The tariffs vary by country and are as high as 40 percent.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt holds a letter to South Korean President Lee Jae-myung.
She seems very pleased over blatant economic stupidity.
Tariffs Up to 40 Percent
CNN Reports Trump announces new tariffs of up to 40% on a growing number of countries
Those “reciprocal” tariffs were expected to go into effect Wednesday. In some cases, the letters Trump sent specify new “reciprocal” tariff rates that are higher or lower compared to April levels.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korea’s President Lee Jae-myung were the first recipients of Trump’s letters.
Both countries will face a 25% tariff come August 1, Trump said in posts on Truth Social displaying the letters, potentially giving countries more time to negotiate deals. Around two hours later, he announced similar letters were sent to Malaysia, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Myanmar and Laos, informing their leaders of new tariff rates as high as 40%.
Even more letters could be coming: Trump is set to announce “approximately 12 of these letters” on Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at a news briefing. The letters will be announced via social media posts from the president, she said, but declined to preview which countries would be named.
“Please understand that the 25% number is far less than what is needed to eliminate the Trade Deficit disparity we have with your Country,” Trump says in both letters.
“There will be no tariff” if South Korea or Japan or “companies within your Country, decide to build or manufacture product within the United States and, in fact, we will do everything possible to get approvals quickly, professionally, and routinely-In other words, in a matter of weeks,” Trump said in his letters.
He also threatened to raise tariffs higher than 25% if South Korea or Japan retaliated against the United States with tariffs of their own.
Letter to South Korea
Postponed Until August 1
NBC News reports Trump to extend key tariff deadline to August 1 as he threatens new duties of up to 40% on certain countries
The trade war chaos that engulfed the early months of President Donald Trump’s second term looked set to return Monday as he threatened two major U.S. trading partners with higher duties — while a key negotiating deadline was pushed back.
Shortly after noon Monday, Trump published two letters addressed to Japan and South Korea threatening them with 25% duties, with higher ones for items deemed to have been transshipped through their countries.
Markets had already opened the week lower after mixed messaging over the past 72 hours from White House officials about the importance of a July 9 deadline Trump set in April after relenting on imposing the eye-watering country-by-country tariff levels he’d announced one week prior.
After the two letters went live on Truth Social, markets briefly took another leg lower, with the broad S&P 500 stock index falling as much as 1%.
During her regularly scheduled press conference Monday afternoon, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump would sign an executive order extending the July 9 deadline to August 1.
It represents a return to the back and forth, on-again, off-again state of affairs that prevailed leading up to, and shortly after, Trump’s April 2 speech announcing extreme import duties on dozens of nations. The moment led to one of the worst market sell-offs on record. During some particularly chaotic moments, Trump changed tariff levels in the span of a few hours.
Heading into this week, the ground already looked set for the July 9 deadline to lose its significance. Asked Friday whether the U.S. would be flexible with any countries about the July 9 deadline, Trump said, “Not really.”
He continued: “They’ll start to pay on Aug. 1. The money will start to come into the United States on Aug. 1, OK, in pretty much all cases.”
Seven Letters
Politico reports Trump sends tariff letters to Japan, South Korea, five other countries, extending deadline to Aug. 1
In one-and-a-half page form letters posted to Truth Social Monday, Trump threatened Japan and South Korea, two of the U.S.’s largest trading partners, with 25 percent tariffs, a rate that roughly matches the initial “reciprocal” tariffs Trump briefly imposed on the two countries in April. Other letters went out to a grab-bag of countries — Myanmar, which is in the midst of a civil war; South Africa, the U.S. largest trading partner on the African continent; the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan; and Southeast Asian countries Malaysia and Laos — threatening tariffs ranging from 25 to 40 percent.
“We invite you to participate in the extraordinary Economy of the United States, the Number One Market in the World, by far,” the president wrote in the letters.
A White House official, granted anonymity to discuss strategy, said administration officials believe they “haven’t received meaningful engagement from” the countries that received letters Monday.
Trump said the tariffs on each country would be separate from any “sectoral” tariffs that he imposes. That appears to refer to the duties that he has already imposed on autos, auto parts, steel and aluminum under Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act, which gives the president broad authority to restrict imports to protect national security.
Both Japan and South Korea are large auto and steel exporters to the United States, and have been looking for relief from those duties. In addition, Trump is threatening to impose additional Section 232 tariffs on seven other sectors, including pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, copper, aircraft and jet engines, lumber, trucks and critical minerals.
