Trump sought a meeting with China, then backed down after no reply. 
Please note Trump Exempts Smartphones, Other Electronics From Chinese Tariffs
Smartphones, laptop computers, memory chips and other electronics will be exempt from President Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs, another step back that could ease some consumer concerns about an immediate jump in costs for tech products imported from China.
New guidance published late Friday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection also exempts machines used to create semiconductors, plus products including computer monitors, tablets, Apple watches and computers from the tariffs Trump imposed in his April 2 executive order, which mandated levies of 10% of the value of almost all U.S. imports, and set higher rates on imports from some countries. Trump later boosted the level of these reciprocal tariffs on China to 125%, and issued a 90-day pause on tariffs above 10% for other countries.
In all, 20 categories of products are affected. The biggest impact is on imports from China, because of the heights to which tariff rates had risen in recent days. In addition to the reciprocal tariffs, the Trump administration has imposed tariffs of 20% on Chinese imports over that nation’s role in the fentanyl trade, which the White House said aren’t subject to the exemptions.
Some analysts say the exemptions highlight the chaotic nature of Trump’s trade policy, adding that it is unrealistic to onshore manufacturing in many industries due to high labor costs and other factors. There are no substitutes for these products in the U.S. and price increases would be unpopular as consumers have been battered by high inflation in recent years.
Apple CEO Tim Cook personally donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration after the election, as did other tech companies and leaders including Meta along with Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos. Other American corporations also made donations. Cook won several tariff exemptions for Apple in the first Trump administration.
China Ignores Trump’s Request to Call
CNN reports Trump Is Waiting for Xi to Call. The Chinese See it Differently
As the rest of the world received a 90-day respite, Trump escalated tariffs on China, saying the US will now charge an extra 145% on all Chinese goods that arrive in the US. In response, Beijing ratcheted up its own tariffs on American goods Friday to 125%, and the country’s leader — who Trump is urgently working to engage — warned China was “not afraid” of a prolonged trade conflict.
In private discussions hours before China announced new retaliatory tariffs, the Trump administration warned Chinese officials against such a move, according to a source familiar with the discussions.
The Chinese were also told – once again – that Chinese President Xi Jinping should request a call with US President Donald Trump.
Instead, US officials woke up to news of increased Chinese tariffs and no request for a leader level call. Xi also made comments that only dug him in further.
“For over 70 years, China’s development has relied on self-reliance and hard work — never on handouts from others, and it is not afraid of any unjust suppression,” Xi said according to state broadcaster CCTV during his meeting with the Spanish prime minister.
Two senior White House officials tell CNN that the US will not reach out to China first. Trump has told his team that China must be the first to make the move, as the White House believes it is Beijing that has chosen to retaliate and further escalate the trade war.
That stance has been conveyed to Beijing for roughly two months, with Trump’s team clearly telling Chinese officials that Xi should request a call with Trump. But Beijing has repeatedly refused to arrange a leader-level phone call, according to three sources familiar with the official communications.
“The door to talks is open, but dialogue must be conducted on the basis of mutual respect and equality,” a spokesperson for the Chinese Commerce Ministry said Thursday. “If the US chooses confrontation, China will respond in kind. Pressure, threats, and blackmail are not the right ways to deal with China.”
“The Chinese in any case, are reluctant to put their leader in the position that Zelensky found himself in,” said Danny Russel, a former assistant secretary of State for East Asia and currently vice president of the Asian Society Policy Institute. “They want to ensure that some of the groundwork is laid for a meeting, and that there’s some ground rules established.”
Translation – Go to Hell
Despite China doing nothing but mock Trump, lookie here, Trump backs down.
How are you going to spin this, spin doctors?
This is the second back down by Trump. First he trashed his idiotic reciprocal tariffs except on China.
Then he upped tariffs on China. After China fired back, Trump decided that electronics from China are now exempt.
The EU, Canada, and Mexico should learn from this.
Related Posts
On April 9, I noted Trump Capitulates with a 90-Day Pause on Tariffs, DOW Jumps 2,200 Points
Trump has had enough of the stock market decline.
On April 10, I noted Trump Tariff Pause Ignites Another Mad Dash for Imports
Companies cancelled import orders from high-tariffed countries. Now they want those orders.
On April 11, I noted Tariff-Related Auto Price Increases Have Arrived, Will Get Much Worse
New Car Prices Are Ticking Up. Sales “Hangover” is Likely as Trade Wars Heat Up.
Also see 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.
My question today is “When does Trump back down from auto tariffs?”
The more important question is “Given that no company can plan for anything, just how stupid is this?”
Not So Fast: Lutnick Says Semiconductor Tariffs Coming “In Month Or Two”, Exemption Is Only “Temporary”
BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
zerohedge . com/markets/trump-exempts-computers-handsets-chips-reciprocal-tariff-blitz
The tv puke media releases their anti Trump phatogens, but he doesn’t care. He has 4 years to go, The dems might deflate the Dow for for Chuck. In Nov 2027 they might run out of ammunition.
Toothless Social is where trump posts his latest poorly thought out ideas.
Elections have consequences!
You can’t vote for the “Suspended Reality” candidate and then expect him to deal with the world effectively. WWF mentality is not a solution for our debt situation, deficit spending or inflation.
Our nation is falling fast and trump is accomplishing nothing but undermining our credibility. Call on your congressperson or senator to reign in this threat to democracy. Only 77 million voted for him the other 230 million did not!
How on earth is it tolerable that trump is allowed to threaten Canada or Greenland with attacks on their sovereignty?
