Steel and aluminum tariffs...

[Winehole23]

pretextual investigation to support pretextual tariffs is a bit more proper


In a process that is likely to result in a fresh round of tariffs in the near future, the Office of U.S. Trade Representative is opening the formal probes into major trade partners that include the European Union, Mexico and China — each of which ranks among the top five sources of U.S. imports.



Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Japan and India will also be the targets of investigations under the trade statute known as Section 301.


“These investigations will focus on economies that we have evidence appear to exhibit structural excess capacity and production in various manufacturing sectors, such as through larger, persistent trade surpluses or underutilized or unused capacity,” said U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on a call with reporters Wednesday.


“We expect that this investigation will uncover a variety of unfair trading practices,” Greer added.
Greer said the U.S. would also be moving to launch an investigation related to the import of goods made with “forced labor,” in a second announcement set for later this week.
https://ustr.gov/about/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2026/march/ustr-initiates-section-301-investigations-relating-structural-excess-capacity-and-production

[Winehole23]

does Trump realize he's already mashing the button that makes prices go up before these new tariffs?

[CosmicCowboy]

Trump is dangerous. I called this shit the day they started this. It was so fucking predictable how they would respond. They are mining the damn strait and there is not a fucking thing we can do about it.

[Winehole23]

tariffs are still inflationary


https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:z6rujpf4u56jfie7aqic2nfg/bafkreigjmx6zp2drbbkdr3qvf6agyhztq5ggxuqteki2zhloj zrydwazim

[Winehole23]

Trump is determined to raise taxes on US companies


The Trump administration this week stepped up its ambitious effort to replace about $1.6 trillion in lost tariff revenue that was eliminated by the Supreme Court’s decision (https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-tariffs-trump-0485fcda30a7310501123e4931dba3f9) to strike down a range of the president’s import taxes.
Recovering that lost revenue, which the White House was counting on to help offset the steep, multi-trillion dollar cost of its tax cuts (https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-budget-deficit-taxes-447ab174f84d67fea5023bbe02dd60e0), is possible but will be challenging, experts say. The administration has to use different legal provisions (https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-supreme-court-ieepa-a3e43fe91fa8335eac383921bed55f7e) to impose new duties, and those provisions require longer, complex processes that U.S. companies can use to seek exemptions. It could be months or more before it is clear how much revenue the replacement tariffs will yield.


“I wouldn’t bet against this administration being able to get back on paper the same effective tariff rate they had before,” said Elena Patel, co-director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. But the new approach will “make it easier for people to contest the tariffs, which is going to put a big asterisk on the revenue until all that is settled.”
https://apnews.com/article/tariffs-trump-trade-275f146dbc591bab1730a911e04aa8ea

[Winehole23]

"People" are dropping Trump in the frying pan

JD Vance was only the first

There's no ostensible reason to do it if there's an available solution that can quickly reopen the strait

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ttlo47nsxjsrcoph5rzsejc5/bafkreigg3enluhuadhethoaehbbvfyvrbn54eq63zykexu3ui g4nqmzogy

[velik_m]

It’s not just oil: Aluminum prices have surged as Iran conflict chokes supply

The U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran has upended the supply of aluminum in the Middle East, sending prices of the base metal skyrocketing.

While aluminum may be the most abundant metal on earth, it is crucial to the function of the world economy.

It is an essential material across electronics, transport, and construction, as well as other industries such as solar panels and packaging.

At the outbreak of the Iran conflict on Feb. 28, 3-month LME aluminum futures initially jumped by as much as 10% by March 12 before paring some gains to land around 8% higher, as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused a significant disruption to supply.

...

The answer as to where the price could be headed next lies with China, according to other analysts.

China is the biggest producer of aluminum and tends to keep production constrained at 45.5 million tons per year to reduce emissions and prevent overcapacity issues.

“If the Chinese government decides that the prices are too high they can restart a number of idle smelters in the country and the world will be full of aluminum,” Artem Volynets, CEO of miner ACG Metals, told CNBC’s Europe Early Edition on Wednesday.

...



https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/18/why-aluminum-surged-iran-war.html

[Winehole23]

Trump did the one thing that can cause a worldwide recession and rampant inflation at the same time

[Winehole23]

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:4jnnwduuahcjt4x5dkwjwgt3/bafkreidinmd26rrkfc4ppjeknuesxa2orou37t5aeonnkgxbm clettwz2yh​ttps://www.bls.gov/news.release/ppi.htm

[velik_m]

Trump promised a manufacturing boom, but factory jobs continue to decline (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/trump-promised-a-manufacturing-boom-but-factory-jobs-continue-to-decline)

[velik_m]

Sony hikes PS5 prices by up to $150 citing ‘pressures’ in global economy

Sony on Friday said it will raise prices on its range of flagship PlayStation 5 consoles for the second time in less than a year, citing “pressures in the global economic landscape.”

In the U.S, the PS5 disc edition will jump from $549.99 to $649.99, a $100 increase from the last time Sony hiked prices of the console last year. The digital edition of the device will also rise $100 to $599.99. The PS5 Pro, Sony’s most powerful version of the console, gets a $150 hike to $899.99.

The price rises take effect on April 2.

“We know that price changes impact our community, and after careful evaluation, we found this was a necessary step to ensure we can continue delivering innovative, high-quality gaming experiences to players worldwide,” Sony said in a blog post.

When Sony raised prices globally last year, it was against the backdrop of continually high inflation and uncertainty caused by U.S. tariffs.

...



https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/27/sony-playstation-5-ps5-price-rise.html

[velik_m]

The World's Dumbest Tariff Has Been Revealed

...

So far, this is a standard US tariff story, but aluminum isn’t a standard product. According to the US Geological Survey, imports constituted approximately 60% of domestic consumption last year, even with high tariffs. This dependence does not reflect “unfair trade” but deep structural realities. Aluminum production is extremely electricity-intensive, and US power prices – along with fierce competition for electricity from AI and other high-value industries – have made smelting uneconomical relative to regions with abundant power and access to the core inputs bauxite and alumina.

In just the last few years, primary aluminum smelters in Washington, Missouri, and Kentucky have each shut down, and production has declined. Now, only four smelters are in operation, just two at full capacity. And this contraction occurred despite tariff protection expressly intended to boost output.

Taxes, regulations, and permitting burdens add to the headwinds, as do the cost and complexity of bringing a modern smelter online. Thus, the one new US facility under development in power-rich Oklahoma won't start until 2030 at the earliest. Until then, and likely well beyond, America will continue to depend on imports to keep store shelves stocked and factories running – and tariffs will continue to impose major costs.

...

Making matters worse, an easy solution to the aluminum shortfall lies next door – or, at least, it did. Canada has long been America's largest aluminum supplier, thanks to abundant hydroelectricity that gives its producers a decisive cost and environmental advantage. Canadian aluminum is also deeply integrated into US defense supply chains because the nation is a close ally that was officially made part of America’s Defense Industrial Base in 1993. With Canada specializing in primary smelting and the US focused on downstream fabrication and manufacturing, bilateral trade and investment flourished. Today, Pittsburgh-based Alcoa Corp. owns three Canadian smelters that collectively churn out almost 30% of the nation’s total output.

Comparative advantage was working exactly as advertised – until we blew it up. As Bloomberg News reported in September, Trump’s 50% tariff and removal of an exemption for Canada drove producers there to send US-bound shipments to Europe instead. In just a few months, Aluminerie Alouette – North America's largest smelter – saw its European sales rise from 4% of production to 57%. Rio Tinto Plc largely stopped shipping Canadian aluminum to the US, and even Alcoa diverted around 100,000 metric tons to non-US destinations.

These shifts are already coming back to bite the United States. With tariffs pushing Canadian aluminum elsewhere last year, American companies became “increasingly reliant” on imports from the Middle East, with almost a quarter of unwrought aluminum coming from the UAE and Bahrain. Those sources are now imperiled by the Iran war, and Canadian producers, already operating at full capacity, won’t shift back to the US market while the tariff wall remains - if ever.

Overall, aluminum protectionism has been a confounding own-goal. Tariffs haven’t just raised prices and harmed American manufacturers; they’ve actively pushed a top producer and close ally out of our market, with shrinking domestic sources unable to fill the gap. Given the metal’s role in the US defense industrial base, aluminum-related risks are likely higher today than they were before “national security” tariffs were ever enacted.
...



https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2026-03-27/the-tariff-on-aluminum-is-the-world-s-dumbest

[Blake]

Another thread that tsa will never visit ever again

[Winehole23]

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2026-03-27/the-tariff-on-aluminum-is-the-world-s-dumbestAmerica First policy is empirically harmful to America

[Winehole23]

Impeach and remove

or 25th amendment

[Winehole23]

the tariff-induced goods recession is hitting trucking and logistics


https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:z6rujpf4u56jfie7aqic2nfg/bafkreihwnzes4mi6cjgilpkj64tvgg2sdqhjk32eu32wyhshc a74s6sioihttps://www.freightwaves.com/news/freight-bankruptcies-mount-in-march-as-trucking-logistics-firms-file-chapter-11

[Winehole23]

below trend blue collar job growth

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:z6rujpf4u56jfie7aqic2nfg/bafkreiavu3mkaea6i6dbl2twwgbkukpzyx6yy2gdic37neroz zbxzcr6km

[velik_m]

Trump said wind power is for ‘stupid people.’ Here’s what European countries did 5 days later

In a speech at Davos last month, President Donald Trump railed against “windmills” as “losers” and called nations that buy them “stupid people.” Just five days later, nine European countries signed a deal to build a vast offshore wind power hub in the North Sea, the epicenter of the continent’s oil and gas industry.

