Has everyone in the administration gone mad?
A New Model
Under Trump’s “New Model” the US will tax imports and exports.
“I think we could see it in other industries over time,” Bessent told Bloomberg TV on Wednesday. “I think right now this is unique, but now that we have the model and the beta test why not expand it?”
Bessent said that allowing Nvidia to sell H20 chips in China would make them “the bellwether for Chinese technology” while also swelling the US government’s coffers and allowing it to pay down debt.
Amusing Linked-In Comments
- It’s a corporate tax on gross revenues determined company by company, product by product, by way of private negotiations. No risk of corruption in this set-up, of course. (Did I see flying pigs?) But it’s a corporate tax on gross revenues, regardless.
- Aren’t export taxes prohibited by the Constitution…? Ah…. But they are not export taxes… They are “profit-sharing.” 😉
- Apologies for relating with a book I avoided. I think it may be called the “Art” of making a backward deal ? I’m sure
Unconstitutional
Q: Are export tariffs legal in the US?
A: No, the United States Constitution prohibits export tariffs.
Export Clause: Article I, Section 9, Clause 5 of the US Constitution explicitly states: “No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State”.
Purpose: This clause was a compromise to protect the economies of Southern states that relied on exporting agricultural products.
On August 11, I commented Trump Imposes Export Taxes on NVDIA and AMD, Unwise and Unconstitutional
Unwise
Chip exports either represent a security risk or they don’t.
Collecting an export tax does not mitigate security risks. If there is a security risk, Trump should ban the exports.
But if there is no security risk, what is Trump’s action other than an export tax or an illegal shakedown?
Beta Test Expansion of the Unconstitutional
Given the move is both unwise and unconstitutional, the idea of taxing imports and exports seems insane.
However, Bessent zeroes right in.
“I think right now this is unique, but now that we have the model and the beta test why not expand it?”
So hey, let’s not call it an export tax, let’s call it “voluntary profit sharing”.
And why stop there? Why not let Trump negotiate individually with every company in the world how much profit they are entitled to?
Make American Taxed MORE AGAIN.
MATMA. The guy is a lunatic and so is his master.
it’s a bad idea to be sure. mayeb they avoid the constitutional issue because they seem to be agreements between the government and individual companies as opposed to a tax law? IDK
but it’s appalling the way Republicans are mum about something that would have made their heads explode if Biden or Obama did it. Seriousy can you imagine if Obama did 2% of hat Trump has done? his ventures getting a billion dollars literally from Saudi Arabia? they lost their heads when Hunter Biden got on the board of that oil company.
I bet there is some way these “profit sharing” export tax deals are personally benefitting Trump.
Trump has literally sold out to the Chinese. Anyone remember the TikTok ban that he at one point screamed was a massive security issue . . . and the CEO of TikTok Us was at his inauguration after making a donation? yeah, MAGA forgot too. This chip ban is no different.
His MO is simple: use/misuse the power of his office to pressure someone into paying money, inevitably in a way that enriches him personally.
You bet? I’d bet my life on that.
ODD OF MIKE JOHNSON IS A PEDERAST AND ON EPSTEIN TAPES WITH LITTLE BOYS ? how about our treasury sec bessent?
distractions from the wealth transfer
Exactly. And none too subtle. I used to find Trump entertaining in a fun way. This is not fun any more.
we need distractions. panem et circenses. one should have already moved paper and electronic peso dollars to safety long ago. seen this all before in old USSR in the 1990s with my own eyes and rubles…… and many times in world history.
Trump is systematically turning the world and America against him.
Supporting the genocide in Gaza.
Military occupation of our nations capitol and cities.
Establishing unconstitutional checkpoints in our cities. “Your Papers Please”.
Gifting the Ukraines coastal real estate to Putin.
Depriving our defense industry of rare earths.
Simultaneously. Trump is making the US more dependent on oil while accepting a 747 from a foreign government as a bribe .
The world burns and useful cropland by the hundreds of square mile is created in Canada and Russia.