Time will tell, but it seems that only TDX Type 2’s are supporting him. Even my hard core right wing sister-in-law is berating his mental status.
Cry harder Kamabala
– Toothless Social… > “Truth Social” was an APP launched by The President, because of the MSM / Leftist “Banning Him” for J6. It is actually followed by quite a large contingent of Followers.
– Elections have consequences. > Why Democrats are on the outside, and oddly still wondering why.
– Our nation is falling fast and trump is accomplishing nothing but undermining our credibility. > That’s why He is so damn Popular…
– Call on your congressperson or senator to reign in this threat to democracy.
> We did, and that’s Why He’s Here!
Who or what is collecting all this tariff money?
Customs and Border Protection which is part of Homeland Security. The money is passed directly to the Treasury.
And it can finance tax cuts for US taxpayers so they can afford even more crap from China. A real win win situation.
Of course the responsible position would be to start to pay off US debt.
AI says move your all your debt to the lowest interest credit card. rinse, repeat…
Before U.S. Tariffs, it was “Every Single Country” that Had A Tariff on the U.S. Now, it’s much closer to an equal playing field.
Show me the stats on that please. But you won’t. Because they don’t exist.
Here’s a stat for you.
The US has had a 25% tariff on imported pickup trucks since the mid 1960s.
And we have a 2.5% tariff on cars; now raised to 25%.
Japan has zero tariffs on cars and trucks.
So shouldn’t we remove our tariffs to be equal to Japan?
Are you a bloody fool? From our own Trade Representative (this one under Biden):
https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/2024%20NTE%20Report_1.pdf
Stop being the sheepdog of the MSM, and do your own research.
Trump temporarily exempted the Chinese high tech sector. The high tech sector employs millions of scientists, engineers, salespeople, bookkeepers, administration and corrupt bureaucrats, who rule with an iron fist, and millions of little ants. These bureaucrats control the large tech sector for Xi, besides a large number of them in the military (in the air force, navy, army, missiles force…). China youth unemployment is high. If Xi can’t do it and be more elastic Trump might increase his pressure by raising the effective rates from the current one, whatever it is, to a higher one. Trump’s ultimatum to increase tariffs can break China apart. If we get along, instead of fighting, possibly in WWIII, a thriving economy lift all people and make both the US and China stronger not weaker.
We just have to wait and see (this “battle” won’t last for long anyway). The “rugged self-sufficient libertarians” are practically proposing that we leave things as they are if the Chinese or Europeans disagree with any American proposal. We shouldn’t even ask Germany to pay their own NATO subscriptions, because that might upset them and shock the “completely non-corrupt temple of Wall Street”.
All of a sudden, deficits and debts are not an issue, DOGE should stop because it made a few errors and everyone else would do it better (but they never even tried), and “China and Europe have no problems, they’re doing fabulously, so we must cave“. Simps, everywhere.
PS. Notice that nobody in the comments proposes that China should retreat or that Europeans should retreat. Everyone in the comments wants only the US to retreat.
So it’s not an economic issue, it’s a mentality issue. Even Mish debates on the US errors, giving the impression that everyone else is right or that the current circumstances are perhaps impossible to change. It’s an unfair presentation.
I’m out.
Mish can calculate the effective rate better than anybody else but he decided not to do it.
Thank you! Appreciate your candor and perspective.
Retreat from what? Sanity?
Except there’s a guy named Eddy. And Eddy is quoting our Trade Representatives, Charlie Munger, investment bank research reports, and more (and getting tired of doing so).
retreat from what, agreements we negotiated??
Americans support pressuring others so the US does better, and most oppose the way he’s doing it. Just overnight raising tariff rates across the board to friend and foe is not the way to have done it.
this is the big leagues. Trump doesn’t get credit for pie-in-the-sky ideas, he has to come up with a realistic plan to achieve them and so far he hasn’t.
He’s like a kid throwing a tantrum because things suck. that’s not “winning”.
What should alarm everybody by now is the unusual behavior of the dollar exchange rate and the 10-year Treasury yield. In an advanced economy, we should not see a depreciation of the dollar AND an increase in the yield. This pattern is, however, familiar from emerging market economies before a financial crisis hits. In this case, Trump’s tariff stupidity may have undermined the credibility of both the dollar AND Treasuries, with some investors already heading for the exit. There is still time for Trump to reverse his tariff stupidity, but the longer he waits, the greater the risk of a financial calamity.
The Dollar has been excessively strong since 2015 . That strength was not due to good economic prospects but due to capital inflows tied to the terrible size of the trade deficit. The Dollar retreating from this high is good rather than bad.
If DX breaches the 2001 high and rise > 121, is it good for the France? The
Germans invaded PGH, built factories and bought every house.
Little has been good for France since Germany united under Bismarck.
This is not about the exchange rate in isolation. If long-term yields go up, the exchange rate should appreciate not depreciate … except if investors think they are dealing with a hopeless place like Argentina or Brazil.
Trump effective rate on China is down from 145% to about 50%. After a dead cat
bounce there will be no more Chinese junk in the stores. The junk is gone. empty shelves. Dead is dead, No inflation/deflation on dead junk, but u can get tp to clean your aszes.
DX is in a trading range since Feb 2023 testing Mar 2015. By mid year, after two years in accumulation, it might popup above 105.
Nope. Not down to 50%. Maybe down to 77%. We only import around $100 billion of electronics from China. So the tech oligarchs got their concerns fixed.
The remaining $340 billion in Chinese goods we import still have a 145% tariff. Most of that goes to small businesses in the US. I’m not sure if Trump will listen to their concerns.
