Trump temporarily drops tariffs to 10% for most countries

Post by stubish » Thu, Apr 10, 2025, 1:16 AM UTC

amelius wrote: post #642

davidguetta wrote: post #469

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

What I don't understand is why other countries didn't make the threat to make any tariffs hold for a year or longer. That would scare Trump away from doing these stupid experiments.

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Apr 10, 2025, 1:17 AM UTC

creer wrote: post #730

milesvp wrote: post #614

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Instead of being seen as a safe haven, U.S. debt itself started to look shaky There's also a more basic answer to why US debt got more expensive. There is no such thing as a "trade deficit". You cannot import something without exporting something else. That something else, in almost 100% of the situations, is dollars. What do you do with dollars, if there's nothing you want to buy? You buy debt. So, every trade def…

US debt was mostly being bought because "safe". The US being seen as politically and economically stable and the center of the world. Right now that argument is much harder to make. And meanwhile there is always a lot of US debt that needs to be rolled over (i.e. re-issued to a willing buyer.) Except for the data point of today's 10-Year Treasury Auction which had a normal, usual result.

Post by marcosdumay » Thu, Apr 10, 2025, 1:20 AM UTC

thfuran wrote: post #414

magicloop wrote: post #397

"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…

That doesn't pass muster. If they had much interest in balancing the books, they wouldn't be ripping huge holes in revenue collection.

Post by kumarvvr » Thu, Apr 10, 2025, 1:22 AM UTC

magicloop wrote: post #607

antognini wrote: post #558

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've seen relatively little discussion about these lawsuits, but I do think there is a pretty good chance that SCOTUS will rule these tariffs unconstitutional. (It's certainly more likely than Congress rescinding the powers they've ceded to the presidency.) Constitutionally, the power to set tariffs resides with the Legislative branch, not the Executive branch. Congress has delegated some authority to set tariffs und…

It is a sound analysis but I think there are other non-legal factors at play. If the president tries to do X, then the lawyers block X, then in political game theory the president "wins" in the eyes of the electorate because the president can argue "my plan was perfect, the execution failed due to the opposition, so I am not accountable to what has now happened". The left might want to see a disaster play out to capi…

Post by defrost » Thu, Apr 10, 2025, 1:25 AM UTC

magicreadu wrote: post #647

hayst4ck wrote: post #606

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Incompetence is way more dangerous than people realize. These tariffs are China's Four Pests campaign. Mao, a very trump like figure, decided to protect Chinese crops by destroying sparrows that were picking at them. Killing sparrows killed a predator of insects which did more damage to crops. This coupled with reality denying policies and ignoring experts led to one of the most devastating famines the world has ever…

Both you and OP are not looking at this from the right angle. The goal here is to decouple US from China. In the meantime, tariffs are raised on every country to gauge which side they are on. Once US knows who the allies are, they will negotiate to have those allies put up massive tariffs on China as well to prevent transshipping. US wants nothing to do with China. As the biggest consumer economy in the world, the ha…

  In 2021, Mr. Biden issued an executive order imposing sanctions on individuals and companies engaged in the illicit opioid trade. His Treasury Department put sanctions on more than 300 individuals and entities, freezing entire networks of fentanyl suppliers and traffickers out of the international financial system.

  In 2023 and 2024 he identified China as a major illicit drug-producing country for its role in the synthetic opioid trade — a blow to the reputation of China’s chemical industry.

  Simultaneously, the Biden administration pushed U.S. law enforcement agencies to conduct aggressive investigations and build indictments against dozens of Chinese citizens and companies that were trafficking fentanyl precursor chemicals into the United States.

  [..] Biden secured a personal commitment from President Xi Jinping to restart counternarcotics cooperation in November 2023

  [..] And we made progress. International fentanyl supply chains showed signs of disruption, forcing traffickers to change sources and tactics.

  Together with other diplomatic initiatives and an expansive public health campaign, the number of lethal fentanyl overdoses in the United States has dropped.

  In the 12 months ending September 2024, overdose deaths were down an estimated 24 percent from the year prior.

  Tariffs alone will not push China’s government to help reduce drug overdose deaths in the United States. In fact, with Beijing already imposing retaliatory tariffs and proclaiming that it’s “ready to fight till the end,” Mr. Trump’s blunt-force tactics might drive China to cooperate less on fentanyl, not more.

  With the stakes as high as they are, American communities cannot afford a miscalculation.