Both Japan and South Korea are large auto and steel exporters to the United States, and have been looking for relief from those duties. In addition, Trump is threatening to impose additional Section 232 tariffs on seven other sectors, including pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, copper, aircraft and jet engines, lumber, trucks and critical minerals.
Asked about those investigations on Monday, Leavitt said she had no update on when any new tariffs would be announced.
“They will take the letters seriously, because they have taken the president seriously,” Leavitt said, when asked whether countries would be less likely to engage with Trump given the repeated shifts in his negotiating deadlines.
No Engagement
There’s been no engagement because it is pointless to engage with a tariff madman who will not honor does he makes.
The best recourse as I stated in February is to pretend engagement.
Make a few concessions knowing they won’t be enough.
Please recall my April 25 post Trump Tells Time Magazine He Has Made 200 Deals Already, Refused to Name Any
Time Magazine Snip
Your trade adviser, Peter Navarro, says 90 deals in 90 days is possible. We’re now 13 days into the point from when you lifted the reciprocal, the discounted reciprocal tariffs. There’s zero deals so far. Why is that?
No, there’s many deals.
When are they going to be announced?
You have to understand, I’m dealing with all the companies, very friendly countries. We’re meeting with China. We’re doing fine with everybody. But ultimately, I’ve made all the deals.
Not one has been announced yet. When are you going to announce them?
I’ve made 200 deals.
You’ve made 200 deals?
100%.
Can you share with whom?
Because the deal is a deal that I choose. View it differently: We are a department store, and we set the price. I meet with the companies, and then I set a fair price, what I consider to be a fair price, and they can pay it, or they don’t have to pay it.
I’m just curious, why don’t you announce these deals that you’ve solidified?
I would say, over the next three to four weeks, and we’re finished, by the way.
You’re finished?
We’ll be finished.
For months Bessent bragged about the “great offers” that were pouring in.
It was a lie. There weren’t any.
Tariff Madness Returns
US Consumers and small businesses will bear the brunt of Trump’s tariffs starting July 9 August 1 unless Trump delays again.
Stocks are about 1 percent lower, not much after an impressive rally to new records highs.
The reaction in the bond market is more telling.
The 30-year long bond yield is up 7 basis to 4.92 percent. The 10-year note yields is up 7 basis points to 4.38 percent.
Related Posts
May 23, 2025: “Talks Going Nowhere”, Trump Threatens EU with a 50 Percent Tariff in June
What happened to Trump’s claim “200 deals already”?
July 5, 2025: Treasury Yield No Man’s Land, Are Bond Yields Headed Up or Down?
What’s your timeframe? And what will Trump do?
June 5, 2025: Two-TACO Trump Day on His Call to Xi Over Rare Earth Elements
Trump is hyping up his call with China’s Xi. But chalk up 2 more TACOs.
Trump cannot bully China as easily as he can everyone else because China holds rare earth cards that nobody else has, and the US needs.
The best way to deal with Trump now is call his bluff. When a global recession hits, Trump will back down.
Here’s the problem with across the board tariffs in the US: our economy is highly concentrated. Almost every manufacturing sector has very few competitors. Tariffs just reduce the level of competition even more. Over time, the companies will become more bloated, less profitable, and less able to compete in world markets. In a couple of decades, the rest of the world will be highly competitive with growing standards of living. The USA will slowly become a backwater, the next Spain.
I’m not saying tariffs are bad. Highly targeted tariffs that attempt to drive specific highly engineered products to be manufactured in the US can be a good thing, with government support to build out the necessary infrastructure. But across the board tariffs are complete idiocy. That added level of complexity is what Trump just isn’t bright enough to understand.
TACO is imploring that other countries will call him to make a trade deal. Can it be more pathetic? Yes, just wait. Never underestimate TACO.
Trump gets out of bed soaked in his own pee and angrily yells:
Do you get a rise out of being so ugly?
Do you get a rise out of Trump steaming the USS USA at full speed into the iceberg?
There’s a big difference in how I word my comments vs Frosty.
Thanks for the nothingburger reply.
When the recession hits and inventory levels of our most sophisticated weapons systems hit shocking lows, we will see Trump’s policies in the glaring light of failure.
