US Administration announces 34% tariffs on China, 20% on EU • Hacker News Board

Re: US Administration announces 34% tariffs on China, 20% on EU

#531

Post by gruez » Thu, Apr 03, 2025, 1:31 PM UTC

croes wrote: post #367

doener wrote: post #225

"This guy cracked the tariff formula: @orthonormalist It’s simply the nation’s trade deficit with us divided by the nation’s exports to us. Yes. Really. Vietnam: Exports 136.6, Imports 13.1 Deficit = 123.5 123.5/136.6 = 90%" https://x.com/Geiger_Capital/status/1907568233239949431

Some think AI helped with the formula https://universeodon.com/@cryptadamist/114271484597938775

The tariffs might be a bad idea, but this accusation is ridiculous. For a simple methodology like this, it's trivial to prompt engineer a LLM to produce the same response. It doesn't mean that that's how the administration came up with the policy, any more than a LLM getting the same (correct) solution as a student on an assignment means the student used a LLM on that assignment.

Re: US Administration announces 34% tariffs on China, 20% on EU

#532

Post by ratedgene » Thu, Apr 03, 2025, 1:33 PM UTC

hayst4ck wrote: post #297

The golden prize for America's enemies is to remove the US dollar as a global reserve currency. Since trade is conducted largely in USD, that means other governments must purchase USD to trade. This is the core of trade deficits. Foreign countries buy US dollars so they can trade with other people. That guarantees the deficit since they give us something in exchange for USD, which they do not then spend on goods we m…

It makes sense why Trump's family is investing opportunity into crypto like "American Bitcoin" -- they want to separate themselves from the dollar.

Re: US Administration announces 34% tariffs on China, 20% on EU

#533

Post by andrewclunn » Thu, Apr 03, 2025, 1:38 PM UTC

The blue collar workers are fine with enduring a bit more pain for a few months or even years as this pans out. Specifically if the investment classes (who will be most harmed) suffer more. Long term goals are other countries lower their tariffs with the US, more US manufacturing, a temporarily devalued US dollar to more easily pay down the national debt, and a renegotiation of the terms by which the US provides military protection to other nations. People who already had little if anything to lose not being able to buy cheap foreign goods they weren't going to purchase anyways for a chance to see if this works out, while seeing the tech bros, academics, and investment bankers squirm, rage, and seethe? Though I'll get down voted into oblivion, the unmitigated despair and outrage on display in these comments just make my smile that much wider.

Re: US Administration announces 34% tariffs on China, 20% on EU

#534

Post by Havoc » Thu, Apr 03, 2025, 1:39 PM UTC

Notably none of Russia, Belorussia or North Korea.

Really starting to look like the US senior leadership is compromised

Re: US Administration announces 34% tariffs on China, 20% on EU

#535

Post by roflyear » Thu, Apr 03, 2025, 1:39 PM UTC

hayst4ck wrote: post #297

The golden prize for America's enemies is to remove the US dollar as a global reserve currency. Since trade is conducted largely in USD, that means other governments must purchase USD to trade. This is the core of trade deficits. Foreign countries buy US dollars so they can trade with other people. That guarantees the deficit since they give us something in exchange for USD, which they do not then spend on goods we m…

It is not correct that an Asian business doing business with a Italian company first exchanges their currency to USD by selling the US goods then using that USD to complete the transaction.

I agree with you that the current situation in the world really benefits the US and the current policies seem to undermine that.

Re: US Administration announces 34% tariffs on China, 20% on EU

#536

Post by hartator » Thu, Apr 03, 2025, 1:42 PM UTC

mcoliver wrote: post #92

Here's a csv and google sheet of the data. Turns out they aren't tariffs countries charge us. They are trade imbalance percentages. Unreal: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xK0OQ5VGl8JHmDSIgbXh... https://gist.github.com/mcoliver/69fe48d03c12388e29cc0cd87eb...