The deal — not a direct response to Trump’s wind-bashing speech — offers an immense potential prize for Europe: it could increase energy security and wean the continent off its heavy dependence on US oil and gas at a time when the US is proving to be a volatile partner.

Europe is one of many energy-importing economic powers increasingly seeing renewables as synonymous with energy independence: India is adding solar at a rapid clip and China installed more wind and solar in 2024 than the total amount of renewable energy operating in the US.

The US is in stark opposition, going all in on fossil fuels while trying to shut down wind and solar projects. On energy, the US is now more “aligned with petrostates like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Russia,” said Thijs Van de Graaf, an associate professor of international politics at Ghent University.
...



https://edition.cnn.com/2026/02/19/climate/trump-wind-europe-clean-energy-independence

[Winehole23]

chaining America to a regressive industrial base is a catastrophe for the USA, but I see how it can benefit Trump short term

[velik_m]

China now tops US in global approval ratings: Gallup

Global approval of China surpassed the U.S. in 2025, the widest favorability gap between the two countries in almost 20 years, according to a new Gallup poll released Friday.

Gallup found that China’s global approval rating last year reached a median of 36 percent in support of the country’s leadership. U.S. leadership saw its median approval rating drop to 31 percent, a fall of 8 percentage points since 2024. China’s approval rose from 32 percent in 2024.

Disapproval of China’s leadership remained flat at 37 percent, Gallup found. U.S. leadership’s disapproval reached a record-high of 48 percent.

Last year was the second year on record where both countries registered negative net global approval ratings. The median net approval for China dipped to -1, with the U.S. dropping down to a median net approval of -15, the lowest on record.
...



https://thehill.com/policy/international/5816375-china-global-approval-surpasses-us-gallup/

[Blake]

https://thehill.com/policy/international/5816375-china-global-approval-surpasses-us-gallup/

Making China Great Again

[Blake]

A year after Liberation Day, what really has happened in the U.S. economy? Have tariffs had the impacts Trump claimed they would? We are giving you, the reader, the power to guess for yourself. Draw on the charts below what you think happened to the trade deficit, trade with China and tariff revenue, among other metrics, and then see how correctly you guessed.....

https://www.reuters.com/graphics/USA-TRUMP/TARIFF-ANNIVERSARY/myvmybzwbvr/

It'd be funny if it weren't so devastating.

How's Korea, tsa?

[Winehole23]

CBP to refund Trump's illegal tariffs starting today

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/how-to-file-for-tariff-refund/

[Blake]

CBP to refund Trump's illegal tariffs starting today

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/how-to-file-for-tariff-refund/

How much are we getting back as consumers for paying for the price hikes?

Oh right, $0.

[Winehole23]

the average US family paid ~$1700 in tariffs last year

[Blake]

the average US family paid ~$1700 in tariffs last year

Walmart will get their money back and continue on most likely without lowering all of the items that went up because of the tariffs.

[Winehole23]

:lmao


https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:x7srox3it3f7oynvzjbfeq4e/bafkreida3okwdjmoce2p32mgkkssl6cngcgdatd4ps4oq2u6o ykxyvuirm

"Auto plants are all coming back to our country. They're coming back from different countries where they left us for Germany and Japan and South Korea, Canada, Mexico. And they're all coming back at levels that nobody has ever seen before. Tariffs did it. I did it."

[Winehole23]

Walmart will get their money back and continue on most likely without lowering all of the items that went up because of the tariffs.pricing is often a one way ratchet

[Winehole23]

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:z6rujpf4u56jfie7aqic2nfg/bafkreifw2eq3w4qpkq5dvtlk3vlcroqjmi3gbapiycxdwhx42 ycmyo4nei

[Winehole23]

Section 122 tariffs struck down in the Federal Court of International Trade


Accepting as true every factual statement in Proclamation No. 11012, the surcharge imposed by the Proclamation rests on the existence of a large trade deficit, a current account deficit, a negative net international investment position, and a deficit on the balance on primary and secondary income (which are part of the current account). Proclamation No. 11012

The Proclamation asserts that “the United States runs a trade deficit, does not currently make a net income from the capital and labor that it deploys abroad, and experiences more transfer payments, on net, flowing out of the country than into the country.” Id. ¶ 7. Nowhere does Proclamation No. 11012 identify balance-of-payments deficits within the meaning of Section 122 as it was enacted in 1974. See generally Proclamation No. 11012. Because the Proclamation’s use of trade and current account deficits to stand in the place of balance-of-payment deficits within the meaning of the statute renders the Proclamation ultra vires, the court need not reach the arguments of whether Section 122 requires the identification of “fundamental international payments problems” or whether the exemptions provided in the Proclamation are lawful. See Trump v. Hawaii, 585 U.S. 667, 703 (2018) (requiring a “facially legitimate and bona fide” reason for Executive action (citation omitted)). Proclamation No. 11012 is invalid, and the tariffs imposed on Plaintiffs are unauthorized by law.38

https://www.cit.uscourts.gov/sites/cit/files/26-47.pdf

[Winehole23]

tariffs and Trump's war of choice fucked up Whirlpool

when Trump laid the tariffs, the cost of industrial inputs went up



This week, however, the company said that revenue dropped nearly 10% in its most recent quarter and sales of major appliances in North America tumbled 7%.

Whirlpool announced a 10% price hike in April, its largest in a decade, and said that a separate 4% price increase will happen in July to address “multiyear inflationary cost pressures”.
The company had absorbed the higher costs, choosing not to pass them on to customers, but that must change after the company posted a first quarter loss of $82m, reversing last year’s gains.

Marc Bitzer, the CEO, said on Thursday that the North American slide in sales has a precedent.

“This level of industry decline is similar to what we have observed during the global financial crisis and even higher than during other recessionary periods,” he said during a conference call.

Whirlpool said that its performance had been affected by the supreme court’s recent decision to strike down Trump’s emergency tariffs. Rival appliance makers are seeking refunds to reduce the impact of those tariffs, disrupting pricing in the industry further.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/may/07/whirlpool-recession-sales-iran-tariffs

[Winehole23]

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:bdvnkv3wu5kgtmvto4xsp6on/bafkreid3kzzdprkr44pvre4jafgbdjqxhsvemhlh4kd4mfmec q5b764hyy

[ChumpDumper]

I guess they have to be murdered by Trumptards.

Oh well.

[ChumpDumper]

TARIFFS WORK!

2053869395550572926

https://x.com/WSJ/status/2053869395550572926

[velik_m]

Consumer prices rose 3.8% annually in April, the highest since May 2023

Prices that consumers pay for a wide range of goods and services increased at a faster-than-expected pace in April, as another burst in energy prices raised further concerns about inflation’s impact on the U.S. economy.

The consumer price index rose at a seasonally adjusted 0.6% for the month, putting the one-year pace at 3.8%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday. The monthly rate was as forecast, but the annual rate was 0.1 percentage point above the Dow Jones consensus.

Excluding food and energy, the core CPI increased 0.4% and 2.8%, respectively, keeping inflation well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal as the monthly rate was the highest since January 2025. Fed officials consider core a better indicator of longer-term inflation trends.

The annual headline inflation rate was the highest since May 2023 and was up half a percentage point from March. Core inflation rose 0.2 percentage point annually.

...

The report also contained bad news for workers, as real average hourly wages slipped 0.5% for the month and fell 0.3% annually.

Stock market futures were negative following the report while Treasury yields were higher. Traders also raised the odds for a Fed rate hike by the end of the year to about 30%, according to CME Group data.

“Inflation is the key drag on the U.S. economy now,” said Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union. “This is hurting Americans. There is a real financial squeeze underway. For the first time in three years, inflation is eating up all wage gains. This is a setback for middle-class and lower-income households and they know it.”

...



https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/12/cpi-inflation-april-2026-.html

[Winehole23]

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:z6rujpf4u56jfie7aqic2nfg/bafkreic6kq4gs3wzdtngsmilrsiurpbckkyf6klh3rtp4lfdu telvbueme

[velik_m]

Italy Ditches Boeing and Buys Airbus. The Decision Says More Than It Seems

After fifteen years of flying Boeing tankers, Italy has signed a €1.39 billion contract with Airbus for six A330 MRTT multi-role tanker transport aircraft. The contract was signed on 16 April 2026 and made public through the EU's TED procurement portal on 19 May. It is the largest single defence aviation purchase Italy has made in years, and the political symbolism is impossible to miss.

...

The KC-46 Pegasus has had a troubled development history. An Accident Investigation Board report released in August 2025 documented $23 million of damage caused by the aircraft's refuelling boom nozzle binding to receiving aircraft in three separate incidents. The aircraft's Remote Vision System suffered from image distortion, poor depth perception and sensitivity to dynamic lighting, issues serious enough that the US Air Force restricted certain refuelling profiles at night or in challenging light conditions. Boeing flew an overhauled RVS 2.0 for the first time only in November 2025, beginning a testing phase aimed at resolving the tanker's long-standing technical problems.