The “World economy” is developing fast and creating more and more demand for the product that was formerly exported to the U.S.
Sure, imbalances in inventories formerly bound for the U.S will be stranded over seas, but the entire “just in time” vulnerability of our economy is rearing its ugly head just as it did during Trumps Covid nightmare.
Russian & Iranian oil and gas are now flooding energy markets across the world and displacing U.S. exports. Domestic drilling Rig Counts have fallen ten weeks in a row as the price of casing pipe has rocketed upward and in some cases supplies have been disrupted as importers have balked at shipping to the U.S. because they could not rely on what the tariff would be upon the products arrival.
For all his chest-pounding lowland gorilla posturing, Trump surely is costing Americans their security and peaceful homeland.
We now have troops in the streets and a bloated, broken budget that insures fiscal irresponsibility as far as the eye can see and a currency crisis is on the horizon as Japan has now been encouraged to sell U.S. debt right when we need them as buyers.
Who is Trump working for?
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“Who is Trump working for?”
Trump.
I am quite happy with the way it is going. If they do not want to negotiate in good faith then they will have the high tariffs on their products. It does not matter to us if they do or if they don’t.
They? Tariffs are paid by _importers_, i.e., Americans.
That is the simplistic view promoted by Libertarians to justify their horror of tariffs. When you mention margin compression their eyes and minds go blank and they change the subject.
Tariffs artificially make one option more expensive, which has a negative effect on whoever preferred that option at the original price point. That would be any American consumer or business, who are now forced to use the second best option available and are therefore either paying more for the same purchase or getting lower quality.
At the same time, the trading partner receives fewer US dollars, which ultimately will have to be spent in the USA, meaning someone in the USA is losing a sale too, or at best replace that sale with a less attractive bid that would have been second in line.
So sales are lost and purchases are lost. It is as simple as that. The higher the tariffs, the stronger the effect.
The winner? Those who supply the initially losing offer, who’s inferior or more expensive product would have lost out, and those who were willing to pay less for a given sale that is now lost. Leave it to government interference to make this worse and more expensive.
It is pretty simple. Who pays the tariff to US Customs?
Dumb f*ck.
For the millionth time, dude. Tariffs can be absorbed by:
The foreign producer
The foreign exporter
The domestic importer
The domestic retailer
The consumer
To date, the Chinese side of the equation has been the primary one to absorb the tariffs. How long that holds up is hard to surmise.
But for the love of baby Jesus stop acting like the exporting side can’t absorb part or all of tariffs.
For the millionth time: the incidence of import tariffs depends on the relative sizes of import demand vs. export supply elasticities. There is overwhelming evidence from past tariffs (including Trump’s 2018 tariffs) that the American consumer will bear almost all of the cost of the tariffs. Sorry.
Not from what I’ve read. Trump’s 1.0 tariffs did very little to prices until maybe late 2019.
Look at your hand do you have 5 fingers ?
Who pays the tariff to US customs?
The importer.
Does paying that tariff improve their competitive position?
Oh, got it. Let’s talk completive position, and I’m primarily concerned about China. So it’s been reported that Chinese producers & exporters have been eating most of the tariffs to-date.
Why? They have to up to a certain level in order to maintain market share (aka competitive position). The importer can find alternative sources for some of these goods.
That’s the point.
No one got a “love letter” from Trump?
So, just:
Threats for all, and all for threats!
Threats are Trump’s only form of diplomacy
Kamala, Timmy: save our democracy, please !
Joe, why did u quit ?
Victrola needle stuck?
“His Master’s Voice”
The problem is, if this doesn’t work, there’s no back out.
If tariffs were negotiated in secret instead of prime TV as usual, no big deal.
The emperor will end up without clothes, and everybody will see it.
It’s not working.
It’s not going to work.
And everyone is already seeing it play out every single day.
Go ahead Trump. Put tariffs as high as you want on every country in the world. Let’s see how it all plays out. Maybe we will learn a lesson in economics.
Bring us all to the Golden Age!
Lol!
Oh, someone will back out. Based on track record, TACO Trump will back out and it won’t take long.
Hahahaha!
What a joke! Trump is so transparent. And other countries see right through him. He is the schoolyard bully. The neverending wife abuser. There is no appeasing him. No matter what you give him, he wants more. Because what he really wants is control over others.