Maybe he will listen to farmers. They can’t sell to China now because of the 125% reciprocal tariffs that China enacted in response.
By that, I mean 77% of 145%, or 111%.
In Canada, if the new elected PM will stop the current bs, the effective rate can rise.
He was installed, not elected
are we talking about biden who only won the NC primary and became president, or Trump who carried 52 states and Greenland?
Very democratic.
I’m not sure what you mean. How can anyone in Canada stop Trump’s bs?
The proof will come when Chinese junk in stores is replaced by American junk. Then we will see if Trump’s tariffs worked or not.
That is not going to happen. The US does not have the manufacturing capacity to produce the low cost items that China produces. Small businesses in the US are incredibly dependent on China. They literally have no other alternative.
If there is money in it someone will make it. Why do you think that no one will figure a way to make simple junk profitably especially if the Chinese junk supply is cut off behind a tariff wall? If China collapsed into the sea you believe that cheap junk would be gone forever because somehow only China knows how to make junk? Americans can make junk also and we have lots of examples of America producing junk. In truth American junk is bigger and better than Chinese junk. Did I just go off topic?
That’s not how the world works. There may be a lot of profit making junk for $1 and no profit making it for $5. If the Chinese can make it for $1, then you get lots of Chinese junk. If it can only be produced for $5 in the US, then you get no American junk. You can move junk production from China to Bangladesh, but then what’s the point?
its never what you make it for, its what you sell it for, that establishes your profit margin. if you don’t understand that, I really can’t beleive the rest of your advice..
And when Bangladesh becomes too rich to produce junk cheaply what is the world going to do? The world cannot survive without cheap junk according to you. Maybe we could junk the cheap junk and make higher quality stuff that lasts longer and works better. Americans are better at making stuff than junk in my opinion.
Sometimes a $1 chinese junk tool will do the trick. Other times a $50 American tool is the smart way to go. Americans should have the liberty to decide for themselves.
I assume you are disparaging your own auto industry, the US not France.
French cars are pretty much junk. German cars are a bit better but not by much. To get a decent car anywhere you have to pay up. Anyway every car has a way of breaking down exactly when you need it most.
Arent wages higher in America, so the junk won’t be as cheap, unless it can be made more efficiently? Will save on transport costs I suppose.
Personally, I can’t see it happening otherwise Americans would already be making the stuff.
China destroyed our junk product industry and once we lost the ability to make junk it had to be made in China. Now we still make stuff well so with high tariffs on junk we can concentrate on making stuff which is higher quality and lasts longer. Junk only became a habit because it was cheap. Use it a couple of times and throw it away. The epitome of junk is fast fashion which can exist only because it is cheap enough to use few times before it is no longer in fashion.
Yes, but most of the population can’t afford the dearer good stuff. IMO anyway
Americans’ standard of living will decline when they experience shortages.
At the midterms, people will vote for whoever offers an alternative to mindless, pointless deprivation.
Democrats said that when Reagan took office too. I remember. I was there.
That is the problem. There is no money in it for US manufacturers. So it won’t happen.
No deals are ever done in a straight line. Things are negotiated and concessions are made. Always. It appears as if Trump made an extreme ask knowing that it,would be whittled away over time. This type of negation is designed to make the other party accept a less extreme position while feeling like they dodged a bullet. This is a very common approach.
You can try put as much lipstick on Trump’s tariff pig as you want, it remains an extremely stupid economic policy idea.
thats rather short sighted, you haven’t even seen the finished policy or the outcome and yet you know everything always…
you’ll always fail to learn if you don’t wait for the predicate to reach its outcome.
Trump unloaded his bullets on China. If the corpse moves he’ll reload and do it again.
And somehow the magic bullets veered off and resulted in cancellation of tariffs on smartphones, computer, chips and other electronics!
Go figure!
Other parties are actually smart enough not to fall for this stupidity. They’ll just go toe to toe and watch the smaller man back down.
Trump can barely follow through a paragraph, much less a news cycle, without breaking his train of thought, or changing the plan. He is in over his head on details and complexities constantly, and won’t read a few pages of anything. THIS is the guy to carry off a grand redesign of the largest and most complex economy in history??? He is from central casting alright, but the last person to be properly cast for this. He’s a dreamer and a salesman.
and yet you are so much smarter and would make a better president? easy to criticize, and be smug, harder still to actually accomplish anything, let alone change world trade policies..
The internet has proved one thing to me, most of the world is insane or worse..
Just because you can’t keep up with the 5-D chess, don’t blame President Cheeto…King Trumpo!
I don’t blame anyone. I blame a lack of education on the greater part of the world combined with an I.Q. below room temperature, operating in an echo chamber of bots, ai and various government(s) propaganda machines.
The internet is a simulated reality meant to influence you into beleiving in a fantasy to bend you to support whatever they want you to support at the moment.
Its not a place to inhabit, its a place to inhabit you.
its like a bad dream, sometimes interesting to contemplate, but useless for anything other than diversion or to profit on the misery of others.
The electorate of the United States demands unreality, fronted with lurid political theater, from either political side, and it is getting it. For now, we are living in the shifting sands of Trump’s solipsistic fantasies. That is, until we bump hard enough into some reality or other. Meanwhile a few seem to be impinging on his risible “grand design,” which was incoherent to start with.
We’re going to really punish those Chinese, except of course for the products that we really want cheap.
Temu bros feasting
The way to defeat a bully is to stand up to them, not give in to them.
No that’s not the way. You get someone else to stand up to the bully while you hide behind a tree.
Bully are all bluff and sometimes tough, but a swift kick in the nuts works wonders!