Technical reliability was one reason. The geopolitical context was another. Italy's decision to cancel the Boeing contract in 2024 coincided with a broader European reassessment of defence procurement dependency on American suppliers, accelerated by the Trump administration's unpredictable stance toward NATO allies.

...


https://www.wantedinrome.com/news/italy-ditches-boeing-and-buys-airbus-the-decision-says-more-than-it-seems.html

[Winehole23]

request for stay, denied in the Court of International Trade


On May 20, 2026, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) denied the Government’s request to pause the CIT’s May 7 ruling during the appeals process. For now, Section 122 duties remain unlawful, and U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) cannot collect Section 122 duties from plaintiffs Burlap & Barrel, Basic Fun, and the State of Washington.

https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/court-of-international-trade-denies-2224933/

[Winehole23]

Trump laid taxes on us all illegally, by decree, and we're still paying the price


But unfortunately for American workers and consumers, winding down this fiscal fiasco results in a lose-lose-lose situation:



First, most Americans will never be reimbursed for what were effectively temporary sales taxes they paid for various imports, nor will they receive the public benefit of having those sums spent on government programs or projects.
Second, because it is logistically easier to reimburse the American companies that directly paid the tariffs, some corporations may enjoy windfall refund profits — presuming, that is, those companies did not go bankrupt.
Finally, the surviving businesses and the employees who still work for them — hundreds of thousands of workers were laid off because of the tariffs — will for the foreseeable future continue to suffer because foreign countries, companies, and citizens quite rationally retaliated against Trump’s policies.

https://www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-tariff-refunds

[velik_m]

China industrial profits jump 24.7% in April, fastest gain in over two years despite headwinds

BEIJING — China’s industrial profits surged by 24.7% in April from a year earlier, according to official data released Wednesday, despite broader signs of slowing economic momentum.

The increase marked the fastest growth since November 2023, according to financial data provider Wind Information, and accelerated from a 15.8% rise in March.

For the first four months of the year, industrial profits rose 18.2%, up from 15.5% growth in the first quarter. Computing and electronics equipment manufacturing, the largest sector by profit amount, saw earnings more than double from a year ago, although the pace slowed slightly in April from March on a year-to-date basis.

...

China reported slower economic growth in April, with a 4.1% increase in industrial output and a 0.2% rise in retail sales from a year ago. Fixed asset investment fell for the first four months of the year as the real estate drag steepened.

Exports remained strong, climbing 14.1% in April from a year ago in U.S. dollar terms. Imports surged by 25.3%, data released earlier in May showed.

The producer price index in April jumped 2.8% from a year ago, the most since July 2022.



https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/27/china-april-industrial-profits-growth.html

[Winehole23]

inflation would probably be near the Fed target right now but for Trump's illegal tariffs (plus war of choice)



https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:6m7rbdgaz5vyg4bnbefi7kh6/bafkreigtujlqokq3q6pvmzquqm7r627ttjb5llmg3iruszrzj fv2rqhi4e

[Winehole23]

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:z6rujpf4u56jfie7aqic2nfg/bafkreichjs5lpq2lp6bmbhqonkfwskd3zpbkti7profs7vyvm hblex6nm4

[velik_m]

First Chinese-made EVs arrive in Canada under deal Carney struck with Xi


Chinese-made electric vehicles are beginning to arrive in Canada under a new arrangement that Prime Minister Mark Carney agreed to in January during a visit with China’s President Xi Jinping.
Article content

The cars will be the first to be imported by Canada under a deal that allows as many as 49,000 Chinese EVs in a 12-month period at a tariff rate of around 6 per cent. Prior to this year, Canada had a tariff of more than 100 per cent on those products, effectively shutting them out.

In recent days, hundreds of Tesla Inc. cars made at the U.S. automaker’s Shanghai factory have started to show up under the new low-tariff regime, according to a person familiar with the matter, asking not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak publicly.
Article content

A vehicle carrier called Glovis Treasure with cargo including a small number of Chinese-made Lotus luxury brand cars has been moored outside the Port of Vancouver since Sunday. The ship departed Shanghai in early May, according to shipping data compiled by Bloomberg.
Article content

The Canada-China deal will be closely watched by U.S. automakers, which have historically held a dominating position in the Canadian market. Executives including General Motors Co. chief executive Mary Barra have questioned the Carney government’s decision to ease barriers to Chinese electric cars.

...



https://financialpost.com/commodities/energy/electric-vehicles/first-chinese-made-evs-arrive-canada

[Winehole23]

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:gftip5r3dmyojn5lat333pp5/bafkreidy2oc3vepdz3bn4ksjjshw2zuwgp3lp5bgldebcookj 67er2erd4

[Winehole23]

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:z6rujpf4u56jfie7aqic2nfg/bafkreibdbyczprtzz3rh4zvf2t5j4o6n6g4yo3gijpei5rwwd u7kceu4mu


has largely centered on two options: Either companies would pass on .. or ‘eat’ the tariffs .. Now we know that there was a third option: Pass on some of the costs and pay for the remainder by suppressing wages .https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2026-06-01/tariffs-two-biggest-losers-you-and-you-again

[Winehole23]

wasn't raising tariffs supposed to do this in the first place?



https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:z6rujpf4u56jfie7aqic2nfg/bafkreiadk4fwxvirgfydantfozqgkd4sfuedhboicbnziaxrf vmvds7y6u

[Winehole23]

ever the skinflint, Trump tries to welsh on the refunds for his 100% illegally imposed tariffs


DOJ is pursuing two appeals - the first broadly challenges a judge's authority to order refunds for finalized Trump tariffs struck by SCOTUS if the importer (there are ~300,000+) didn't file a lawsuit. Second contests judge's order compelling CBP head to testifybuff.ly/f7GXB1m (https://buff.ly/f7GXB1m)

[Winehole23]

the thing about not impeaching presidents who break the law is that they will keep breaking it

Trump has a mania for raising taxes by decree


Last night, the Trump Administration revealed plans (https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/06/03/trump-administration-announces-new-tariffs-over-use-forced-labor/) to use Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose massive new tariffs on imports from some 60 countries around the world, under the pretext that this is necessary to combat their importation of goods that use forced labor:



The Trump administration has taken a key step toward rebuilding a tariff wall around the U.S. economy, announcing new restrictions on goods from 60 trading partners that U.S. officials say lack sufficient prohibitions on the use of forced labor.


Under the plan, goods from nations that the U.S. says have not banned forced labor, including China, India, Britain and Japan, will face 12.5 percent tariffs. Goods from the European Union, Canada, Mexico and other nations that the U.S. says have failed to enforce bans will face 10 percent levies, the administration said in a late-night announcement Tuesday.


While he's relying on a different statute, the tariffs Trump plans to impose here seem very similar to the 10% Section 122 tariffs recently invalidated (https://reason.com/volokh/2026/05/07/us-court-of-international-trade-rules-against-trumps-section-122-tariffs/) by the US Court of International Trade, and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court (https://www.cato.org/commentary/how-supreme-court-spared-america) in February, in a case I helped bring. The tariff rates (10-12.5%) are similar and so are the various exemptions outlined by the administration.


In addition, I am extremely skeptical of the claim that all of these sixty countries - including numerous affluent liberal democracies - are actually more lax about importing goods produced by forced labor than the US is. And if forced labor were really the concern, there would be no reason to impose massive tariffs on virtually all imports from those nations, even though the vast majority of those goods have little or no connection to forced labor. It sure looks like the forced labor issue is just a pretext for large-scale protectionism of the same kind courts blocked earlier. This looks like yet another presidential power grab seeking to usurp Congress' authority over tariffs, granted by Article I of the Constitution.

https://reason.com/volokh/2026/06/03/trumps-dubious-new-section-301-tariffs/

[Winehole23]

correlation is not necessarily not causation

Trump mashed two buttons that made prices go up

global tariffs and war with Iran


https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:z6rujpf4u56jfie7aqic2nfg/bafkreiegwxzbuksclaxljrvsjp4okpncutqjrz774bzcouptd hdq4nc4xi

[Winehole23]

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6grr22xolfmyb6vzbrpic2or/bafkreihcycfkh52vmoftbm4eyk3bjjx4bjxg2wxiax37k6zci ozs2wtbcu@jpeg


Trump on USMCA: I don't know if I'm going to renew it. The US doesn't need anything Mexico or Canada have, they must treat us better.

[CosmicCowboy]

Good tariff example. I use a specialty cupronickel tubing that is ony made in Germany. There is no US option. My last order was $39 thousand and change to the manufacturer. The tariff to clear US Customs was right at $20,000. That gets passed on directly to my customers who pass it on to their customers.

[Winehole23]

one year on

Trump's tariffs by presidential decree imposed massive costs on US importers with pass through inflation, failed to achieve primary policy objective

https://www.cato.org/blog/after-year-high-tariffs-us-goods-trade-deficit-has-barely-budged

[Winehole23]

Trump want to rip up his trade deal with Canada and Mexico

Could backfire


https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:bypjzsq5xtw26b5ywo6oqhpe/bafkreibwxrrkccajrps72vpndfgbri5dmv7nkdruzenbmmi2f kvlzuyncm

[Winehole23]

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:z6rujpf4u56jfie7aqic2nfg/bafkreihxlxlgomkb4zswor3chu2y63n2ovk67dsd4c3npvj4b hsdcdcsci


The U.S. goods trade deficit widened sharply in May to $105.8 billion … a new post-Liberation Day high.