Tariffs on copper and graphite are direct attacks on EV’s and the modernization of our electrical grid.
Tariffs on aluminum and steel make out domestic manufacturers less competitive.
Taxes on exports? Strictly unconstitutional.
The true national emergency is the disregard for the rule of law and disregard for the constitution of the United States by Trump.
25th amendment time!
Elections have consequences and we need to know who trump is working for?
democracy works perfectly. hat tip republic of plato. amerikans are assholes and elect themselves to rule.
Frosty: the Druze genocide in Syria cont. Only Israel help them. The leaders of the Arab states want Bibi to eliminate Hamas asap.
let them do it. but i get it. it is incumbent on amerikans to police the petro dollar hegemony and our offshore bitch state, Zion.
I am aware Democrats put themselves above the law. Elections do have consequences and it is good that Kamala is not president.
It’s funny when I hear people lament people who chose not to vote. Yeah, if only people had voted for Kodos or Kamala, none of this would’ve happened!
When people vote for party instead of principles, this is what we get. And as long as so many yanks vote for parties that are alike in their pro-war, pro-genocide, pro-lying, pro-oligarch ways, we all lose no matter which team wins. And there’s no point voting — except with your feet.
Capital controls are coming. In fact, they’re already here, thus far in the form of tariffs.
”Now yuse money can’t leave.”
– A Bronx Tale
that scene based on a true situation in bensonhurst brooklyn. my pal was involved as a young hooligan who beat the crap out of hells angel types………..ha ha ha. loved living in that hood in the bad old days of NYC in 80s
Salute, bmcc! I miss the place and miss the days.
(FD: I claim “Italian” heritage loosely by … um… by proximity.)
sicilians like me consider ourselves octoroons forever. always felt very comfortable in bed stuy and harlem, due to this reality. sicily is africa. the moors didn’t invade, they began there. don’t tell the street wops.
ha ha. that works of course.
only uneducated fool like trumpkin who never RUN A LEMON STAND IN USA, and know nothing about cost of production would think that production is back at USA!!
AIN”T GONNA HAPPEN!
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you wont find working person in USA for 20$ per hour,in china it is 20$ per day, hard working obeying people!
and dont get me started about litigation in USA.
only in USA black person can sue company for $50 mil and get it because he-she overheard N-word at work place.
Voluntary profit sharing. Follow the bouncing ball. “Words matter.” That profundity was one of the slogans of Barrack and Uncle Joe’s reign. “You didn’t build that” — Barrack Obama. Or as Hillary said, “It takes a village …” Sure, so why not “profit sharing.” Free markets “intersect” with national security. Its dangerous yes, because whoever is in power gets to declare what national security is. But it does not take a rocket scientist at present to see that the CCP grip on rare earths, which you have covered extensively, and US export controls of advanced silicon, combine in a rather ugly view of the sausage factory of geopolitics and global competition. Back to Hobbes?
ANY GROSS TAX on sales IS BAD!! such tax just ups price of stuff, making product less competitive .
Yes. It will be done case by case. It will force the globalist to consolidate in the US. Spreading production in China, Canada and Mexico and other countries to feed foreign labor is inefficient, costly, takes longer, subjected to clogging and blackmails. Bribing foreign politicians at customers expense, is Schrodinger the Cat mgt. Just in time, Mfg hubs with their satellites, instead. Can we do it: yes. That’s how we do it !!!
=ce the globalist to consolidate in the US
only uneducated mor11on who never RUN A LEMON STAND IN USA, and know nothing about cost of production would think that production is back at USA!!
AIN”T GONNA HAPPEN!
======
you wont find working person in USA for 20$ per hour,in china it is 20$ per day, hard working obeying people!
and dont get me started about litigation in USA.
only in USA black person can sue company for $50 mil and get it because he-she overheard N-word at work place.
dream on.!
alx
educated communists know nothing about the cost of production.
it is trial balloon OF AVOIDing for USA BEING BANKRUPT.
USA is bankrupt. anybody knows this. KING IS NAKED!!!