“a swift kick in the nuts”
Must be a lefty…always advocating violence
if everyone else is a nazi, you are probably hitler. Their brains have a peculiar logic gate that always flips, when their emotional temperature rises above ambient. Can’t understand why most of america wouldn’t trust them to run a bake sale, let alone their government.
Or you ignore them
“The big takeaway from this year, from the Trump presidency, from everything that’s happened, is that there’s a rotation out of the U.S. And obviously that’s become vicious now — with bond yields staying high and the dollar falling, it’s become the story. But that exodus started well before Liberation Day. … U.S. is the bubble. U.S. All of it,” Marco Papic, BCA Research strategist, said Friday on “Squawk Box.”
always a soundbyte, for any moment of our lives. A carefully crafted thing of beauty that becomes worthless the moment the underlying premise crumbles like dust. yet more words in an inferno of vocabulary that does nothing to accomplish anything but fill time and seem noteworthy but is merely filling air time to sell more ads.
don’t seek edification on mass media, its a fool’s errand.
Doritos’ next move will be the traditional US move, the ultimate weapon of mass distraction from pathetic failure: war against a country that cannot shoot back.
Oh no….you can shoot back but if you do, we’ll level your entire city and kill all your unarmed women and children…or something to that effect. Oh wait…that’s a different country, my bad.
South Sudan?
I raise you Greenland! After all, the Danish sent all its artillery pieces to the Ukraine.
If you want to have fun with tariffs and favorable tax treatment of US pharmaceutical companies you should take a look at Ireland. Ireland is going to take a huge hit.
a huge hit on that shamrock shaped bong next to Irish Whiskey bottle thats nearly empty…
If he actually goes through with that.
The big pharma CEOs may have influence.
The public hates and distrusts big pharma now and if they ask Kennedy for a lifeline he will throw him an anchor.
Mish,
Can we get a summary of all the caving going on….it’s hard to keep up.
1. Trump caves on tariffs, sorry MAGA golden age, you’ve been sidelined.
2. Trump caves on deporting illegal immigrants, they can stay and work on farms, hotels and for whoever else complains about not having cheap slave labor.
3. Trump caves on debt by having his GOP raise the debt ceiling $4 trillion.
4. Trump caves on DOGE, Musk is a hood ornament now and not much of anything else.
5. Trump caves on winning (for reference see #1 thru #4 above).
Next up, MAGA caves on Trump.
Whoops….
Mass layoffs can proceed for now
On Thursday night, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., denied a request from labor unions for a temporary restraining order barring mass layoffs of probationary workers and other federal employees. The White House is aiming to cut up to 10% of the federal workforce and began by focusing on probationary workers — recent hires or sometimes longtime employees who were recently moved into new positions — before moving on to additional cuts.
Judge lifts order that protected USAID workers
The federal judge in Washington, D.C. who previously paused a deadline to strip down the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, to a few hundred employees lifted his temporary restraining order Friday.
DOGE racks up some wins…DOGE prevailed in two cases seeking to curtail its powers.
On Tuesday, a judge in D.C. denied a student group’s request for an order blocking DOGE staffers from getting access to sensitive data systems at the Department of Education, finding the group didn’t show “it will likely suffer irreparable harm.”
etc, etc, etc….
Whoops what JayW? I thought you weren’t going to read my comments anymore?
But OMG DOGE wins a couple of court cases and saves $100 billion out of $40 trillion….yeah that’s winning!
You want to win, get DOGE and Trump to cut social security and medicare. Without that there is ZERO win. ZERO! I guarantee you I’ll praise trump if that happens but barring that, it’s all a joke.
Trump will NEVER cut social security or Medicare. This is political suicide for anyone that votes for this.
its all chaos and fear all the time., welcome to the internet. You can’t live without it, until you can.
I come here for insanity and I leave for the same reason. It makes me appreciate reality..
And China was going to cave too. Remember.
Put the crystal ball away.
Who’s JayW?
The Federal workforce hasn’t grown much in the last 25 years. Instead of adding to it as the population grew the government just contracted out more and more of the work out to companies, thinktanks, NGOs and whatnot who were very well connected and very often excessively renumerated with multiyear contracts to do things that were either useless or even senseless. Cutting the Federal workforce itself will save about $250 billion a year which is good but the real savings will come from the cutting off and out the contracted out money. The real savings will come from that. Together a trillion dollars off the budget is possible.
Plus contract workers
5. Federal employees only one-third of federal workforceEmployees of private companies working under government contracts now outnumber federal employees, and they have outnumbered employees by more than a 2-to-1 margin dating back to the 1980s.
Though there were just over 2 million federal employees in 2015, there were just under 5.3 million people working on contracts and grants, according to a paper by Paul Light, a professor at New York University.
usatoday . com/story/news/politics/2025/03/05/what-to-know-federal-workers-contractors-layoffs/79341834007/
Think Dick Cheney and his plans to privitize military logistics while working for the pentagon, and recommending Haliburton for the job, then leaving the pentagon to work for Haliburton and getting millions for building the cash pipeline from the pentagon to Haliburton.
Classic shit and nobody stopped him in Congress or the Judiciary or Executive, its seems they all compliment each other on accelerating corruption, rather than balancing or weeding it out.
MAGA suffers from TDS II. They will never give up on Trump. Only the free thinkers who voted for Trump will eventually give up on him.
i don’t think your circular logic does anything except self destruct. I can’t really criticize anything you wrote as anyone who can think like that probably wouldn’t understand anything anyhow.
The alternative was Kamala.
