People still do not understand that Trump, first and foremost, is a deal maker. Everything he does is done with an eye to the next deal. Getting rid of tariffs between the US and friendly trading partners is Trumps next big deal.
Zero Tariffs
- Donald R. McClarey
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 43 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
Yup. Shake the tree hard.
We’ve been taken advantage of and are now in negotiations.
In negotiations you want all your opponent’s undivided attention at your opening bid.
Trump’s played that perfectly. And probably had Argentina in the works as an example before the bids went out. “See, that could be you.”
True economics state that the buyer gets what is necessary to him at a true value given in love. The buyer gives the seller true value in love for the seller to survive in love.
Jesus is cleansing the temple of gaugers, cheats and swindlers.
Trump is cleansing the earth of gaugers, cheats and swindlers.
Incidentally, this principle applies to sodomites demanding wedding cakes, flowers, photographers and rental halls.
P.S. It is hard to love sodomites violating a proprietor’s personal space, his principles and his religion and then have the gall to label it freedom.
As a free trader, the ideal is free trade where the price and quantity of goods seeks it own level as in the case of water. Since we live in an imperfect world, a leveler of justice is required for those who think they can alter economic laws through financial manipulation. To them the response has to be tariffs if only to get their attention. If Pres. Trump sticks to his principles, the results will speak for themselves although his opponents will probably attribute success to witchcraft or something equally esoteric.
Trump is also promising $2 trillion in tariff revenues. He’s also counting countries’ non-tariff policies as tariffs. Also, many countries have zero tariffs.
Trump administration used an elementary calculation to come up with the retaliatory tariffs based on physical goods: the country’s trade deficit divided by its exports to the United States times 1/2. That’s it.
“Reciprocal — that means they do it to us and we do it to them,” Trump said.
Yes but, that’s not true.
I can speak for Australia who charges less than 2.5% tariffs on US goods imported into Australia. The 10% he stated on the chart is false. In addition, the US enjoys a $17.9 bill dollar trade surplus with Australia. The US exports double into Australia compared to what it buys from Australia. Yet Australia copped a minimum 10% baseline. Why?
Further, he is punishing the countries who:
1. Don’t have a trade surplus with the US
2. Have links to China, Russia and Iran
3. Are anti-Israel (ie. South Africa)
Fair enough.
The US is also in surplus with Argentina, Brazil, Chile, UK, Singapore, Hong Kong. Yet, the 10% baseline applied. Why? Argentina negotiated the zero tariffs because he like the President and shares much of his politics. That’s the reality.
Further he has discounted historical data. In 2023 there was a US trade deficit with Saudi Arabia. In 2024, the US was magically in a trade surplus with Saudi Arabia. Hence they have copped the 10% but the Saudis will absorb that because of their economy.
Any economist will tell you the retaliatory tariff figures he has come up with bears no truth to economic reality of the trading relationship the US has with that country.
He has been ill advised. The less lazy route would have been to go country by country. I don’t think this will have his intended result of bringing industry and manufacturing back to the US.