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USA COLLECTS 5 TRLN IN TAXES, AND SPENDS 1+ trln to serve debt, and prints
$ 2 trln more (trump or biden) to balance budget. in 5 years it will be 2 trln!!
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if somehow USA gov cuts even $500 bil from budget IT WILL BE GREAT DEPRESSION =2
AS reminder, during 2007*8 financial crisis Hank Paulson asked for puny $ 500 bil to save whole fin system!!
now IT IS EACH QUARTER EACH YEAR!!!!!!
RUN , FOOLS, RUN!!!
I notice that you use too many lower-class letters. If you write all in caps, underlines and bold all at the same time many more people will read and believe what you write. Just a little bit of friendly advice. No need to thank me.
He’d might be from the lower class.
=He’d might be
wow!
mor11on, in what language did you try to post it ?
what country are you from ?
He is Chinese.
save advises for your boyfriend, in case of sore ass11hole!
no need to thank me!
As I said use all caps, underline them put them in bold and you will believed by all here. Follow my friendly advice and you will go far.
By your logic, every country which belongs to the West is bankrupt (which might be true), so why pick on one?
Mish, neither NVDIA nor AMD make chips in the US. Those companies contract out the fabrication to TMC and other foundries located outside the United States who then sell the chips directly to China so the clause “exported from any State” does not apply since no state is exporting any and since the agreement was “voluntary” then the tie becomes more obscure to what the Constitution’s clause says. Nevertheless it probably will need a ruling by the Supreme Court eventually.
Now we have to understand what it is and why Trump and Bessent put in place. There are negotiations going on with China and you can bet that a lot of it concerns chips and rare earths. None of the chips are made in the US but the US does have control over where they are exported since the companies are based in the US. From that view the 15% tax or whatever you want to call it is not on US companies and consumers but on Chinese companies instead and is certainly part of the negotiations. Bessent said it could be expanded to other products and I wonder which products he is talking about.
so much bs!
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USA COLLECTS 5 TRLN IN TAXES, AND SPENDS 1+ trln to serve debt, and prints
$ 2 trln more (trump or biden) to balance budget. in 5 years it will be 2 trln!!
So both the US import taxes (tariffs) and US export taxes (“voluntary” contributions) are all paid by China and not by US companies and consumers?
You can write eloquently at times. But when we boil it down to a simple sentence/question, it appears obvious you just want to support Trump and his actions no matter what. And not actually analyze the merits of particular policies.
Those companies do not make the chips in the US so no US customers are paying the tax. That is just a fact whether you like it of not. You can refute the argument if you like but just “you like Trump” is not an argument.
More deflection again, Doug; you’re just repeating what you’ve already written.
Simple question. Will the checks to the US Treasury for these export taxes/contributions be made from the bank accounts of the American companies Nvidia and AMD? (regardless of where the chips are actually manufactured)
even communist/ socialist Europe gives you VAT back if your company exports stuff!
and overall, ANY GROSS TAX on sales IS BAD!! such tax just ups price of stuff making product less competitive .
Continually calling Europe “communist/socialist” makes you look rather uninformed/uneducated.
commies, are of course capitalists. so were the ancient egyptians. so was every human society. capital is just savings after production. whether head of cattle 10,000 years ago or today. don’t confuse politics with capitalism. it’s sophomore level thinking.
Well put me down for things jumping the shark by 2026. You’ll see what I mean soon.
ok fonzie. i agree actually. trump and company will strip the .Gov including the currency. make your dollars have expiration date to be worth zero. like tbills with no principal, and many banana republics in past.
Heh Bessent is just launching trial balloons to see what flies. You’ll see a bunch of harebrained schemes to raise money in the coming months, especially if the bond market starts quaking.
And all this to avoid what really needs to happen: a) tax foreign capital — I’m looking at you Caymen Islands, and b) raise taxes, especially on the rich. Problem is, the former could crash the stock market, and the latter would cause their friends to move to Monaco.