At least with Ms. Harris, you’d still be able to buy shoelaces….. you shortly may not be able to – they’re made in China.
More liberal tears please…I’m almost out of the 5 million gallons I collected on Nov 5th
China just assembles iPhones. They don’t make them. The high value components are made by the US, Taiwan, Korea and Japan. China captures only 2.5% of the value chain because they assemble and not manufacture. Trump’s move is for Taiwan, Korea and Japan and not for China. Those countries capture about 14% of the value chain. Raw materials are 22% and Apple gets 58%. A look at how iPhones are made, who builds them and who has margins would quickly lead you to this conclusion. Trump is negotiating with Taiwan, Korea and Japan here and not China. The same goes with most of the other electronic equipment. Taking tariffs off of these do not help China much. The low and some of the middle end is where China’s margins are and they are non-electronic. The tariffs hurt them there.
Thanks for this great post. I wish that others could put their political agenda aside and write posts like this.
Thanks. I appreciate your comment.
So we should never expect iPhones to be made in the US? What’s the point of the tariffs then?
That depends on Apple. If you can automate the assembly process, and it looks increasing possible to do so, then Apple could make them here.
Sure, big if though.
Thank you. Appreciate the wisdom. Please keep injecting your thoughts into this arena. There appears to be too much pablum here, and you seem to be the voice of reason and knowledge. Great education. Thank you
More 5-D chess from the Golden Golem of Greatness.
I’ll never get tired of all this winning!
He got’em right where he wants them.
Status on: no tax on tips? no tax on overtime? no tax on social security?
Hello? Mr. El Presidente…..Hello?
oh, I forgot to add those to my list…..
Imagine the money you could save if your boss paid you not a salary but only a big tip at the end of each day!
The obvious next steps are a further set of climb downs, (presented at wins). However, the slower these are, the greater the risk of a banking crisis (Mish – very interested in the sensitivity of the US to the state of small banks and shadow banking if you could do an article). Whilst a banking crash would be pretty catastrophic for normal people, maybe the bigger worry is the “emergency” measures that Trump could put in place as a result. Ministry of Truth anyone?
trump is a wussy his money backers must have given him an earful.
Donald Jesus Trump celebrates Easter and discusses tariffs and the stock market
SNL Cold Open 4/12/25
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpvIfPmdXMU
It wasn’t Trump that backed down per’se. It was the whiney little bitch Billionaires (hedge funds) and Tech Oligarch crying to Trump..
PLEASE PLEASE… (suckkk suckkk snivel) BEGGING HIM.
hence the wussy don the old had to stop pretending he is a tough guy. lol
So you’re saying trump is an impotent figurehead. I’m shocked! shocked! to hear that.
an impotent figure head that makes the democrat party tremble and waste their donations on paid posters to blogs like this and reddit,et al.
An impotent figure who holds all the daily headlines, the daily news stories, most of the content of this very blog is about Trump or Trump’s policies.
He is changing your world daily. Remapping your reality, making you live in a world of reaction rather than action.
Yet he is impotent.
One of us is blind…
It’s infinity-level chess.
Chinese slaughter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BXmscj_qRw
don old has no idea what chess is let alone checkers.
Trump folded like cheap Chinese chair.
MAGAs exhilarated, 7D chess, “stable genius” at play……
Honestly what China did is absolutely correct way of handling narcissist, never back down as he will only demand more. Basic psychology book will tell you same
This best way for other countries to respond to Trump is to not respond at all. The guy is an attention whore, and he will come begging for their attention.
But this is Trump’s ordinary style (hit for 100 to get at least 60).
I do not see anything unusual in this style of negotiations.
Whether it works at the end, we’ll see.
Yes. Nothing unusual here. Attempt to bully every country in the world with huge tariffs (other than Russia), and hope they will come negotiate a trade deal that favors the US.
So far he’s batting .000.
But he’s up at the plate again. He’s wagging his finger at the pitcher, saying how he’s about to hit the next pitch out of the park. His supporters in the dugout are cheering and screaming.
Here comes the pitch. Oh my, it’s a batting practice fastball, right down the middle of the plate.
And Trump does what he always does. He runs back to the dugout saying he has a sore thumb. So he sucks his thumb to make it feel better.
And his supporters in the dugout cheer again. What a brilliant strategy to scare that pitcher.
Another Rhett Butler quote:
“I don’t invest in lost causes, Scarlett. I invest in winners—or at least in those smart enough to come out on top when the dust settles.”
Rhett took all his money and invested in the Union, he knew the confederate yokels in the south were all losers.
His money was in British banks that rolled them into investments in the US and other places but he didn’t invest in the South at all.
Rhett was born and died in
Margaret Mitchell’s mind.
Rhett was fiction, if we find ourselves arguing over the merits of a fictious characters investment and life habits, we may have lost touch with reality.
The author of “Gone with the Wind” is Margaret Mitchell. She published the novel in 1936 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937.
I accused PapaDave as being like Rhett Butler and he took it as a compliment so now I occasionally throw out a quote from the fictional character. I hope to be able to accuse someone of acting like like Natty Bumppo for some more quotes.
life is difficult enough to understand if we deal with the words and actions of actual people.
when we invest our time in fantasy’s about the the thoughts of fictious characters, we have entered the lost world where nothing matters, nothing is real, nothing can be usefully gleaned from materials based on untruths.
the difference between fiction and fact is fiction has to make sense.
if we forget that we are lost.