​- Schwab

[Winehole23]

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:pu76nca4whbkwubc5kokvil6/bafkreih4kfmfjjxhfpaolgihuiqandqpt3r2kvul77j36656s nkio72soy


Another casualty of the data center buildout: US trade deficit. Imports of capital goods up almost 42% YoYhttps://bsky.app/profile/fullcarry.net/post/3mp6xvpu2zk2d

[Winehole23]

Trump would like to lay new taxes on American companies to punish Europe


Donald Trump has threatened to place a 100% import tariff on any European country that imposes a tax on digital services from US companies.

Writing on Truth Social on Friday, the US president said that “numerous European countries” had been discussing putting a digital services tax on American companies and that “some of these countries are close to actually doing this”.

“Please let this statement serve to represent that any country that imposes such a tax will immediately be met with a 100% TARIFF on any and all Goods sent to the United States of America,” Trump continued.

He added that the tariff would be immediately imposed and supersede any other prior trade deals that existed with the country.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/27/trump-threatens-tariff-eu-countries-impose-digital-tax

[Winehole23]

freight inflation related to tariffs and war

Trump continues to make prices go up




https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:z6rujpf4u56jfie7aqic2nfg/bafkreiacq25gjqk2c6zhb25nr5rjj4ynjyyaq3u76maf57kdp pytqmo7mm


The cost of freight shipping has risen to its highest since the Red Sea crisis two years ago as businesses rush to stockpile inventory ahead of a fresh round of US tariffshttps://www.ft.com/content/8bf7cfa4-5412-41d3-b84e-e89f84265fe8?syn-25a6b1a6=1

[velik_m]

Trump’s tariffs aren’t saving jobs at Whirlpool’s Iowa refrigerator plant

AMANA, Iowa, June 29 (Reuters) - If any company stood to gain from President Donald Trump’s trade war, it was Whirlpool (WHR.N), opens new tab and the workers assembling its iconic appliances in Iowa.

But at its “Big Blue” refrigerator plant, so named because of its robin’s-egg-colored siding, the company has cut more than half its nearly 2,000-strong workforce in the last year, despite tariffs championed by Trump to support U.S. manufacturing.

...

CEO Marc Bitzer last year praised Trump’s trade actions, saying in an investor call that the Michigan-based company was a “net winner” from the policy.

But tariffs have not halted the job losses in Iowa or the decline in Whirlpool’s stock, now at its lowest since the 2007-2009 financial crisis.

Tariffs have raised Whirlpool’s costs for steel and imported components while demand tied to a weak housing market has softened. Meanwhile, Whirlpool has said tariffs have supported investment in other parts of its
U.S. operations. The company ​has increased sourcing from plants in Mexico and China and moved some specialty models to an updated plant in Ohio.

The changes underscore the still-evolving effects of Trump’s tariffs. While some companies say the measures support investment at home, others face higher input costs and shifting supply chains, with uneven consequences for ​jobs.
...



https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/trumps-tariffs-arent-saving-jobs-whirlpools-iowa-refrigerator-plant-2026-06-29/

[Winehole23]

One of Donald Trump’s favorite claims about the economy is that he has brought us an unprecedented boom in investment, and especially in factory construction. He constantly talks about the $18 trillion in new investment he has secured for the country, and how everyone is building factories here.


While anything can happen tomorrow, there is zero evidence of this investment boom to date, and factory construction is going the wrong way fast. As some of us (not major news outlets) have pointed out, there was a massive factory construction boom under Biden, with construction peaking in 2024 at more than twice its pre-pandemic level in the third quarter of 2024. This boom was directly connected to the major bills of the Biden presidency: the infrastructure bill, the CHIPS Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act.


https://cepr.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/fredgraph12.png

Since then, factory construction has fallen rapidly. The May figure (https://www.census.gov/construction/c30/pdf/release.pdf) was down almost 25% from the 2024 peak. All politicians exaggerate their accomplishments, but with Trump we have a president celebrating a boom that exists only in his head. In reality, factory construction under his watch has been a massive bust.
https://cepr.net/publications/trumps-factory-boom-keeps-going-in-reverse/

[Winehole23]

Trump’s Brokerage Accounts Made Big Trades Around ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs
Like most of president’s 21,000 trades in 2025, the activity was kept hidden until this weekhttps://www.wsj.com/finance/stocks/trumps-brokerage-accounts-made-big-trades-around-liberation-day-tariffs-06e92290

[Winehole23]

cold feet for a US trade deal in India


There is no political will in India at present to conclude the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the US, as a deal that imposes a disproportionate tariff-reduction burden on the country, particularly on the sensitive farm sector, is seen as “untenable”, sources said.


The government is also concerned about the potential impact of steep tariff cuts on India’s balance of payments, as trade surplus with the US is already declining, and would rather wait for the outcome of the US Section 301 investigations than negotiate under the shadow of tariff threats.


“At present, US tariffs on Indian exports are almost back to the levels that prevailed when President Donald Trump took office, as the reciprocal tariffs have been suspended and the additional 10 per cent global tariff imposed in their place is also set to lapse on July 24. In such a situation, it would be politically untenable for the government to accept a trade deal that places a disproportionate tariff-reduction burden on India,” a source tracking the matter told businessline (https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/). (https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/)

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/no-political-will-to-seal-india-us-trade-pact-under-current-terms/article71161898.ece/amp/

[Blake]

https://www.wsj.com/finance/stocks/trumps-brokerage-accounts-made-big-trades-around-liberation-day-tariffs-06e92290

Crooked Trump.

[velik_m]

Trump orders halt to US trade with Spain over NATO spending, Iran

ANKARA/MADRID, July 8 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered an immediate halt to all trade with NATO ally Spain, escalating tensions over #defence spending and the Iran war, despite European Union rules requiring trade negotiations to be conducted as a single bloc.
During a NATO summit in Ankara, which European leaders had hoped would cap rifts within the military alliance, Trump instead reignited the dispute with Spain, calling it a "terrible partner". He also irked another NATO ally Denmark by reiterating that his country should control Greenland. Denmark promised to defend every inch of ​its territory.

This marked the second time Trump has instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to halt commerce with Spain over its refusal to commit to NATO's new defence ​spending target of 5% of GDP. However, after his first such promise in March, trade between the two countries continued normally.
"Spain doesn't agree ⁠to anything, and you shouldn't carry them," Trump told NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who later tried to soothe the tension by saying that Spain "made a huge step last ​year" raising its spending to 2%, though he added that "there are still issues we have to solve".
Trump has also repeatedly expressed frustration with Spain after Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, a ​Socialist who leads a minority leftist government, refused to let the U.S. use its airspace or bases for the Iran war.

...

Despite Trump's trade threats, major U.S. investors have expressed enthusiasm about Spain as an investment destination.
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, said in its mid-year report that Spain ​was its "preferred country for equity exposure" because of economic growth that has outpaced most developed countries.
Spain is the U.S.-based firm's main ​bet at a global level ⁠for the next six months, a spokesperson said. BlackRock holds €104 billion ($119 billion) worth of Spanish equities, debt, private markets and real assets, they added.

Still, net overall U.S. investment in Spain slumped by €1.9 billion in the first quarter of 2026, according to Spain's economy ministry.
Spain is the world's largest olive oil exporter and also sells auto parts, steel, chemicals, and wine ⁠to the United ​States, although analysts consider it to be less vulnerable to Trump's threats of economic reprisal than other ​European economies.

...



https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-says-he-ordered-cutting-off-all-trade-with-spain-2026-07-08/

Trump still doesn't know how EU works.

[Winehole23]

Trump's tariff inflation is still passing through, the escalation of hostilities with Iran will compound it


https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:z6rujpf4u56jfie7aqic2nfg/bafkreicaifixqvm3h6ugzex33cck3houc6lydy5h4m37gpcy3 le3uqrcyi


NY FED: “.. nearly half of firms that have paid tariffs still plan additional price increases to offset these costs, with some expecting to raise prices six months or more in the future.”https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2026/07/more-tariff-pass-through-is-in-the-pipeline/

[Winehole23]

people don't like chaos and unpredictability, nor do they like prices going up because Trump laid taxes on US import companies by proclamation

the USA has lost ~75,000 manufacturing jobs since "Liberation Day"


https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:z6rujpf4u56jfie7aqic2nfg/bafkreihskhqetaoqled4pauzwezbjkny3tzalynwq7bkpmdbl 4j77bddyihttps://www.wsj.com/opinion/how-trumps-tariffs-really-work-c8647cd0

[Winehole23]

Trump's illegal tariffs are contributing to the budget deficit now that they have to be refunded


https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:z6rujpf4u56jfie7aqic2nfg/bafkreidzuhbydsqwvkjj3onh42c65smrsqurpzyjpxwckdgie 2xegifmhy

[Winehole23]

this, all by itself should portend the proximate impeachment and removal of Trump

unfortunately, there are tens of thousands of official acts as bad or worse

[Blake]

this, all by itself should portend the proximate impeachment and removal of Trump

unfortunately, there are tens of thousands of official acts as bad or worse

Makes Clinton's impeachment look more ridiculous by the hour.