Frisky: pig cooking, cow farting and tax on export are illegal.
This group wants to shame you into submission. Small people talk about people, great people talk about ideas. It’s seems like they want to brainwash us with their verbal garbage full of hate. They remind me of a mom who tries to shame you into submission by saying anything, even if it’s not the truth to get you to agree with them. It’s when they up their attacks on you personally, is when they show how they have little substance to their statements.
bmc^2, pedo, Frosty, papa…compete with each other for leadership of this herd:
green, green, green, green. Kamala, please come back.
Let them yap. It’s a blast to watch them support each other in their cookie circle.
Frosty, a new comer, joined the incoherent trend competing with Borough Park gypsy. They are trying to impress and excel, building an Anti Trump bubble. They shout shut and insult. They are mudding this place.
aw sweetie, that’s so nice of you to actually give a fuck about some obscure blog commenters. hat tip. muchos gracias. i feel so great, now. make mish commenters great again
Export: $1.3T in 2024. Oil and LNG: $82B. Nukes reactors and mechanical appliances: $60B. Electrical equipment and machinery: $50B. Vehicles: $36B. Aircrafts: $30B…// Destinations: Canada: $86B. Mexico: $80B. China: $36B…
Service export: $1.1T. Total: $2.4T. Corn and pork export is down. Weapons: we are #1.
No tax or duty should be laid on articles exported from state to state, between any of 50 states in the US, like in Germany before Bismarck. Tax on export, for federal revenue, isn’t illegal. It’s done all over the world. In some countries it’s the biggest source of revenue.
you missed many-all points !
=1 it is done case by case . so it is source of corruption by gov.
=2 even communist/ socialist Europe gives you VAT back if your company exports stuff!
=3 and overall, ANY GROSS TAX on sales IS BAD!! such tax just ups price of stuff making product less competitive .
you would know if you finished hi school , or run lemon stand.
alx
We need to bring back the poll tax. To cut the deficit.
Boys will be Boys
Path is clear. Hope everybody remember this beautiful conversation with SA president:
Ramaphosa – “I wish I had a plane to give you,”
Trump “I wish you did, I would take it.”
So there is always a backdoor. Corporations can donate to Trump or pay this profit sharing..
Simple answer – straight blue in midterms, don’t overthink it.
Whole GOP congress is complicit in it, I see no use of single one of them in congress so what is a point of having them there.
Well you may want to check your math on straight blue midterms since I think every month that goes by the blue camps poll numbers make new record lows and the red team makes new all time highs when asked if they agree with anything the president has done so far this year.
they just have to do a deal with his crypto company
The great country of USA, once threatened to sue China at WTO (now a historic relic) for attempting to restrict the export of rare earths.
This was so far back that it could be in the timeframe of Trump 1st.
But for Trump that’s ancient history. Every day starts with a new real estate deal, and an opportunity to haggle. Once you realize it, you understand it.
This is a very bright group here.
Laughable. Beyond laughable.
Mish, I don’t understand gov reports nearly the way you do. But I do follow the war machine. Trade wars and real wars are planned for decades. Hybrid warfare never ends. There are visible shifts, of course. One visible shift was the “pivot to asia”. Since then and over successive administrations, there was a steady increase in negative stories about China that “orient” nato-zone populations, new or expanded military deployments around China, some unrest in nations adjacent to China, some interesting viruses affecting people and livestock in China, and tariffs against China more than anyone else.
So, unfortunately, this administration didn’t just go mad on its own. It’s building on momentum. But, yes, it is accelerating.
Of course, all this is wrongly justified as “national security”, while the true goal is “oligarch security”.
NATO oligarchs happily shipped jobs overseas until Chinese companies started their own brands to market directly to the customer. When its their own income stream being outsourced, the oligarchs changed the tune from “free trade!” to “national security!”
Imagine a nation where 77 million people were gullible enough to vote for this narcissistic pervert.
We all watched Kamila back him into a corner in only ten minutes and watched him babble on about immigrants eating pets. Trump was afraid to debate her again because he lacked the intellect.