Which is why after his liberation day tariff announcement, meant to bully all the world’s nations into giving him concessions, nothing much has happened. Trump expected he could bully 90 nations into 90 deals in 90 days. He even claimed 200 deals are done; finished. Which is particularly funny since there are not 200 nations in the world today. And what do we have? One tiny meaningless deal with the UK (a country we have a trade surplus with). And one partial truce with China, since they played the rare earth card and Trump had to back down.
These other countries are not that stupid. They will delay and defer and even pretend to negotiate. They know what they are up against. There is no point in negotiating with someone who will never keep his word anyway and will just keep asking for more. Better to wait him out till his term is done or he suffers a heart attack.
So Trump’s strategy is failing spectacularly and he keeps delaying, and threatening, and delaying over and over again. It’s all rather pathetic isn’t it?
I bet the other countries would truly like to tell him to go f*ck himself. But they are too smart for that.
Better to let him flounder and thrash about on his own.
I don’t disagree with 95% of what you’re saying, BUT Trump does have 3.5 years left in office. As time passes, it’s likely that tariffs are going to increase overall. They may increase & then go back down like the stock market does, but the overall trend for any country that doesn’t sign a deal is up.
None of us can predict the future. I think Trump will have some level of success, while you probably believe his tariffs are going to be an abject failure.
If these up / down / sideways tariffs don’t create a big spike in inflation or cause a recession the question is this:
Can the countries you speak of delay & defer long enough, until Trump is out of office?
Time will tell. All I know is we’re 3 months in and tariff revenue is up significantly, there’s no spike in inflation, a recession isn’t knocking on the door, and corporate profits remain extremely healthy which will in many cases allow them to absorb some of the tariffs. And the BBB IMHO is going to add a lot of juice the economy which strengthens Trump’s hand against every country. It’ll be bad for deficits but great for trade negotiations.
UK, China, India, Vietnam, Canda, Japan & probably SK are either finalizing deals that benefit us more than previously or will be within a reasonable amount of time. Trade & tariffs will be at the forefront of Trump’s agenda for his entire final term. Trading partners will dig in & try to outlast Trump’s ONLY IF his tariffs push us towards a recession which they might, if he overplays.
But I get it. All of this chaos gives you ample opportunity to shout how much an idiot he is. But I’ll take Trump over Comrade Kamala in any election, crazy tariffs or not.
“Time will tell.”
Correct. And I am enjoying the show.
“Tariff revenue is up.”
Who do you think is paying those tariffs?
Bessent now says that Trump is concerned about the “quality” of trade deals.Not the quantity. So much for 200 done deals.
Apparently, Trump says the Aug 1 deadline is not firm either. Lol!
And he is close to a “mini” deal with India.
Bearing in mind that comprehensive trade deals take years to negotiate.
Likely just another relatively insignificant agreement.
And thus far, the 3 months have produced ZERO measurable effects.
I agree. He’s TACO’ing. But that actually might be part of his strategy. It might not look pretty or perfectly thought out, but rarely are tariffs, by those who hate them, ever well thought out.
Again, time will tell and thus far, you’re wrong on every account, given that we KNOW Trump is way to boastful and would never deliver to that extent. But that doesn’t mean he’s not delivering for the US economy.
Again, when I look at the totality of what the BBB is likely to do for the US economy as he tries to quickly negotiation deals, Trump sits on the higher ground by far.
TIME WILL TELL.
“ Again, time will tell and thus far, you’re wrong on every account”
?
What am I wrong about?
Am I wrong about who is paying the tariffs?
Do you think other countries are sending tariff money to US customs?
Am I wrong about the 90 deals or 200 deals Trump says he has completed so far?
Do you think he has completed 200 deals?
Am I wrong when I say Trump keeps changing his deadlines?
If the Chinese producer & exporter reduce the cost of a widget 10% and then it’s subject to a 10% tariff, there’s no increased cost passed onto the consumer. Yes, a tariff is paid, but this doesn’t raise inflation. That’s the important part.
We’re 3 months into this; we’ve collected $100B in tariffs; and there’s been no increase in inflation attributable to tariffs.
For the record, I’m not saying you’re wrong about the 200 deals or moving deadlines. Keeping track of 2-3 deals with others in the works vs Trump’s bloviating 200 is pointless IMHO. It scores you brownie points with all of the Trump haters here. I’ll give you that.