“The Danes’ great lord and keeper of their ring-hoard / would sit at the feast, and songs would be sung; / there was harp’s bright sound, the poet’s clear voice, / who told from the start how the Danes’ home was made”
From Beowulf
The problem with Trumps approach is he’s not just negotiating tough, he’s downright destroying Century long relationships. Take Canada as an example, he could have targeted the industries that he felt Canada was unfairly subsidizing or protecting but instead he came in swinging a Tarriff sledgehammer, piling on a 25% Tariff on everything that would or will have a devastating effect economically crushing our Country. Totally unprovoked, totally unjustified with a Bull Shit fentanyl excuse to justify it. It is economic Warfare, and the perception by many Canadians is he’s trying to destroy our Nation. Basically ripping up the Trade agreement he negotiated, his Trade agreements from this point on are meaningless, he can rip them up based on any feeble reason he comes up with.
Instead of approaching Canada like a neighbour, a friend and very large Trading partner he came in as a complete Arrogant Bully. Calling Canada the 51st State, mockingly calling Trudeau, a head of a Country, a governor of the 51st State. Than arrogantly stating over and over again how America doesn’t need Canada, Canada has nothing America needs than in the same breath declaring his desire to make Canada the 51st State. What an arrogant Prick and I say this as a Conservative would be Republican voter. There is no question he has really damaged the relationship with Canada and most likely many Countries around the World. I think allot of Amercans will notice that when they Travel overseas, probably allot cooler receptions.
Agree. Well said.
He has also screwed over the Conservatives in Canada’s election who went from a 27 point lead to a 7 point deficit; basically handing the election to the Liberals, who were smart enough to run against Trump rather than against Poilievre.
Yes, very True, it’s frustrating beyond words as a Canadian Conservative who has lived under Trudeau for the last Decade. We were seeing the Light at the end of the Tunnel and now it’s possibly gone all thanks to Trumps never ending ( until recently because somebody probably told him he’s electing Carney) attacking Canada rhetoric and Tariffs, Carney is running against Trump and it’s working, even among some Conservatives who are mad as Hell at Trump and probably not thinking clearly. Instead of Canada (and America) getting a Prime Minister who is a Pro Oil, Pro Pipeline and Mining, anti Carbon Tax etc in Poilievre we may get an uber Globalist, Net Zero Champion and probably anti-American and pro EU, WEF etc Carney. Some say he is 2X worse than Trudeau and his agenda is all UN driven.
It was also wrong for me to refer to Trump as “negotiating”, when you slap a minimum of 10% PLUS tariffs across the board on all Nations than invite them to the table to “negotiate” a “New” trade deal how can you negotiate anything? The US can crush any Country economically, he knows it and they know it and starting a “negotiation” with a huge tariff against your Nation unless you give Trump what he wants is just plain extortion. This is exactly why he hit every Country on the Planet with these Tariffs, he will get what he wants, declare it a “Great Victory” and skilful deal making but in the process damage many what were formerly close relationships that will probably cool considerably.
As an example I was watching some Australian news broadcasts, they were shocked and hurt that Trump didn’t carve out Australian Aluminum Tariffs, questioning their friendship with America etc. This is one Country very angry at the US even though they got hit minimally compared to Canada, the EU and many other Countries who got absolutely pounded on everything across the board. If Trump had targeted the areas in each Country that does unfairly keep out American goods and hit those areas specifically with Tariffs, nobody could rightfully complain. But for him to hit the entire export Sectors of all Countries with blanket Tariffs, that’s just outright Bullying and extortion.
it not really Trump’s job, to run Canada. Its actually your job.
Unless you want Trump to run Canada, he made an offer….
Correct. Canada is a sovereign nation. But Trump has inserted himself into the minds of Canadians by constantly insulting and belittling them. Calling them the 51st state. Calling their Prime Minister “Governor” of the great state of Canada. He broke his trade agreement with Canada and has talked about taking back the auto industry that they “stole” from the US. And yes, he has offered to take them over.
He has pissed off Canadians. He has changed the outcome of the Canadian election. And Canadians are now boycotting US products and US travel.
It is fascinating to watch this all play out.
it is often good, when life has handed you a difficult hand to play, to have someone else to blame, but it rarely helps you to solve your problem.
The Canadians and the Democrats both must learn this lesson, but the entire world seems to have ADHD.
They can but contemplate the current moment and simmer in anger. It leads to little but cooking oneself from the inside out.
Lol! Trump is the King of Blame. It’s all he does. Maybe if you could just get your head out of his ass, you might recognize that. Too funny!
He certainly has done the Liberals a favor by blaming Canada for ripping off the US.
They will have to send him a Thank You card.
Polievre has boxed himself into a corner. He can’t run against Trump because it would alienate a significant chunk of his base, who are Trump supporters. He even uses the same catch phrases as Trump to reinforce their support.
His entire campaign (for the last year) has been to run anti-liberal commercials. Which worked and got him to 40% support; enough for a majority in normal circumstances.
But Trump changed everything.
The Liberals dumped Trudeau and inserted Carney. And he is smart enough to run against Trump and consolidate Canadian anger against the US. The Liberals went from 11% to 45%; taking support from every other party in Canada.
The Conservatives only dropped 3%, and still have very strong support, but if the election was held today, the Liberals would win. Again.
Regarding Trump. To him, winning means making the other guy lose. It’s never a win-win type of thing that all trade agreements are based on. He isn’t satisfied with the US gaining 5% and Canada gaining 3% from a deal. He is happier if the US loses 2% while Canada loses 10%.
Which is why there isn’t much point negotiating anything with him.
If the Conservatives lose the election they have only themselves to blame for falling into the Liberal’s trap.
What trap is that? The “we all hate Trump” trap?
