Donald Trump just imposed a 25 percent tariff on virtually all goods produced by America’s two largest trading partners — Canada and Mexico. He simultaneously established a 20 percent across-the-board tariff on Chinese goods.
As a result, America’s average tariff level is now higher than at any time since the 1940s.
Meanwhile, China and Canada immediately retaliated against Trump’s duties, with the former imposing a 15 percent tariff on American agricultural products and the latter putting a 25 percent tariff on $30 billion of US goods. Mexico has vowed to mount retaliatory tariffs of its own.
This trade war could have far-reaching consequences. Trump’s tariffs have already triggered a stock market sell-off and cooling of manufacturing activity. And economists have estimated that the trade policy will cost the typical US household more than $1,200 a year, as the prices of myriad goods rise.
All this raises the question: Why has the US president chosen to upend trade relations on the North American continent? The stakes of this question are high, since it could determine how long Trump’s massive tariffs remain in effect. Unfortunately, the president himself does not seem to know the answer.
In recent weeks, Trump has provided five different — and contradictory — justifications for his tariffs on Mexico and Canada…
…more in the article.
Of course he doesn’t. He should be in elder care not in the White House.
I know why he did it. Because that’s what his best best friend from Kremlin said and his two last working brain cells are in vacation playing golf.
He probably doesn’t understand that if US stops all trading, will become just a bigger North Korea with nukes.
Market manipulation. He is also a TV show host, so he is a showman. He likes creating drama.
He is famous for bad management, causing his casinos to go bankrupt. His management style is going to bankrupt US and somehow make him richer.
Why can’t we make him unalive? He wouldn’t be able to play with WWIII that way…
Or just watch him bankrupt USA just like his casino, I think US need to go through that pain to realize why they should not vote for a showman, TV show host again.
Sun Tzu: “Never interrupt your opponent while he is in the middle of making a mistake.”
Sun Tzu I should read/listen to him much much more …
Just my opinion as a layman: the tariffs give his corporate backers all the excuse they need to jack up prices even higher.
And when he takes the tariffs off, the prices never go back to the original starting point.
That, plus it seems very likely that he and friends are just manipulating the market to trade on the predictable moves he’s causing. Ya know, the kinda stuff that earned Musk some mild hand slaps and theatrical pearl clutching (in addition to giant financial benefits) in recent years.
yup, it forces everyone to raise prices, including competitors.
Apparently It’s supposed to get rid of the browns and the gays and the women and everyone else until it’s just a bunch of old white men sitting around, counting money, and masturbating to AI porn? Kind of like a hateful gross version of Scrooge McDuck.
Spooge McFuck
And economists have estimated that the trade policy will cost the typical US household more than $1,200 a year
Remember this, when you hear about tax cuts for the wealthy.
That’s chicken change if you make, say, $80K+. Significant if you make, say, $20K. (Thinking about individuals, not households, adjust accordingly. And COL is a huge thing depending.)
In any case, I’d take that number with a bucket of salt. Can’t see any way that number was calculated meaningfully this early in the game.
All this raises the question: Why has the US president chosen to upend trade relations on the North American continent?
It’s because the trade agreement trump’s unhappy with was made by a raging moron.
The same moron who sunk casinos somehow
The secret ingredient is crime. The casinos were fronts for money laundering and “failed” on purpose as part of the scam.
Hope that’s sarcasm because the USMCA was signed and implemented by Trump
OP made a factual statement.
Hahah agreed
I don’t get the $1200 #… If every component of my purchase goods is 25% higher to the manuf passed to me, shouldn’t it be 25% of my annual spend?