[Winehole23]

more pretextual tariffs

punishing Brazil by taxing US companies


https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:jfex7pbe5p7nejruly6rnnhn/bafkreicsszvs3zhvwxooztrioxdtd2sk3ic4gwftakjmchhah 563aq55lihttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/15/business/economy/trump-brazil-tariffs.html

[Winehole23]

Trump to tax US import firms even more to punish Canada for wildfire smoke



"We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their Forests, and Brush therein, and the United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air," the president wrote in a social media post on Friday.


"This is Willful Negligence, and becoming a yearly occurrence, costing the United States Billions of Dollars, which cost of this pollution must of necessity be added to the TARIFFS Canada is currently paying."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/us-complaints-trump-widlfire-smoke-9.7274466

[Winehole23]

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:u6jwqspda4uhf2alsxo345lw/bafkreignz6eo3bu25grvpo2hnrb6h6vqvjeqtkh47uhjrmn6s 4ldndue2u

[Facts]

Makes Clinton's impeachment look more ridiculous by the hour.

Ridiculous isn't the word that comes to my mind.

Fucking quaint comes a lot closer.

[Facts]

Trump want to rip up his trade deal with Canada and Mexico

Could backfire

It has backfired.

Canada has collectively decided that the US has lost its goddamned mind and are strategically starting to divest itself from its ties to the US. It is looking to move toward the EU and export its products there and raw materials to Asia. That process is, it seems to me based on sentiments of Canucks I see online, that process is irreversible.

We have seen job losses related to tourism already, and if you think the detention stories by ICE play badly over here, for Europeans deciding where to go on vacation, it is making us look like a banana republic. Not as far from the truth as I would like.

[Facts]

Good tariff example. I use a specialty cupronickel tubing that is ony made in Germany. There is no US option. My last order was $39 thousand and change to the manufacturer. The tariff to clear US Customs was right at $20,000. That gets passed on directly to my customers who pass it on to their customers.

Heard a really good point on tariffs the other day.

There have literally been hundreds of changes, looking likely to top 1,000+ by the end of the year, it becomes close to impossible to determine compliance for businesses of whatever tariff is maybe in place. The only person who makes that determination is the low level bureaucrat reviewing the paperwork.

The best way to ensure your imported goods don't get held up is to develop a close working relationship with that persons checking account. It is very corrosive to the rule of law. it was a problem before, but now... its a feature.

[Winehole23]

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:j2kmiyhld5btzozgzwy3lc2m/bafkreiawbl3qrxbpibrudw2uxvtu3kikpto2lstmhaplitnwc mhirpgmve


never-previously-used section of the smoot-hawley tariff act. allows the President to impose up to 50% duties on imports from countries that, in his view discriminate against American commerce.

[Winehole23]

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:yge3sr4i2ffsta2unrjbriy6/bafkreidphsz5ob5gmxz2bm4rnzgf43mbys5eoibp6acyd43ze zwyywq66ewww.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/... (https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2026/07/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-imposes-additional-tariffs-on-canada/)

[Winehole23]

RIP Detroit

[ChumpDumper]

Never going to make the 30 days tbh.

[Winehole23]

tariffs on generic drugs 100% starting in 2028, going to 200% in 2029

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/21/trump-says-he-will-impose-tariffs-on-generic-drugs-starting-in-august-2028-01007137

[Winehole23]

“This is done in order to RESHORE Generic Pharmaceutical Production into America, with a penalty to those Companies that decide not to build Plant and Equipment within the stated period of time given to them.”

A White House official said in an email that the administration intends to use Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which is used to address national security concerns stemming from a reliance on imports, to impose the levies.

[Blake]

Ridiculous isn't the word that comes to my mind.

Fucking quaint comes a lot closer.

Honestly, it's beyond any words I can come up with

[Blake]

Never going to make the 30 days tbh.

Canadian taco

[Winehole23]

Donald Trump, human rights champion, imposes a new round of global tariffs on US importers

Taxing US companies to punish the rest of the world


President Donald Trump is going ahead with new double-digit tariffs on dozens of U.S. trading partners just as the clock runs out Friday on stopgap levies he imposed after a stinging defeat at the Supreme Court.[

The United States will slap taxes of 10% to 12.5% on imports from 60 countries accounting for 99% of U.S. imports, charging that they have inadequately enforced bans on goods produced by forced labor.

"The United States has had a forced labor import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it; it's well past time for our trading partners to do the same," said U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. "Today's action will begin to correct what is both a human rights abuse and distortive trade practice to improve the welfare of workers everywhere.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-imposes-double-digit-tariffs-on-dozens-of-countries-as-stopgap-10-levies-expire-friday

[Winehole23]

isn't punishing forced labor woke or something?

[Winehole23]

President Trump says he’ll put tariffs on Mexico “because of the lettuce” and on Canada “because of the smoke.”

[Winehole23]

primary policy objective, not achieved


https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:z6rujpf4u56jfie7aqic2nfg/bafkreibchmyehj2i5ndiwv2dty7flrmlbdcy2yu5bhqct4xgp otnjstzo4

[velik_m]

U.S. economy slowed to 1.5% growth rate in Q2; June core inflation at 3.3%

...
Gross domestic product, a broad measure of goods and services, increased just 1.5% for the April-through June period, according to Bureau of Economic Analysis numbers adjusted for seasonality and inflation.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for a growth rate of 1.8%, following the 2.1% increase in the first quarter.

A separate report showed that the personal consumption expenditures price index, which is the Federal Reserve’s primary forecasting gauge, fell a seasonally adjusted 0.1% for the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 3.7%. The readings were in line with forecasts.

Excluding food and energy, core PCE posted a monthly increase of 0.1% and an annual level of 3.3%, against respective forecasts for 0.2% and 3.3%.
...



https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/30/us-economy-slowed-to-1point5percent-growth-rate-in-q2-june-core-inflation-at-3point3percent.html

[Winehole23]

Trump's mercurial approach to tariffs creates uncertainty, and that uncertainty makes it harder for businesses to plan for the future


“.. The costs of tariffs are also becoming clearer. Uncertainty is weighing on investment: half of business leaders surveyed by KPMG .. report low confidence in carrying out their investment plans."https://www.economist.com/united-states/2026/07/22/the-tariffs-that-just-wont-die

[Winehole23]

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/30/us-economy-slowed-to-1point5percent-growth-rate-in-q2-june-core-inflation-at-3point3percent.htmlwhat's it called when economic growth goes down and prices go up at the same time?

[Winehole23]

The White House plan to attract manufacturing businesses with a volatile regulatory environment, new arbitrary taxes (subject to change on a whim), and sending secret police to harass foreign workers has not led to more factory construction in the US.

Why didn’t that work? I was told it would work.

[Blake]

But tsa posted a tweet saying it would work. Why have these guys all disappeared?

[Winehole23]

WASHINGTON (AP) - 25 states sue over Trump's latest tariffs, calling them pretext for replacing levies Supreme Court struck down.

[velik_m]

Trump admin refunds $100 billion in ‘liberation day’ tariffs

The Trump administration said it has refunded about $100 billion of the tariff revenue that was collected before President Donald Trump’s “liberation day” duties were struck down by the Supreme Court.

The figure, reported Tuesday in a filing in the U.S. Court of International Trade, represents about 60% of the roughly $166 billion the government says it raked in from the sweeping tariffs Trump imposed in 2025 using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA.

Those tariffs were scrapped in late February after the high court ruled IEEPA did not authorize them. About two weeks later, federal Judge Richard Eaton ordered that tariffs collected under IEEPA must be refunded to the importers.

Trump, who placed heavy-handed tariffs at the center of his economic and foreign policy agendas, has vented his rage over the court rulings, and his administration has recently taken a series of steps to effectively re-create the IEEPA tariff regime using other legal authorities.
...


https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/05/trump-tariffs-refunds-ieepa-lawsuit.html

[Blake]

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/05/trump-tariffs-refunds-ieepa-lawsuit.html

Moron in chief

[velik_m]

US beef prices have soared but farmers aren't making more money

...

Due to the national shortage of cattle, Gropper is getting record prices for his. But unfortunately his costs have equally climbed to new highs.

A new pick-up truck that once cost $40,000 now runs to $100,000. A wooden fence post has gone from about $6 to as much as $19. A quarter-mile roll of barbed wire has doubled, from $60 to $130. Everything he uses day to day, he says, has jumped in price since the Covid pandemic.

And with little grass on parched fields – well over 60% of US cattle are now grazing on drought-hit land - farms like his are having to buy in hay, silage and other fodder for their cattle.

"I'm able to pay my bills, but my input costs are so drastically high that if we didn't have these record prices we'd all be broke. I sit down to do my taxes, and it feels like I made a lot of money. But in the end I really didn't make any more."

...

The rancher is selling calves for record sums, but is not better off because he has higher costs. The feedlot company is selling for all-time high prices, but it also has to pay them in the first place.

Then the packers are losing money because there is a limit to what they can charge. Restaurants and supermarkets also can only increase prices by so much.

Everyone is turning over more money than they used to, but not keeping any of the extra. It's a situation that won't change until significantly more US cattle come to market.

Yet as Eric Gropper puts it, you can't conjure a cow overnight. Instead a heifer, a young female cow, needs two years before she is able to produce a calf. And that calf needs another year to reach slaughter weight, so the extra beef takes three years to arrive.



https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdrv0k0j662o

[Winehole23]

tariffing Canadian aluminum raised US prices a lot



https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:z6rujpf4u56jfie7aqic2nfg/bafkreiagaft2yfdgdpqwdct7vufn7xjpsu7vg2p7qaryc4fpe jeptpqtna

[Winehole23]

NO HITTING BACK


Donald Trump's trade envoy says the administration will not accept any form of retaliation from Canada if the U.S. president follows through on his latest tariff threat.