The much harder part to figure out is if & when the tariffs will raise inflation and what kind of structural change these tariffs & other policies will lead to in terms of the US increasing the manufacturing of all sorts of strategic goods. That’s the goal.
This is the part that I am saying you’re wrong about. Certainly, this could change, but I’m hopeful that Trump & his administration are able to move us down that road with positive & meaningful change. If not, we’re screwed.
As I’ve repeated called up Mish to do but he never does, what’s your solution getting the US to manufacture more strategic goods? How do you encourage that change without bankrupting the country by providing enormous public funding like China does?
FREE TRADE? DO WE CONTINUE DOWN THIS PATH OF ENSLAVING OURSELVES TO THE CHINESE FOR PHARMA, REM, ELECTRONICS, ETC?
Nope, sorry, that’s the status quo which isn’t going to do it. The BRICS nations are in the early stages of bringing about the destruction of the USA. And all of this GOP vs Dem vs Trump vs UniParty vs Socialist vs Antifa vs Libertarian is tearing this country apart. We’re playing right into China’s hands, and we’ve only got X number of days to find & deport these 38K Chinese nationals who will wreak God knows what upon us at the moment of Xi’s choosing.
I get it. Trump makes himself an easy target. We both can agree on that for sure.
Oh for f*ck sakes. When have I ever mentioned inflation from tariffs? Never. Stop putting words in my mouth.
All I have ever said is that placing tariffs on the inputs that US manufacturers must import, like aluminum, makes
them less competitive. Period.
“ We’re 3 months into this; we’ve collected $100B in tariffs”
I repeat; who paid the $100 billion in tariffs to US customs? The US companies that imported those items. Not foreign companies or governments. Does paying more tariffs to the US government make our companies more competitive?
“The much harder part to figure out is if & when the tariffs will raise inflation and what kind of structural change these tariffs & other policies will lead to in terms of the US increasing the manufacturing of all sorts of strategic goods. That’s the goal. This is the part that I am saying you’re wrong about.”
Show me where I have talked about inflation and structural changes because of tariffs. You are making this all up.
**** AGAIN, FOR THE SECOND TIME, GIVE US YOUR PLAN THAT ACHIEVES WHAT I’M SAYING IS THE PRIMARY GOAL HERE. ****
I’m not trying to put words in your mouth. If you’re honestly not concerned about inflation from tariffs, then fine. That’s your call. Most people are, however.
“Does paying more tariffs to the US government make our companies more competitive?”
NO, OF COURSE NOT, BUT THAT’S THE WHOLE POINT.
The importer is going to seek out alternative sources, when available.
Again, Trump’s goal as I understand it is to create the kind of economic conditions that forces some of what we import (strategic goods) to be manufactured here in the US.
Again, we both can agree that Trump & his people are not the best at CREATING A WHOLISTIC PLAN.
What’s needed is for a REAL PRESIDENT / ADMIN to identify the specific commodities & products that are STRATEGIC. Then you need to implement a plan that encourages or even in some cases forces domestic production or friendly shoring. That should be the goal.
You’re concerned, I guess, about competitive advantage which is fine. I’m concerned about getting the US off all sorts of strategic goods that we rely on China for.
The best example I can give is this. Would the US ever outsource our AI to China? Hell no, we wouldn’t. So it makes sense that China’s rise as the dominant world producer of all sorts of strategic goods is VERY BAD for the rest of the world, including the USA.
Something has to be done. You might not agree with the goal. I have no idea. But give us your plan. And while you’re at it, have the guy who runs this site chime in.
I heard that a couple of penguin populations in some Antarctic islands agreed to buying all their sardines from the US and will reduce the amount of Penguin scat they sent to the US. Best deal so far.
86/47
Trump says the penguins are tough negotiators. But he is tired of them taking advantage of the US.
Trump is shaking out SPX. If the markets drop JP will cut rates. In order to cut rates the Fed will have to buy the front end and the long duration. Lower rates, higher wages, higher tariffs, a smaller gov….
There aren’t many here that understand anything that Trump does, even though he’s a multi-billionaire who is President of the United States, twice, they still spend their free time writing on a message board about how stupid he is. I guess it makes them feel better since they are powerless to do anything else.
“Message board”?
Kind of outdated….maybe replace that with “forum”.
You think that would help them to understand better. Okay, maybe you’re right, “…they still spend their free time writing on a forum about how stupid he is. I guess it makes them feel better since they are powerless to do anything else.”