The Liberals made the Conservatives use their game play and since it is theirs the Liberals controlled the narrative.
Wait. What?
WTF does that even mean?
The Conservatives have had the same strategy for 2 years. So you are trying to tell me that the Liberals knew 2 years ago that Trump would be elected, Trudeau would resign, Carney would step in, and take advantage of a groundswell of national pride to fight the Orange Monster?
And the Conservatives fell into the trap 2 years ago.
Wow! Whatever sh*t you’re taking has you hallucinating.
his arrogance that he is some sort of paragon at negotiating is another lie he pushes. the business school failure listens to his ear whisperers and has not one iota of knowledge. claiming “everyone ” takes advantage of the u.s. is such a fairy tale only his cult believes it . the uneducated.
democrat logic and talking point #1.
everyone I disagree with is an ignorant nazi.
This will take you far in the Democrat party, but not in real life…
Though one can say the same thing about Europeans (“they’re destroying relationships”) when they were calling all Americans stupid in 2016 when Trump 1.0 was elected. Or when they were mocking him when he was saying that the Germans are too dependent on Russia’s cheap gas (maybe Biden didn’t like this, so he blow up their pipeline – and now their industrial base is in crisis mode). And they’re still not paying their NATO subscription.
I agree that he’s not a tactful politician at all. But if his plan even partially works at the end, even to a point “closer to parity” (or whatever he calls it), a lot of Financial Blogs, Financial YouTubers, Newspapers etc. will lose credibility, for having such extreme positions right now. We’ve already seen Hollywood, News outlets, and half the Democrat party self-destroyed by taking premature extreme positions.
his “style” is bullying that never works.
China exports 3.5 times as much to the US as the US does to China. China’s economy is far sicker than the US’s economy. Trump can call his bluff. Rare earths aside, maybe he should. China lies, cheats, and steals in all its dealings with the US. It breaks every promise it makes. It is a soul-sucking totalitarian slave state. Not selling to the US might be the straw that facilitates the Chinese breaking their chains.
Hi Brutus. A few questions for you:
1. What statistics tell you that China’s economy is “far sicker” than the US? Or did you just make that up?
2. What promises has China broken? Be specific please. Or is that just another thing you “think” is true?
3. Are you aware that Trump has broken his own USMCA trade deal that he was so proud of?
4. What bluff is China making exactly?
5. If Trump can call this supposed “bluff”, then why does he keep backing down? And why does he keep begging Xi to call him and negotiate? And why is Xi not calling Trump?
Looking forward to your detailed reply. Thanks in advance.
The Chinese bluff is the Chinese can find a non-US market that replaces the US. There is no replacement. Africa? Asia? South America? Nope. The Chinese require access to US markets or their military will be forced to repress unemployed workers in the streets. All questions you asked fall to the side. At a minimum, the Chinese economy shrinks without a trade deal with the US. At worse, the riots begin. At best, the Communist faults are seen and the communists are replaced.
china is not communist any longer. unlike the u.s. kakistocracy.
Nope. You have it backwards.
It is the US that is dependent on China for $440 billion of goods that cannot be easily sourced elsewhere. Whereas China can get easily their soybeans, oil and LNG that we sell them from elsewhere.
Which means they hold all the cards. And it is the US that is bluffing.
So China is sitting at the poker table with a full house and the US has squat. The US makes a bluff. China calls. They don’t even bother to raise. And the US folds without even showing their cards.
That is what just happened with electronics. The US has no alternative. So the US bluffed and lost.
Why else do you think all those tech execs made the pilgrimage to the White House recently? It was to tell Trump that they have no alternative to China.
Too bad the tens of thousands of small businesses can’t do the same thing. Or maybe the little business people can find a way to Trump’s ear as well.
And maybe the farm lobby will squeal loud enough to be heard.
You got this one completely wrong Astroboy.
Now, how about you answer the rest of my questions.
brutus must be a cult member that fell for don old’s lies.
Trump waves the Bible in the air as he boasts about stealing oil from Syria and his Bible-waving followers cheer their cult leader. The USA has helped demolish Gaza while China has pledged to rebuild it, which is the usual pattern. Look at north Africa. The USA demolished Libya while the Chinese have built Nairobi, Kenya into a city that looks better than a lot of American cities. In the Middle East, the USA helped destroy Syria and Lebanon and was the main demolisher of Iraq and threatens to demolish Iran. Meanwhile, China has been one of the busiest builders of infrastructure and buildings in the region.
Seems like a win/win for the US. Collect lots of money on tariffs or expand US interest as trade barriers fall.
Lol! We won’t collect much if Trump keeps backing down on tariffs before they even take effect. And if he backs down so quickly, our trading partners don’t have to even negotiate. They just need to wait Trump out since they know he is bluffing.
Americans can’t stand eggs for $8 a dozen; why did Trump think they can stand an iPhone 16 for $1,500 and more?
Earlier this week, I bought 2 dozen organic eggs for only $8.99 at Costco. Many Americans are too stupid to buy less expensive smart phones when they can’t even make use of 90% of the features on an expensive iPhone.
I’ve never been a fan of iphones. Nice phones, but meant for rookies. I’m a Samsung guy, more bang for your buck, especially if you buy refurbished.
I made my own phone out of particle board and an old Nintendo 16.
Two tin cans and a hollow wire.
same, but i went wireless. almost zero scammers calls now, and the texting is bliss…
They are nice but pricey and not really worth it. What I dislike very much is the Apple ecosystem. I have noticed many Apple users have a hard time leaving the system even when they are motivated to do so. They are locked in. Android is much more flexible.