"For us, this is not a trade war. We have domestic supply chains we're trying to protect," U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters in Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday.

"It's not Canada-specific, we're doing this globally. If a country retaliates against us, we're not going to tolerate that. We'll take action."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/greer-retaliation-trade-deal-tariffs-9.7307407

[Blake]

Lol "don't call it a trade war"

[Winehole23]

more pretextual tariffs

brass in the school band is a natsec threat


As school districts, parents, and students nationwide prepare for fall, music educators are wrangling with a sour note. On August 6, 2026, the US Commerce Department issued a request for comment (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/06/2026-15961/request-for-public-comments-on-the-proposed-implementation-of-duties-on-additional-aluminum-steel) this month on a proposal to impose tariffs on imported brass wind instruments such as trombones, trumpets, and tubas as a threat to national security. These instruments were part of a list of derivative products covered by Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which allows tariffs to protect industries vital to security interest. If implemented, this inclusion would harm music retailers and school music programs while opening the door to considering virtually any imported good as such a threat.https://www.piie.com/blogs/realtime-economics/2026/weapons-brass-destruction-trumps-tariffs-target-musical-instruments

[Winehole23]

The argument for including brass wind instruments is straightforward: For the United States to build out critical mineral supply chains—both copper and zinc, which together form brass, are on the US critical minerals list—requires a consistent demand signal. Tariffing brass wind instruments would ostensibly create greater incentives to produce instruments domestically. But brass wind instruments account for a trivial share of US copper consumption, which is already soaring due to the artificial intelligence (AI) data center boom (https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/06/copper-jumps-to-its-highest-level-ever-what-the-metal-is-telling-us-.html) and attendant electrical grid expansion. Including brass horns under Section 232 might shift demand toward US producers, but only by a tiny fraction of a percent. Their inclusion or exclusion will not materially alter market fundamentals for copper. The effect on musical instruments and their consumers would be harmful.

[Winehole23]

eating the seed corn of US industry


The vast majority of student-grade musical instruments for sale in the United States are imported. In a textbook example of globalization, (https://www.piie.com/blogs/realtime-economics/2024/way-music-died-tariffs-could-hit-musical-instrument-imports) firms take advantage of global production networks to the benefit of consumers and music lovers. Student-grade instruments are mostly manufactured in China and Southeast Asia, whereas master-crafted horns made in the United States can be sold at much higher prices. The US manufacturing base can therefore service the high-end (and higher-margin) market while lower-cost imports provide more bang for the buck for school music programs and cost-sensitive beginner musicians. US musicians typically start on cheaper imported instruments before moving to US-made instruments as their skills progress and pockets deepen. As I've argued before (https://www.piie.com/blogs/realtime-economics/2026/tariffs-slashed-us-musical-instrument-imports-what-end), low-cost imported instruments are the seed corn of the US musical instrument industry's future consumer base.

[CosmicCowboy]

It's especially crazy in guitars. My US made Martin D41 retails for over $5000. You can get new chinese knockoffs that are "close" for $250.

[Winehole23]

It's especially crazy in guitars. My US made Martin D41 retails for over $5000. You can get new chinese knockoffs that are "close" for $250.for quality, you pay

[velik_m]

Trump pauses 50% tariffs on Canada for 3 days

President Donald Trump late Tuesday slammed the brakes on a wave of tariffs that were set to hit Canada at midnight.

On social media, Trump wrote: “I have paused the 50% Tariffs against Canada, that were scheduled to kick in tomorrow morning for a three day period, based on the fact that Canada and the U.S.A., subject to the finalization of documents, have a DEAL!”

Trump did not provide further details, except to refer to the Keystone XL pipeline, which he said “may be awoken from the grave!”

“The deal will include comprehensive market access for all American goods, economic security commitments, digital trade alignment, and many important provisions that will continue to protect our market and American workers, along with our Canadian partners,” the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a separate social media post.

In a statement, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the postponement of tariffs would last until the end of the day Friday.

“Substantial progress has been made, although there is important work still to be done,” he said.

...



https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/trump-pauses-canada-tariffs-rcna593176

[ChumpDumper]

for quality, you pay

Haven't checked the acoustics but the baseline quality of cheap electric guitars from Indonesia and the like is stunningly good compared to the past.

[CosmicCowboy]

yeah, not saying that all chinese acoustic guitars are bad...I have a Yamaha LL-TA that is a great guitar and it's made in China. It will hold it's own with my Martins, especialy using the transacoustic. it's just that they are literally making almost exact visual knockoffs of the higher price Martins only using laminate backs and sides, knock off grovers, etc. You can get a Chinese D45 for $350 instead of $10,000 for a real one. Obviously they don't sound the same but they are being sold to unsophisticated buyers on craigslist and facebook marketplace as "real" Martins. I just saw one on marketplace in New York guy was asking $2000 for a fake D41. I nailed him on it and and he took it down.

[Winehole23]

Haven't checked the acoustics but the baseline quality of cheap electric guitars from Indonesia and the like is stunningly good compared to the past.I have an Indonesian-made Ibanez ATK bass

Love it

[Winehole23]

.

[ChumpDumper]

yeah, not saying that all chinese acoustic guitars are bad...I have a Yamaha LL-TA that is a great guitar and it's made in China. It will hold it's own with my Martins, especialy using the transacoustic. it's just that they are literally making almost exact visual knockoffs of the higher price Martins only using laminate backs and sides, knock off grovers, etc. You can get a Chinese D45 for $350 instead of $10,000 for a real one. Obviously they don't sound the same but they are being sold to unsophisticated buyers on craigslist and facebook marketplace as "real" Martins. I just saw one on marketplace in New York guy was asking $2000 for a fake D41. I nailed him on it and and he took it down.Yeah, THAT is bullshit -- but if you know what you're looking for there are decent solid panel Asian acoustics out there as you said.

[Winehole23]

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:z6rujpf4u56jfie7aqic2nfg/bafkreidw7eq5v65uxdsbfxny7szztsmynxom2jt3odlsgbn6o s64snkciq

[ChumpDumper]

All we need to do is tariff the imported beef.

People are saying it will fix everything!

[Spurs Homer]

It's especially crazy in guitars. My US made Martin D41 retails for over $5000. You can get new chinese knockoffs that are "close" for $250.

Not that close...

Those Hsienmo guitars that rival a D41 - are more like $1800-2200 ish...some are just as good - some missing the mark-still a good deal but nowhere near $250

[Winehole23]

Art of the Deal guy doesn't know how deals work or he thinks you don't

In commercial trade, money is exchanged for goods and services

We bought stuff we need and want from Canada, like electricity, potash and heating oil -- under deal terms negotiated by Trump in his first administration -- how is that a ripoff?


https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:4usmserhjqkvhldgedfjb3jw/bafkreigyi3w5qhsmvggttqe22k4fzegdsa5ptkmeyciq2xxxe lijo7bhtm

[CosmicCowboy]

Trump has lost his fucking mind. Just totally deranged. An not a fucking one of his flunkys has the balls to stand up to him and tell him he is fucking up.

[velik_m]

U.S. considers fresh round of tariffs on semiconductors, report says

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is reportedly considering new tariffs on U.S. semiconductors, as tech giants race to beat China in the AI infrastructure buildout.

The duties will be imposed on an expanded range of tech products made alongside chips, including laptops, data center servers, and gaming hardware, eight people familiar with the matter told Politico in a report published Thursday.

The measures, which are still in the early phases and subject to significant changes over the next few months, will be introduced via a staggered roll-out period, according to the report.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC, but told Politico: “Reshoring semiconductor manufacturing is a top priority for President Trump, whose policies have already secured hundreds of billions of dollars of investments in this key sector.”

...


https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/27/trump-semiconductor-tech-tariffs.html

[Winehole23]

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/27/trump-semiconductor-tech-tariffs.htmlI hope he does it

[Winehole23]

Trumplandia isn't ready for the swiftness of Trump's descent into loserdom

[Winehole23]

Trump is fucking US industry


Canada’s aluminum industry is not worried about U.S. tariffs continuing into the new year.


While Canadian domestic producers will absorb the loss of U.S. business and find other customers, the U.S. will find it nearly impossible to replace its cheapest supplier, says Jean Simard, president and chief executive officer at Aluminum Association of Canada.


“We wish them good luck,” says Simard.


The U.S. depends on Canada for 75 per cent of its imported primary aluminum, covering 60 per cent of its yearly usage, the association says. (https://aluminium.ca/en/)


With 50 per cent tariffs in place, he says American industries, not Canadian smelters, will bear the brunt of the financial pain, as U.S. manufacturers face soaring production costs.
“They’re pricing themselves out of export markets because, basically, they’re paying US$1500 to US$2,000 a tonne more for the metal than their competitors in Europe are paying for,” says Simard.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/2026/08/26/most-us-aluminum-comes-from-canada-as-industry-says-good-luck-to-tariff-threats/

[Winehole23]

what a dumbshit, literally does not know how capitalism works

"you can be a food processor now"


https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:movn6xzezospl7lnkhy7nzpt/bafkreiczxqpohsam555sr4v5y2qugbjv7v4kkmlln4v3742cl qscft74zi

[Winehole23]

"you need to build processing facilities, hire more people and do way more work -- problem solved!"

encouraging ranchers to take out massive capex loans might not go over so well with a cohort already squeezed by tariffs, high fertilizer and fuel costs -- and long accustomed to compensatory government subsidies

[Winehole23]

NO TRADE, NO PROBLEM

https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.lPqK3qHS-Jie4u-UiP481AHaEK?w=265&h=180&c=7&r=0&o=7&dpr=1.5&pid=1.7&rm=3
We don't need their product... So, if we cut off trade with that country, we just made $40 billion.