They’re not really powerless. Using their power may be even worse than the what the insufferable trump can do. If the American people ever rise up hell will look like a rose garden.
86/47
“In order to cut rates the Fed will have to buy the front end and the long duration. “
Sound like QE is going to make a comeback.
Mish and Tucker have the same audience.
Now that’s a hoot of the day.
I can’t stand Tucker and I highly doubt he even knows who I am.
China getting a lot of phone calls today I see. Is the new 5D plan to get Korea and Japan to form a trade bloc? Actually, better question: How much is China paying Trump to make them the new trade king?
Japan and S. Korea miss Kamala and Timmy.
And the U.S. is going to miss Japan as a buyer of our debt!
Trump is easy, make huge promises of new plants in the US. Of course new plants will take time to build, environmental studies must be conducted and maybe revised and conducted a second time. When one factory site doesn’t work out another must be found and the process starts over. All this takes at least 3 years, Trump is gone and bullshit may be over.
In the mean time 86/47 may happen and the US will be a better place, hell the world will be a better place.
You know I see people talking about this and like – yeah it might happen, but I never see anyone talk about what happens after that. Our Constitution is covered in 70 years of crayon drawings, people are too obsessed with policing who uses what bathroom to do actual state work, and the rich part of the country increasingly has no reason to keep paying for the voters of the corn to live on farm subsidies and other welfare.
Unless someone is willing to put a blanket over the culture war cage and pull this nation’s squabbling rubes together, I don’t forsee good times. Mish is the absolute polar opposite of my politics but seems to be the only voice in finance making any sense in a sea of magic thinkers in either camp fascist or camp reagan-liberal. Neither of those camps are capable of finding the bottom line on a Dunkin’ Donuts receipt without strongarm robbing someone to get their $2 back.
Trump might be a vile moron, but he’s far from the start of America’s long decent into being an Idiocracy that can neither govern nor balance it’s checkbooks. A long and celebrated history of simply stealing our wealth is finally coming home to roost as the global economy no longer has a place for “gimme $50 or the dog gets it!” policy. The days of being able to establish banana republics on a whim are over, and America isn’t ready for that. Instead of talking softly and carrying a big stick, we now have a big stick and nothing to show for it after threatening our own allies.
How do we fix that? I don’t know, but I’m not betting on a storybook ending.
Worse, we have a big stick without a control system and a spoiled narcissistic toddler in the White House with a machine gun!
Look out! The safety’s off!
<
Trump’s letters are at war with logic and accounting definitions. If he wants (as suggested by his letters) other countries to produce their stuff in the US, the US first needs to run trade deficits vis-a-vis these countries to allow them to accumulate the dollars they need to finance US-bound FDI. But Trump doesn’t want to run trade deficits. In fact, Trump needs to run larger trade deficits than ever because part of his BBB needs to be financed by foreigners. I don’t think American officials have ever looked as dumb and clueless from the outside as in this ongoing tariff war.
As soon as anybody across the world complies with any of these trade or foreign policy fantasies, let me know. I’m fatigued of following these flimsy hastily concocted deadlines, misreadings of foreign leaders and populations, repeatedly wobbly goal posts, and dramatic underachievements. I’ll happily stand corrected if any of this mess goes otherwise.
Trump gave us a stock market road map. Everyone should be making huge bank in the stock market because Trump gives emotional signals that move the entire market. How is it that not 100% of people are at this free and golden trough?
Trump Said Trade Deals Would Come Easy. Japan Is Proving Him Wrong.
Trump Said Trade Deals Would Come Easy. Japan Is Proving Him Wrong. – WSJ (archive.ph)
Outrageous.
Untrustworthy
No credibility left
Undiplomatic
Schoolyard bullying
You can’t stop this bullying by negotiation or begging.
Contemptible
Untrustworthy
Nefarious
Treacherous
INSANE
86/47
Maybe I’m wrong, but I have a feeling that Trump doesn’t really care who, or if, anyone signs a trade agreement. I think he wants the following things, one is the tariff revenue which will contribute to the External Revenue Service that he has talked about, along with ultimately eliminating the Internal Revenue Service. The other thing he wants is to have the U.S. be self-reliant and produce most, if not all of what we need, right here in the U.S. The entrance of AI into everything over the next few years will negate any cost savings from overseas production.
