridden high tax government welfare mess that the free traders fled to Colorado. Please go home to Chicago before you ruin Colorado.
Academics promote free trade as beneficial by ignoring that there is no free trade in labor. One trade partner must accumulate a surplus of unemployed or low paid labor.
New tech and industry have no place for those underpass dwellers, with survivable wages, unless we are talking socialism here. Like DEI kind of stuff, except with a different label?
God you are an idiot.
Trump’s Steel Tariffs Now Will Work as Good as the First Time
https://mishtalk.com/economics/trumps-steel-tariffs-now-will-work-as-good-as-the-first-time/
“He may look like an idiot and talk like an idiot but don’t let that fool you. He really is an idiot.”
― Groucho Marx
Best comment today.
They surely didn’t crash anything. They worked less well b/c China used Vietnam and other places to evade. Can’t do that any longer.
Idiot? Where are those self-driving semi’s you promised fifteen years ago would put all truckers out of work in five years?
Let me refresh your piss poor memory.
I said 2022-2024.
But yes, that didn’t happen. Curiously Waymo is doing great on self-driving. I thought trucks would be first – point-to-point on interstates. I was wrong.
this is absolute madness. As an authoritarian state, China can and will take any pain. The US stands no chance to win this contest. Did Trump run on “Make China Great Again” and nobody noticed?
China is no longer capable of marching the Long March. One child Princes, savings sucked into diminished real estate, a taste of freedom by way of consumption and style. No, they will have bigger problems if they cannot employ the masses. They are already having problems.
Yes, flooding the world with affordable EVs and lower-cost AI. Maybe that is a Potemkin Village, but not like any I’ve ever seen. The street life pics I see look like any modern consumer society. Sure, they have their social and financial-fiscal issues, but we don’t?
If you have doubts who can survive this longer look at covid, just few years ago.
In USA just a mere government request to wear mask almost ended with insurrection and many states rejected it.
In China people we locked down in heir homes, sometimes those homes doors were nailed down to prevent anybody leaving.
wow, china sounds great. you should go there and tell us what it’s like when you criticize Xi. Or ccp. Or if your social credit score drops.
It is not about sounding great or not.
Patrick mentioned that China will fold 1st. I am 100% sure Trump will be impeached one way or the other before Xi will face even any serious resistance in china. So he can wait Trump out for sure.
Their Gen Z is as flabby and screen addicted as ours. They aren’t causing trouble for anyone.
Trump is Presidenting on “Make China keep rare earths out of the USA!”
Can an authoritarian state take unlimited pain? Ask the USSR.
Those poor bastards have been in gradually increasing pain for 500 years, however you want to group them.
Garlic. We import garlic from China. I think we can grow that here. We do grow that here. When the CCP errrr China invests here, do we make them invest in a joint venture? Do we make them share IP? I mean the IP which they have not already stolen. 1.4 billion people. 300 million have moved into semi western economics. 1.1 billion peasants. Their demographics are upside down. They are an authoritarian regime who provides artificial cost of capital to companies who then leverage slave labor for corporate profits for the west and cheaper consumer goods, all while advancing the PLA’s might and reach. Who with half a brain believes that any of that is or ever was sustainable?
Damn skippy, Patrick!
We fix garlic we fix EVERYTHING!!!
Sincerely,
Rare Earth Elements
You’ve got the wrong idea about China. It’s very modern, clean and efficient. You don’t talk politics there but they know how to get things done. They’re burying us and they now make good products. The own the electric car market worldwide. They are much more advanced than Teslas. Tesla sales are now dropping there. Go to China and take a look. Watch a vew videos about China. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zhubxr5dhQ
China has slums and poverty as well and the Shanghai Index is at the same level as 2007. Good luck investors!
The only known is the “unknown.” What an absolute unnessary and self provoked debacle that has been bestowed upon American citizens and investors.
I don’t see the difficulty in Israel eliminating the trade deficit with the US. We give them $8 billion and they use that $8 billion to buy bombs and jets from the US. /s
All true, sadly.
So eliminating tariffs imposed on US exports isn’t good enough? WTF what a s,show. God help us.
Please, Trump, please nationalize Smithfield Foods. That would be AWESOME!
Take it back, sell off the $33 stock for a discount to an American company and give China it’s money back & say NO THANKS!
Then, tell the Chinese to start divesting in their land ownership & pass a law barring any Chinese connected company from every buying anything in the US again. You, me, Apple, GM, Ford, Trader Joes et al can’t buy property in China. Hell, even Chinese citizens don’t own property in China.
Woohoo! MAGA!
You don’t really “own” property in the U.S. either, you rent it from the government. Try not paying the property taxes and find out who really owns it.
Good point. But, I do have a Deed saying that I own the property. As it increases in value, so does my wealth. Neither of those things happen in China, in terms of the land.
Any state that has ever existed has done that. My home is my home, I have the exclusive rights and yes, I do want roads and infrastructure and cops around it so I don’t have to sit on my porch all day with a shotgun. So, property taxes. Common sense much? And without income taxes, who can pay for Trump’s military parade and golf junkets, I mean, military protection, subsidies to Musk enterprises,, Internet cybersecurity, etc.?
Not every state, in UK if I fail to many my council tax (property tax) the state cannot seize my house for which I have the deeds. They can make life difficult with bailiffs and court actions but my land is mine.
How much of everyone’s income is hoovered up by taxes. Add them up and let me know what you find!!
What a show!
Having sanctioned so many countries for so many years, the US are now sanctioning themselves.
Like Caligula having the legions attack the ocean waves, or Keynes having people dig holes and fill them again.
We’ve been very very bad…