You do a few countries like that, and we become a big money machine.

[Winehole23]

(no potash, no heating oil, no electricity for New England, no tar sands crude for midwest refineries, no problem)

[velik_m]

The world’s second-largest economy just decided, with one of its top African partners, to do away with the use of the US dollar

The East Asian nation presented this idea to Egypt, one of its largest trading partners in Africa, after the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, made a historic visit to Cairo.

In a joint statement, the two heads of state advocated for an increase in trade and investment settlements denominated in their respective national currencies, as seen on Xinhuanet.

Additionally, both countries agreed to increase their local currency swap agreement, as reported by DailyNewsEgypt.

As earlier reported, China's President arrived in Egypt on Tuesday, his first visit to the Arab world's most populous nation in a decade.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi welcomed Xi at Cairo International Airport, where they walked a long red carpet flanked by uniformed soldiers, folk dancers, and young Egyptians waving Chinese flags.

During the visit, both presidents discussed cooperation across several sectors including construction, energy, manufacturing, and agriculture.

Both leaders also witnessed the signing of several memorandums of Understanding between business entities from both countries.

The event, which marked the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Egypt and China, also saw them agree to trade in their local currencies.
...



https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/markets/the-worlds-second-largest-economy-just-decided-with-one-of-its-top-african-partners/kcfvnsc

[Winehole23]

Trump is a dunce, commercial trade is not zero-sum


https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ievzc5ztlgafe37ve5vrzqcx/bafkreifptiimhprz2tziy3luurwyjut6uqbx5mxinsko6cacf d2bgxfuoe

[Winehole23]

Trump thinks that if you pay somebody $10 for a burrito than you have lost the $10, like it has been stolen from you. He's not pretending; this is literally the basis of his trade policy

[Winehole23]

https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIF.EbSahTfMR0M5dnhRypNang?w=320&h=180&c=7&r=0&o=7&dpr=1.5&pid=1.7&rm=3


"all we import from Mexico is tomatoes and hot tamales"






United States Imports from Mexico
Value
Year


Total (https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports/mexico)
$538.96B
2025


Machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers (https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports/mexico/nuclear-reactors-boilers-machinery)
$150.61B
2025


Vehicles other than railway, tramway (https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports/mexico/vehicles-not-railway-tramway)
$124.20B
2025


Electrical, electronic equipment (https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports/mexico/electrical-electronic-equipment)
$91.35B
2025


Optical, photo, technical, medical apparatus (https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports/mexico/optical-photo-technical-medical-apparatus)
$24.14B
2025


Commodities not specified according to kind (https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports/mexico/commodities-not-specified-according-to-kind)
$14.06B
2025


Mineral fuels, oils, distillation products (https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports/mexico/mineral-fuels-oils-distillation-products)
$12.32B
2025


Furniture, lighting signs, prefabricated buildings (https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports/mexico/furniture-lighting-signs-prefabricated-buildings)
$12.30B
2025


Beverages, spirits and vinegar (https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports/mexico/beverages-spirits-vinegar)
$11.12B
2025


Edible fruits, nuts, peel of citrus fruit, melons (https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports/mexico/edible-fruits-nuts-peel-citrus-fruit-melons)
$10.36B
2025


Plastics (https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports/mexico/plastics)
$8.50B
2025


Edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers (https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports/mexico/edible-vegetables-certain-roots-tubers)
$8.34B
2025


Pearls, precious stones, metals, coins (https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports/mexico/pearls-precious-stones-metals-coins)
$7.79B
2025


Articles of iron or steel (https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports/mexico/articles-iron-steel)
$6.13B
2025


Rubbers (https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports/mexico/rubbers)
$4.77B
2025


Miscellaneous articles of base metal (https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports/mexico/miscellaneous-articles-base-metal)
$2.89B
2025


Cereal, flour, starch, milk preparations and products (https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports/mexico/cereal-flour-starch-milk-preparations-products)
$2.84B
2025


Meat and edible meat offal (https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports/mexico/meat-edible-meat-offal)
$2.50B
2025


Iron and steel (https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports/mexico/iron-steel)
$2.40B
2025


Vegetable, fruit, nut food preparations (https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports/mexico/vegetable-fruit-nut-food-preparations)
$2.24B
2025


Toys, games, sports requisites (https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports/mexico/toys-games-sports-requisites)
$1.96B
2025


Sugars and sugar confectionery (https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports/mexico/sugars-sugar-confectionery)
$1.92B
2025


Glass and glassware (https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports/mexico/glass-glassware)
$1.86B
2025


Aluminum (https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports/mexico/aluminum)
$1.81B
2025


Articles of apparel, not knit or crocheted (https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports/mexico/articles-apparel-accessories-not-knit-crocheted)
$1.77B
2025


https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports/mexico

[Winehole23]

“We could do tremendous good for ourselves by just not trading with countries” — Trump’s bonkers view of trade is that you become wealthy by not engaging in commerce

[Winehole23]

“I refuse to eat at this restaurant. I keep giving them money for delicious food and they refuse to buy anything from me. What a ripoff!”

[Winehole23]

it's corruption all the way down

Trump wants to sell you a substandard hamburger that's a little cheaper



Trump last week detailed a plan (https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2026/08/21/trump-announces-90-day-tariff-relief-for-ground-beef-imports-as-costs-soar/) to bolster the American beef supply by waiving tariffs (https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2026/08/31/is-it-safe-to-eat-beef-what-to-know-about-major-recall-imports-and-trumps-tariff-free-meat/) on 300,000 tons of beef imports over three months, a scheme he announced one day after meeting with Batista, who co-owns the world’s largest meatpacking company.

Batista, whose company JBS was the single largest donor to Trump’s inaugural fund through one of its subsidiaries, met with the president in the Oval Office and lobbied him to lift a 26% import duty on Brazilian beef, according to the Wall Street Journal (https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/how-a-brazilian-billionaire-helped-shape-trumps-beef-import-plan-9f969669).

The White House has not answered questions about where the tariff-free beef will come from, but the tax relief can apply to any nation categorized by U.S. volume-limit import law as “other countries or areas,” which includes Brazil, Paraguay, Japan, Ireland and other EU countries.

As part of the “other countries” quote, Brazilian beef imports are capped at about 52,000 metric tons per year and Brazil usually hits that cap within weeks of a new year.

After that, any additional beef sent to the U.S. is subject to a massive 26.4% “out-of-quota” tariff and, as a massive beef exporter, Brazil is the primary nation suffering under the tariff and the country that would benefit the most from lifting them.

The meeting between Batista and Trump came after the EU announced it would halt Brazilian meat imports, leaving packers with an immense surplus of export-ready meat and creating an urgent bottleneck that likely motivated JBS and Batista to aggressively lobby Trump for a tariff-free outlet in the U.S.

The suspension of the over-quota tariff rate allows countries to import up to 100,000 metric tons of lean beef trimmings per month on a first-come, first-served basis, which uniquely benefits Brazil’s massive slaughterhouses, high export capacity and ready-to-ship product.


https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2026/09/03/how-a-brazilian-billionaire-won-a-us-tariff-exemption-for-beef-the-eu-wont-buy/

[velik_m]

Trump doubles down on threat to halt trade with top partners unless Fed cuts rates

President Donald Trump on Friday doubled down on his threat to cut off trade with countries that have surpluses with the U.S. unless the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates.

“What I’m saying, very simply, is that we should be paying the lowest interest rate in the world,” Trump said in the Oval Office.

He had been asked about his Truth Social post earlier in the day declaring, “LOWER THE RATE OR I’LL STOP TRADING WITH COUNTRIES WITH WHICH WE HAVE A DEFICIT.”

Trump issued that sweeping ultimatum after urging the Fed and its chairman, Kevin Warsh, to “get smart” and cut rates following a much-stronger-than-expected monthly jobs report.

...

Taken at face value, the threat to end trade with deficit-harboring countries is extreme: The U.S. has large deficits with dozens of countries, including its top trading partners.

Trump has long sought lower interest rates and frequently complains about U.S. deficits with other countries. But many economists say trade deficits themselves are not necessarily good or bad. In fact, deficits can occur when a country has more purchasing power to buy more goods.

What’s more, the countries that have trade surpluses with the U.S. will often use the dollars they receive to buy U.S. Treasurys, putting that money back into domestic circulation. The U.S. has reported trade deficits in the tens of billions of dollars each month for decades.

But in the Oval Office on Friday afternoon, Trump once again portrayed deficits as a zero-sum game in which other countries are taking advantage of the U.S.