The iPhone was never going to be $1500 dollars. This deal is far from over. So many are acting as if these tariffs will last forever. They won’t. We are witnessing a process where the end game will look nothing like it does now. Be patient.
Apple sales will significantly decline regardless of tariffs. Many people can’t afford to pay $500 for a new iPhone. They are maxed out on credit cards, can’t afford a $500 emergency and their credit scores have dropped.
most people are programmed not to consider the price of their desires, but rather the monthly payment for the yoke of debt they gladly push their heads into.
a 3,000$ iphone or a 1,500$ iphone will have the same monthly payment for those inclined to buy now, pay later. as the attraction of shiny things will never diminish in the hearts and minds of the mal-educated consumers.
what price social status in the eyes of their like wise dim witted peers?
I personally, rarely have an Iphone for breakfast, I find they make terrible omelets.
Albert, surely even you can find the holes in your logic. How many Iphones does one purchase in a year, vs how many eggs?
its like comparing eggs and iphones, oh wait it is, exactly that.
Sound and fury signifying nothing except that Trump doesn’t have a plan but only demands that he will drop the instant they become inconvenient.
Now let’s see if China makes any kind of gesture in return.
Trump’s tariffs of 145% on other items that US businesses buy from China still exist. This will hurt US small businesses in particular that rely on China for so many products.
And China’s tariffs of 125% on all US imports still exist. This will hurt American farmers, oil and LNG producers who export a lot to China.
What a show!
Invading Taiwan would be interesting.
stupid you mean.
trump and his tariffs is dragging the economy into depression. lets see him suffer
I keep saying that I hope he keeps tariffs as long as possible to see what happens. It’s a real world economics
Experiment that we need to learn from.
The big corporations will do fine with such exemptions. After all, the oligarchs that visit the White House often make many of the exempted products. As for the small and medium US businesses who use Chinese suppliers, they should pony up a few billions for the next presidential campaigns if they want to survive. That is, they won’t.
Trump won’t listen to the little people. He only listens to the powerful and wealthy.
you must spend a great deal of your own life and personal time contemplating President Trump to understand him so well.
Nah. I leave that for groupies like you. And based on your comments here I bet you would enjoy licking his asshole.
I’m just interested in his economic experiment.
What a show!
Or they could just vote.
How has voting effected the tariffs in the last decade?
Im not a fan of China in any way but I sincerely hope they don’t fold, time to stand up to tantrum man, no ass kissing from Beijing.
China has the advantage. No reason to even negotiate with Trump unless he keeps begging and offering concessions. Leave the ass kissing to groupies like Gwako.
This happens when a bully (Trump) meets a real bully (Xi).
The little dog that yaps confronted the bigger, quieter dog. That never ends well.
trump is out of his league in everything.
The capitulator in chief. More to come as this is what the market expects.
Trump is a paper tiger. He’s pathetically inept when it comes to trade. He thinks the U.S. holds all of the critical negotiating cards when we don’t. The U.S. is an empire in decline. What little soft power the US still had before Trump took office has been spent by this buffoon. The world now knows that they can simply refuse to negotiate; wait days or hours; and Trump will cave.
There may be a case for tariffs to protect certain industries (auto? agriculture?) and supply chains (computers?). But in the current US of A, ever panic-stricken, I’m not seeing much examination of the underlying problem: The workshop of the world turned into an empire, and now it has to import its own garlic and drinking glasses.
Sadly, the US economy has evolved into an oligarch-friendly, monopolistic, rent-extraction, cronyistic, rendering it uncompetitive outside areas like finance, DOD, construction, lawyering and doctoring, high-end biopharmaceuticals and devices, etc.
So how are these tariffs going to pay for the tax cuts and trillion $ defense budget????
Who says the tariff cancellations have to be paid for? You may recall that when the US invaded Iraq in 2003, it also gave stockholders a generous dividend tax cut. As far as I can tell, most of the dividend tax cut is still in place and the national debt is at an all time high.
they won’t. the u.s. will become isolated.
an how would that be a bad thing, all things considered, most of the international world is a shit show of demented theatrics.
To turn inward and build the best possible nation is not at all a bad thing.
We have the luxury of the geography, the resources and intelligence, if we can but find the will and backbone we once had…
Yet another reason why the president shouldn’t be allowed to just create tariffs unilaterally. Now they can change every week over random reasons. Who will want to invest a billion dollars in a factory when your protection could disappear next Saturday?
Who would invest? Every business that wants to be outside the tariff wars. COVID showed the cracks in globalization. Trump is accelerating the dismantling of globalization. Some will exist but with redundancy which means higher costs.
trump is a wannabe globalist that the globalists despise and want no part of.
Sigh!…..still waiting for that call.
Regarding the electronics – I think Trump is worried about losing voters over that (he would).
Hahahaha!
So much for 145% tariffs on $100 billion of Chinese electronics imports.
And all Xi had to do was laugh in Trump’s face.
I agree Mish. Next up, Trump will likely back down on auto tariffs. He already delayed the tariffs on auto parts till May 3 as well.
breaking TOOTH SOCIAL (Donald Trump, President For LIfe)
” Due to China’s disrespect of our citizens, All Listed Imports From A To Z, are now officially under full tariff rates. Thank you for your attention.”
“UPDATE: excepting those Imports that start with a number or letter of the alphabet, which will be exempt from tariffs. We’re Making America Greater Again!”
“UPDATE: If a product important to you is not exempted, please push the ‘Request Exemption’ Button. Thank you for your atention!”
Funny!
Perhaps Toothless Social?
Trump is such an embarrassment. Even Musk is distancing himself