As a Regan Republican, even I knew enough to vote for Kamila ~ She is a self made woman with a great education and sound intellect. She built herself and was far smarter and more ethical than Trump.
Recall Trumps history?
Inherited his money.
Bankrupted a casino and six other businesses.
Convicted Felon.
Rapist.
Pedophile.
Child trafficker.
Who does Trump work for?
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It is even worse, Jan 6, when the China was building hospitals, trump was in denial. history will not be kind to DJT.
How is Kamila smarter and more ethical?
Forget it, Otter. Bluto’s on a roll…
A few items you mentioned made Trump quite a few millions of dollars in a libel case against left wing news organizations. That wasn’t inherited money. As far as bankruptcy, the successful endeavors outweigh the failures by a wide margin. Check out the Trump condos in Miami Beach , that’s where I will be living and working on my tan and living life bigly.
where are my blueberries
republic of plato layed it all out. democracy works. the real danger of letting nit wits without land and brains vote.
If Trump and his privy council were to inject these unconstitutional acts in 1789 as the nation’s first president what would Madison, Hamilton, Franklin, et al., think after he had signed twenty-six executive orders on his first day ?
We already know that the Supreme Court in too many instances since Trump’s electoral college wins have opined that the Constitution is unconstitutional from voting rights, expansion of executive authority, the emoluments clause, etc.. Roberts is no Chief Justice Jay nor subsequently Marshall.
The domestic republic slowly started dying after Truman authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations and the Congress authorized an undeclared war to occur on the Korean Peninsula. Each president and congress since has stabbed the body politic in the back on numerous occasions.
The overall republic died long before Trump became president in 2017. He exposed on steroids the vulnerabilities that political scientists, anthropologists, and sociologists had been warning for decades regarding the Imperial Presidency.
The unitary executive is a logical extension and expansion of the imperial presidency. Again, Trump removed the veneer of it by signing executive order after executive order usurping the prerogatives of the Congress and the Judiciary at the behest of fascists that wrote Project 2025.
Trump hasn’t read the Constitution. He only does what his advisors suggest because he doesn’t know how government works nor does he care as long as he gets to play president at ceremonial functions.
His visit to Alaska to discuss the war in Ukraine with Putin will be another display of Trump’s clumsy preparedness, his lack of knowledge and experience about geopolitical, geoeconomics, foreign and military policy and history. His lack and depth of wisdom will be on full display should he and Putin stand side by side for a presser after they’ve met alone.
The people are also to blame. This is what happens when over 156 million of the electorate voted but the voting eligible electorate totaled over 262 million or only approximately 59.6% of the eligible voters actually voted. Trump received in 2024 approximately 77 million votes or 29.4% of the total popular vote that could vote. He didn’t receive a majority of the electorate that did vote, either. He doesn’t have a mandate in the conventional sense of the word; and were this a democracy that directly elected its executive that required a 50% plus one vote there would’ve been another election to determine the majority winner.
And yet he “governs” as an autocrat or a king because the sheeple still permit it and the other two branches of government don’t do their job, either.
^ This. Everybody followed a path of least resistance, cannibalizing from the middle of the American Century onward. I just didn’t foresee the process at some point breaking its track and going vertical like a hockey stick. But in hindsight it is not entirely unforeseeable. Now it is devouring itself. A lot of humans here have been nudged into that expendable category. “No more Mister Nice Guy” to paraphrase the monarch (team), a shot across the bow to the welfare state.
many of the non votes are due to the electoral college. People in NY, Ca, MIssissippi. etc… know their vote isn’t needed and don’t bother. and this goes both ways: if you’re a Dem in a solidly Rep state, you have a disincentive to vote. I know plenty who didn’t vote for this reason, and they were right (meaning who they thought would win the state’s electoral votes won them).
It’s stop companies round tripping revs to boost share prices
So what’s the over under from my fellow Mishheads that Trump gets ousted before we look like Venezuela?