What’s the actual tariffs other countries are charging the US then?

Re: US Administration announces 34% tariffs on China, 20% on EU

#537

Post by csomar » Thu, Apr 03, 2025, 1:42 PM UTC

hayst4ck wrote: post #297

The golden prize for America's enemies is to remove the US dollar as a global reserve currency. Since trade is conducted largely in USD, that means other governments must purchase USD to trade. This is the core of trade deficits. Foreign countries buy US dollars so they can trade with other people. That guarantees the deficit since they give us something in exchange for USD, which they do not then spend on goods we m…

The real traitor is Biden who handed the presidency to Trump and only cared about covering himself and his family asses. I think that was the point where you realize the democrats have just given up and did their part of selling the country. Some people must be now moving Bitcoin, Gold and other valuables out of the country before the big unveiling kinda like what happened with the soviet union.

I have made a post about this after the election that got flagged: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42755700

If you are still unconvinced that big fundamental changes are happening: https://goldprice.org/

Re: US Administration announces 34% tariffs on China, 20% on EU

#538

Post by teeray » Thu, Apr 03, 2025, 1:44 PM UTC

dostick wrote: post #506

This historical period will be remembered by being a cause for legislation to introduce strict testing for mental illness in government positions. Ask any psychologist and it’s clear what it is, but they won’t say it publicly because of Goldwater “rule”. fact is they have the most dangerous and destructive mental illness known, and they captured the power exactly because of their disorderly mindset. Yet for months an…

> will be remembered by being a cause for legislation to introduce strict testing for mental illness

You’re making some bold statements about the ability of congress to pass legislation at all.

Re: US Administration announces 34% tariffs on China, 20% on EU

#539

Post by AnimalMuppet » Thu, Apr 03, 2025, 1:45 PM UTC

jsemrau wrote: post #503

iteratethis wrote: post #75

This won't bring home manufacturing but let's say that it will... The US doesn't have the people to do the actual manufacturing. I saw a video recently explaining how sectors like the military, construction and the automotive industry each have 100K+ positions that they are unable to fill. A return to manufacturing adds to that shortage. Apparently there's some 7 million young men of working age that are...missing in…

>Apparently there's some 7 million young men of working age that are...missing in action. Self-isolated, gaming, addictions. And you never wondered why that is?

Don't vaguepost. If you've got a point, state it.

Re: US Administration announces 34% tariffs on China, 20% on EU

#540

Post by toyg » Thu, Apr 03, 2025, 1:45 PM UTC

ggm wrote: post #87

I think a lot of people assume the economic consequences like these have not been understood by the WH. Although I don't like this administration I beg to differ: they know what's going to happen, and they expect the coming storm because they seek what follows. They want to repudiate foreign held debt, or devalue it, by revaluation of the USD and they will wear what they think of as a one time economic shock to get t…

> a lot of people assume the economic consequences like these have not been understood by the WH

I think you're making the same mistake a lot of observers are making: you're looking at this from an economic perspective, and think those decisions were taken on an economic basis. But that is likely not the case.

The Trumpist movement is entirely focused on political aims: re-establishing old hierarchies of power inside the country, and entrenching them for good. The important work is the slashing and burning of welfare and safeguards for lower and middle classes, putting minorities "back in their place", and entrenching the wealthy into positions of absolute dominance. Everything else is a distraction, to keep newspeople busy and the population focused on recreating an idealized, "Happy Days" 1950 society. Enemies will be created to make you hate, this or that policy will be picked up or dropped just to keep you arguing, and meanwhile the important work is made irreversible. Once you destroy what was built over a century, it will take decades to rebuild them, and meanwhile the New Normal will take root and become impossibly hard to remove.

Fascism and nazism did not move from economic principles - they picked up what they needed as they went, opportunistically, because their main aims were fundamentally political. The Trump II administration works in the same way: the priority is political dominance to achieve political aims at societal level, everything else is tangential and opportunistic.