Brawndo's got what plants crave. It's got electrolytes
— Idiocracy [movie]
Trump temporarily drops tariffs to 10% for most countries
461–470 of 1001 posts
Re: Trump temporarily drops tariffs to 10% for most countries
#462My takeaway from what I've read and heard in the last few weeks is that his only actual motivation is to 'win'. He bragged yesterday that other countries are kissing his ass to negotiate deals on the tariffs. I think that was all he wanted, I think he now thinks that this whole tariff thing was a success and he's going to move on to the next crazy idea. The rest of us suffer for it, except for the sad portion of the…
aestheticism is a feature of fascism. the late night phone call, the strong words in the oval office, boarding air force one with retinue in tow, hurry hurry... it's less about what is being achieved, and more about the pageantry that something is being achieved. change, action, disruption, violence (metaphorical or not) are good in and of itself, pomp is the reification of these impulses. i disliked succession precisely for this reason, the idolization of these processes (whether it was under the guise of irony is irrelevant).
these fetishes can start to supplant material reality, real banana republic stuff. we should give the wasps and neoliberals credit to always have been somewhat immune to and disdainful of these practices.
Re: Trump temporarily drops tariffs to 10% for most countries
#463Earlier quoted context omitted.
Lots of stocks are up 10-15% instantly after this announcement. Curious if we'll get reports of suspicious options volume capitalizing on this information.
Well I bought this morning (not a large trade), based not on insider information but on the obvious outcome. Also the dynamic signal that Trump spent 2h spewing utter nonsense at a donor dinner last night, but the market didn't go down this morning. Signaling that something was in the works one way or another. Edit: best to note that Trump is still doing plenty to destroy the US economy, so be careful out there.
Frankly, everything is “obvious” in retrospect. I assumed Trump would triple down regardless of the consequences. My only conclusion is that the fluctuations of the market are going to be completely arbitrary during this administration.
Re: Trump temporarily drops tariffs to 10% for most countries
#464Chaos agent. It's great to go through this every month.
Re: Trump temporarily drops tariffs to 10% for most countries
#465I almost bought some bluechip stocks yesterday but changed my mind thinking it may dip further. But my luck is such that it would have actually dipped if I had bought. With my luck these days no matter what I choose, I lose. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Re: Trump temporarily drops tariffs to 10% for most countries
#466Announce a controversial decision. See if it sticks. If not, claim it was a joke and you never meant that. Drama, manipulation, and a US government tactic, all in one.
I don't believe it's being done so strategically. He's not Franklin D Roosevelt.
I forget all the details, but some constituency once came to FDR to ask him to do something. He likely leaked that he was planning on doing so to major Catholic organizations in America, and when there was outrage, turned to the first party and told them that he'd love to, but his hands were tied. He never intended to do anything in the first place, he just wanted a convenient scapegoat.
This doesn't make any sense. Why not just go with 10% tariffs across the board? There wasn't going to be any pushback, it should be clear at this point. Or why not just leak the plan, and then say "I guess it has to be 10% because business leaders won't accept higher."
This isn't masterful juggling, it's improv comedy.
Re: Trump temporarily drops tariffs to 10% for most countries
#467- April 7th: Spread rumours of a 90 days tariff pause which immediately triggers a market really, then claim it was "fake new", markets go down - April 9th: "THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT", then 4 hours later announce a 90 days tariff reduction, markets jump nearly 10% This level of market manipulation orchestrated directly by a head of state is something you only see in totalitarian states. The US is moving int…
The situation is so absurd that I’m starting to believe the entire Musk vs. Navarro feud was just a ploy, and they’re all popping champagne bottles together now.
Re: Trump temporarily drops tariffs to 10% for most countries
#468My takeaway from what I've read and heard in the last few weeks is that his only actual motivation is to 'win'. He bragged yesterday that other countries are kissing his ass to negotiate deals on the tariffs. I think that was all he wanted, I think he now thinks that this whole tariff thing was a success and he's going to move on to the next crazy idea. The rest of us suffer for it, except for the sad portion of the…
He also bragged that the tariffs bring 2 billions a day and the crowd cheered. They do realize who pays that 2 billions?
Or that none of them will ever see any of that money and none of it will ever go towards helping them in any way?
Re: Trump temporarily drops tariffs to 10% for most countries
#469Is it just the historical legacy of international trade that tariffs apply only to physical goods, but not to something like software-as-a-service subscriptions, digital media, or intellectual property? As the latter categories are more representative of US exports, it would surely be an interesting escalation if other countries were to start including them in their “retaliatory” tariffs.
I still wonder why this was not done instantly by EU.
US has an imbalance on goods that was used to calculate the tariff amount, but it has the opposite imbalance on service from what I've read
Re: Trump temporarily drops tariffs to 10% for most countries
#470"It’s the T-bills wot dun it." That’s my read on why the U.S. just paused the global tariff hike to 10%. From the beginning, I’ve believed the executive branch's real goal was to push down the yield on the 10-year Treasury. Why? Because Uncle Sam has to refinance a mountain of debt this year, and the cost of that depends heavily on Treasury yields — especially the 10-year. That’s the rate that sets the tone for every…
I disagree. Trump has been threatening tariffs since 2016. Each step he gets closer to significant tariffs. This time he stepped back after they seemed real. Now businesses know he really, super means it this time, so they get another reprieve. But next time it would be hard to claim Trump didn’t warn them.
I agree it's classic brinksmanship and the tariff views he has are genuine and long held. But his numerous signals to the Fed to ask to lower interest rates and the commitment to DOGE (which has the effect of lowering yields) is another strand in his thinking. The two are in conflict causing the flip-flop effect in short term policy.