Hope springs eternal. Wonderful if all those pieces fall the right way. I’ll not put my pin money on it, though.
Very nice summary, Ann. It’s not going to be easy, and I’m sure there will be bumps in the road. Honestly, I’m starting to like the TACO on tariffs. I’m of the opinion that mortgage rates need to remain higher for much longer, so we can get a good 20% broad-based housing correction. I’m looking forward to mortgage rates climbing back up towards 7%.
I’m concerned about this video I just saw, this would do serious damage to his coalition if those that are pushing amnesty of some kind actually succeed and change the mass deportation platform he ran on. The video is from WarRoom but the first seven minutes is from Charlie Kirk’s podcast and the conversations he’s had with people who are pushing amnesty, then after the 7 minute mark is Steve Bannon’s comments about it.
https://rumble.com/v6vuzxf-steve-bannon-there-cant-be-amnesty-everyone-here-illegally-must-go-home.html?e9s=src_v1_ucp_v
Steve Bannon: “There Can’t Be Amnesty, Everyone Here Illegally Must Go Home”
There are at least 20M illegals. It was widely reported that there were 11-15M prior Biden who then opened the flood gates. 25M is a very solid estimate.
The problem, of course, is that we can’t deport them all nor can we expect millions to self-deport. Bannon & Kirk, whom I like, are in LaLa land to suggest it’s possible. But I get their no-compromises approach.
The reason is simple. Any bipartisan immigration reform is not going to see e-Verify become a requirement outside of federal employment & contractors. It’s just not. The massive, pro-cheap labor lobby is simply too strong.
I’m totally against mass amnesty for ANYONE, including the dreamers. And I don’t want some DEAL to be struck that sees enforcement reduced. However, something has to be done. Somehow, more Americans need to get back to work in any semi-skilled job that’s currently being done by illegals while leaving all sorts of low-skilled jobs to some sort of compromise.
The nimrods than make up the UniParty are too short sighted to realize that time is running out to get America straightened out when it comes to spending, taxation, & jobs not being so dependent on illegal labor as AI & robotics begin to steamroll through the economy.
Be that as it may, I could see RINOs trade amnesty for some asylum requirements that are very hard to obtain. Going forward, dems know two things: #1 Trump is going to spend $45B to permanently close off the border. #2 The open borders that Biden ushered in are a thing of the past.
The net result of these two outcomes is that illegal immigration has now dropped to near zero for a very long time. Once Trump leaves office, it will be very difficult to get into the country illegally. I’m sure any future immigration reform law will make it very difficult for a future Democratic president to go down the open border road again, as it should.
So the problem remains: What do you do with the 25M illegals that are here?
I’m pragmatic. I could live with some sort of Amnesty Light that says no one who enters the country illegally can ever become a citizen. Therefore, they’ll never be able to vote. That’s what makes sense and makes Trump ending birthright citizenship such an important requirement going forward.
I really believe that AI is going to change everything as we know it, people will be fortunate to be employed. I think we spoke about this before at some point. UBI will be a necessity. They are already letting go thousands of people in the tech sector. Think of the time and effort that goes into becoming a computer programmer, and AI can write code faster and better than most of them. Then add in the robotic automation for farm work and other labor-intensive positions and you have a situation where companies will not even provide work for U.S. citizens let alone illegal immigrants.
That’s why I think we will see if not now, as time goes on and this becomes more apparent, a real effort to get everyone out of the country who is not a citizen. Who thought we’d see what we’re seeing now with ICE and military vehicles on the streets. What I would hope is that they use the military to destroy the cartels in Mexico, Trump has talked about that, so Mexico is no longer what they call a failed narco state and is a place that people want to return home to, the same for all the other Central and South American countries as well. I want our country to help those countries solve their corruption and crime problems.
The polls show that about 55% want all illegal immigrants out of the country, that was on CNN of all places. I think the percentage is so high because of the last 10-20 million that came in recently and were distributed all across the country, as they say, every town is now a border town and that showed people that didn’t live in the major cities what it means to have a country that you don’t recognize anymore.
Also the fact that the Hispanics in the Rio Grande Valley supported Trump by I think it was 16% over Harris, many of them were probably legal and could see that what they tried to get away from was following them here, the crime, the instability, etc. and they didn’t want that to happen.