He’s there to stay. Satan is obviously invested in his success, and God hasn’t even looked at this planet in over a century.
It’s trashy gold trim and child rape from here on out.
Mishhead? That’s new one. Maybe you should ask Mish as to whether he likes his followers to be called “Mishheads” or not.
“Revenue sharing” just like the marvelous economies of Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea and China. I guess you’re all communists now…lol. Let me know how that works out for you. The money for those 80m socialists needs to come from somewhere.
Got exit strategy?
Hahahaha! What a show! This just keeps getting better every day. Let’s put export taxes on everything we export!
If you want less of something to occur, put a tax on it.
Then eventually we won’t be exporting anything at all.
Brilliant!
Clearly brilliant. Trump can demand a tiny slice go to the Trump 2028 campaign.
By then, there may not be a bit of the constitution left.
The constitution has been flushed down Trump’s toilet.
As dictator, he does not need to hold an election.
None of this behaviour is a real surprise though. We had seen how trump acts already when he gets the chance to abuse power and leverage the threat of his base. I’m sure Kamala was far from perfect, but she would not have been a threat to the rule of law like this. How enough people voted for their own demise (actively or by not voting / voting third candidate) I will never understand.
Maybe this is a turning point in sentiment: Kamala from “impossibly bad” in many minds, to “could be worse.” She would, anyway, have been constrained in some ways by Congress and SCOTUS, wretched as those institutions have become.
That leaves them with nothing to spend their dollars on except the houses we built for our descendants.
– **Pre-Export Activities**: Taxes on goods *before* they enter the “export stream” (e.g., income taxes on export-related revenue) are permitted .
Is that what they propose ? If indeed they try to implement an export tariff they will be struck down by the Supreme Court as there is ample precedent in previous cases.
“there is ample precedent in previous cases” is a red cape waved at the current SCOTUS bull.
I thought Republicans hated taxes, except when they don’t. Trump’s attitude to China is a little perplexing. He wants to raise tariffs, but is letting them have chips, they can keep tiktok. Seems they can wait out the tariffs but chips and tiktok play to the long game.
And ~ since Trump is sooooooo stupid, China can withhold the rare earths we need and render our sophisticated military helpless.
Elections have consequences!
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There aren’t any republicans anymore, only simps.
We need to nip this thing in the bud right now because if anyone believes the Democrats would repeal something that’s generating government revenue they are insane. The only thing that will happen is that the revenue will be redirected elsewhere when they are inevitably back in charge.
Nope, you lie in the filthy pig pen you wanted and deal with it. I still think Trump will eventually kick out all the legal immigrants too (after all they are “stealing” American’s jobs too) after he’s done with the illegal ones so plan your limited time in the USA wisely.
It is unfathomably cute that you think this revolutionary regime will ever willingly cede power.
Tim can you please explain to the class how you came to “Democrats are the problem” from the dictatoral conduct of the Republican you voted for? Just y’know, the logical steps you took to somehow avoid admitting this is beyond your stupid red vs blue football team political mentality.
I’m a Canadian living and working in the US so I can’t vote.
My post never said Democrats were the problem. It said we have to stop this illegal tax now because once implemented it won’t ever be stopped by either party because they are both addicted to tax revenue.
The reason for Randi Weingarten’s existence.
Yes, lets worry about the party not in power while the party in power is burning down the house….
Each President, in recent history, has pushed and blurred the boundaries of the rule of law (something I think only exists in the abstract to begin with). In some cases, voters cheer on these transgressions. Trump 2.0 is the natural result of this progression toward a full blown dictator.
The power to tax is the power to destroy. Welcome to the omnipotent US government. I suppose it was destiny.
Taco only surrounds himself with lackeys who do whatever the tells them to do and are as bad, if not worse than he is. This shady group has already violated more rules and regulations than all of the previous presidents have done in recent history.
Inappropriate trump after Beijing Biden the treasonous and others, is a welcomed change. Possibly for the better
What? We have a constitution? Who knew…
It was tucked inside My Pet Goat, upside down.