When a critical mass of people start to believe something, especially when AI kicks in and jobs are scarce, even it it’s not Trump it will be someone who is elected that will have to deal with this problem. My guess is it’s much higher than 25 million. They used that 11-15 million number for decades now. I just read from a government report, I can’t cite it because I don’t remember where I saw it, but it said 50 million were foreign born (didn’t say what percentage were illegal) and they estimated that they had 25 million children. Something will have to be done, it is not going to be tolerated much longer I don’t think. Read the comments on this YouTube site, it even surprised me.
https://www.youtube.com/@CashJordan/videos
These are videos of ICE raids and other related deportation events.
We’re both on the same page with regards to AI & robotics.
I’ll do my best to remain hopeful like yourself.
Nice video from the Cash Jordan guy. Warms my heart.
Thanks, Ann!
Your numbers are high by 10-13 million.
And the smart answer is deport the hard criminals and let those working stay
Biden on his own let in 8-12M, depending on who’s counting, over a 4-year period.
So, you’re saying with a straight face that only 3-5M illegals came into the US over the many decades prior to 2020?
That’s the HOOT OF THE DAY, Mike!
Depending on who is counting. Whoever provided your 8-12MM number is not counting honestly.
THE BIDEN ADMIN ADMITTED THAT THEY LET IN 8M.
That was an “official” number which had to be low with all the shady ways they started letting illegals enter through legal entry points. And that doesn’t county gottaways.
PLEASE!
The other thing he wants is to have the U.S. be self-reliant and produce most, if not all of what we needya right
America Underestimates the Difficulty of Bringing Manufacturing Back
https://www.molsonhart.com/blog/america-underestimates-the-difficulty-of-bringing-manufacturing-back
It won’t come back. People will have to make due with less. Trump is architecting a global recession, an unforced error.
I don’t have much confidence in the people that say something can’t be done. I think the U.S. is capable of much more then people realize with the right leadership in place.
This is a very impressive ongoing list of all the investments into our country so far and he’s only been in office for about six months.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/06/trump-effect-a-running-list-of-new-u-s-investment-in-president-trumps-second-term/
And that’s the problem: LEADERSHIP
The UniParty is not leading America down the right path.
We are on a slow burn towards a civil war.
Withing 48 hours of the BBB passing, there are all sorts of liberals who are calling for violence against Trump & his supporters.
By the time we have to act, we are going to be so far gone in terms of social cohesion, lack of leadership & a massive fiscal death spiral that I just don’t see any other outcome.
And BTW, there’s no telling what China will do once we arrive at the precipice.
I’d like to be positive-minded like you, but I just don’t see it playing out the way conservatives would like it to.
one can be pollyanna However until we have leadership that addresses this: Why Factories Are Having Trouble Filling Nearly 400,000 Open JobsFor every 20 positions, there’s one qualified candidate, says one manufacturing chief executive. Some of President Trump’s policies are likely to exacerbate the problem.
Why Factories Are Having Trouble Filling Nearly 400,000 Open Jobs – The New York Times (archive.ph)
That list is nothing compared to what it will take to reshore production as your halcyon arguments propose. It will take a decade at least, and with the way politics is in the USA, you and I both know someone will shove this project off a cliff before those ten years are up.
Tariffs will never create enough revenue to even put a small dint in the 3.5 trillion dollar deficit.
We will never pay down the actual debt, it’s too out of control at this point, I think there will have to be an entirely new economic model going forward. AI and the eventual UBI that accompanies it in time will be part of that new model in my opinion. The debt and deficit are unsustainable and everyone knows it.
UBI is totally inevitable.
Trump wants ego satisfaction and monetary enrichment. Why would any fool think he wants anything else? Controlling others is just a pathway to both of those goals.
Trump had to delay tariffs again so he can focus on Iran.
More idle threats by TACO. What a joke.
whatever happened to the 200 deals they had supposedly done?
I was going to say this is all just an elaborate insider trading scheme but it’s not that elaborate is it?
this and the horrible new new boll, its hard to see how he’s not out to destroy the U.S.
Trump’s bluster is the whole reason for his TACO nickname, at least when it comes to tariffs. I’m not a big fan of his strategy, but I expect the tariff revenue to keep climbing for a good while longer. Since trade deals usually take years, he seems to be off to a decent start, although nowhere near the dozens that he’s been bragging about.