...


https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/04/trump-fed-rates-jobs-trade.html

[Winehole23]

Opening the door to Irish whiskey, closing it to Canadian spirits

The US goods trade deficit with Ireland was ~$114B in 2025

The US goods trade deficit with Canada was ~$53B in 2025



https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6m2oisr7a2cis2cmxlqlj4kd/bafkreigsg76ibf55nrlmut7qnbg6b33dmfkojxparznio7ske auyvbrqx4

[Winehole23]

Trump's discretionary global tariffs regime has nothing to do with the trade deficit, it's just Trump throwing his weight around or granting favors arbitrarily

[Winehole23]

Q: The whiskey tariffs are an EU tariff. Are you taking it off all EU countries?

TRUMP: A lot of people asked me about. It was pretty unfair, so I decided to do that

Q: On just Ireland, or all of the EU?

TRUMP: Just Ireland

[Winehole23]

"The president is a stupid asshole" quickly became a trite observation but that's still the analysis that most accurately and succinctly explains almost everything that happens

[Winehole23]

Trump is a dunce who has no idea how international trade works

We get goods and services when we buy from other countries -- oftentimes we resell the goods for a profit. It's not a ripoff if we have more money to buy things from smaller countries than they have to buy from us, the money is exchanged for things US people/companies want and need.


If we lose $50 billion a year with a country, and we say 'we're not going to trade with you anymore,' we don't lose $50 billion a year. It's very simple. Right?

[Winehole23]

Consumers get nutritious bananas, grocery stores make profits

Sure, consumers forgo eating bananas and grocers can save the money instead, but in that case -- assuming the erstwhile banana money is saved and not spent elsewhere -- the merchant forgoes the profit and the consumer is deprived of desirable goods

It's sort of a baby-brained mercantilism: "me no spend so me got more money"

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:ruzyrl5uwqh4u7pklwy27m7m/bafkreiaq7odywmc4bqdilwzi3htv4qgfmi6oupjhjbrcoxeuh i2nfbts4m

[Winehole23]

Jury-rigging the economy to augment state power is sort of what the founders of this country rebelled against

Trump is trying to repeal the 19th century and bring back royal prerogatives

[Winehole23]

autarky is not well regarded popularly in the USA, but cheaper goods are


https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4bwzn4ayvrvtiukfuwnz2i65/bafkreidrube4daksstfotsjl55s5rcmpuy2sj5mfmxxid6lyk z5hkxexre

[Winehole23]

*BESSENT: EXAMINING DIESEL EXPORT BAN, WHETHER IT'S FEASIBLE
*BESSENT: EXAMINING WHETHER FULL OR PARTIAL BAN WOULD WORK
*TRUMP SAYS DISCUSSED DIESEL EXPORT BAN WITH HIS 'PEOPLE'
*TRUMP ON DIESEL EXPORT BAN: I'VE CALLED FOR IT TOO

[Winehole23]

we have to stop imports because that's other countries stealing money from us, and we have to stop exports because that's other countries stealing goods from us

at last we will throw off our shackles, no longer a nation plagued by trade

[velik_m]

The Collapse of Farm Exports Is the Most Underappreciated Story in American Politics

As President Donald Trump embarked on his plan to hike tariffs and escalate tensions with America's biggest trading partners, he offered an infamous bit of reassurance.

"Trade wars are good," Trump tweeted on March 2, 2018, "and easy to win."

More than eight and a half years later, both claims have proven to be untrue. And while much of the focus of Trump's trade wars has been on American manufacturing, it is actually American farmers who have been marched to the front lines. For them, Trump's trade wars have been difficult, losing affairs.

Don't take my word for it. Read what the Trump administration's own Department of Agriculture said in a report on the status of the "farm economy downturn."

From 1990 to 2018, the U.S. ran agricultural trade surpluses—meaning that it exported more farm goods than it imported from other countries. Since the start of Trump's trade war, however, that dynamic has flipped. That's bad news for farmers, who have seen their overseas markets shrink.

And it all points back to the trade war with China.
...


https://reason.com/2026/09/24/the-collapse-of-farm-exports-is-the-most-underappreciated-story-in-american-politics/

[Winehole23]

^^^ stands to reason, Trump is a malevolent dunce

[Winehole23]

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:exxszs2yh7ftrtqcbydzvcbw/bafkreifldvbe4irwpj23toe24kjlfrfgf3mqfs4uuaqhrerpi dhxhkz4j4

[Winehole23]

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:z6rujpf4u56jfie7aqic2nfg/bafkreihzhsgzgkxi5os2vi5hi2wtspmdfnlrbfuu64mshdcvf iqsrot53m

[velik_m]

U.S. trade representative Greer says deal with India not ‘imminent’ after Modi-Trump call

U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer on Thursday signaled that a deal with India was not on the cards soon, as Washington and New Delhi continue to hash out the finer points of a much-awaited agreement.

“I don’t think there is something imminent,” Greer said in response to a query by Indian news agency ANI, adding that “we truly have identified the universe of items that are sticking points.”

His comments come just a day after U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s spoke over the phone, a call that Greer described as “very constructive.” He also held bilateral meetings with Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, who is in the U.S. to negotiate the trade deal and to attend the G20 trade ministers meeting in Milwaukee.

Goyal, in a social media post, seemed more upbeat about the negotiations as he underscored that discussions with Greer were around “early conclusion of a mutually beneficial interim agreement under the India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement.”

...


https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/02/us-india-trade-modi-trump-russia-oil.html

[Winehole23]

Trump take free chips and salsa


Free chips and salsa at Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants could soon be a casualty of President Donald Trump's trade war with Mexico.


The administration's tariffs on Mexican tomato exports are making the traditional appetizer too costly for restaurants to just give away.


The Trump administration imposed a 17% tariff on Mexican tomatoes (https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2025/07/a-big-difference-trump-administrations-tomato-tariffs-already-a-game-changer-for-american-farmers/) in July 2025, ostensibly with the aim of protecting U.S. farmers from foreign competition and boosting domestic production. Mexico accounts for roughly 90% of the tomatoes the U.S. has imported since 2015, worth more than $3 billion, according to a study by Texas A&M University AgriLife Extension Service.


Grocery stores and restaurants were initially able to absorb the higher costs rather than passing them on to consumers. But then, bad weather in Mexico and Florida reduced supplies, and tomato prices jumped to their highest level in two decades (https://www.cobank.com/knowledge-exchange/duties-and-weather-drive-tomato-prices-up-40-percent-organic-produce-premiums-climb).


"As a result, we saw the fresh tomato market jumped to about $80 a box," said Dante Galeazzi, president of the Texas International Produce Association (https://texipa.org/). "We saw, as American consumers, that there was a point in late April and almost the entire month of May, where grocery stores were not carrying tomatoes. So that’s a clear reflection of price elasticity where the buyers just say, ‘You know what? We’re not going to participate.'"


Restaurants have held out a few months longer, in large part because customers have become accustomed to free chips and salsa. But food costs overall have spiked roughly 35% over the past two years, in part due to the tariffs.


Kelsey Erickson Streufert, chief public affairs officer for the Texas Restaurant Association, said her members are now dealing with a raft of other escalating expenses.


"The challenge is for our Texas restaurants, they operate on very narrow profit margins in what I would call good economic times," Streufert said, "and right now we’re living in a time of very high costs on food — which is most restaurants’ biggest line item — but also labor, utilities, credit card swipe fees, insurance. Almost everything that it takes to run a restaurant these days is significantly more expensive than it was a year or two ago."


The San Antonio Business Journal has reported (https://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/news/2026/09/25/chips-and-salsa-cover-story-restaurants-charges.html) that some restaurants in that city spend tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on salsa ingredients. That may no longer be sustainable.
https://www.tpr.org/government-politics/2026-10-02/trump-tomato-tariffs-could-spell-the-end-of-free-chips-salsa-at-restaurants

[velik_m]

Trade deficit hits $105.6 billion, widest since just before Trump tariffs enacted last year

The U.S. trade deficit widened sharply in August amid an influx of goods related to the artificial intelligence build-out and the vagaries of import tariffs, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

Imports swelled 4.3% for the month, pushing the total imbalance to $105.6 billion. That marked a 13.7% jump from July and was ahead of the Dow Jones consensus estimate for $102 billion.

It also was the steepest deficit since the all-time gap in March 2025, recorded just before President Donald Trump’s “liberation day” announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs against U.S. trading partners.

Though the monthly total was up, the year-to-date deficit of $138.2 billion was off nearly 20% from the same period a year ago.

...



https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/06/trade-deficit-hits-105point6-billion-widest-since-just-before-trump-tariffs-enacted-last-year.html

[Winehole23]

^^^ because our president is a stupid asshole

[Blake]

^^^ because our president is a stupid asshole

So are all the idiots that believed in him

[Winehole23]

the NY Fed presumably hasn't clocked war inflation yet


https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:mfrcz3kv7bsth54bkyrridp5/bafkreidon3cycefirg73w4u3zgiofvoezhaks5exno7qinjnh dtprb47zy

[Winehole23]

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:eivqo2tskdfn4dbrm3dv2mku/bafkreihcgcgp6az2x255gexd5p6mlupxsstbhc6wt5tcliwyh zluiibg2q

[Winehole23]

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:z6rujpf4u56jfie7aqic2nfg/bafkreigtgqz3wufojixqnav3piq27ktpvhe6skv3j4bwszzoq qez4yu2ai

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/american-made-goods-expensive-under-trump-tariffs-new-research-finds

[Winehole23]

The researchers estimated that tariffs added about 2.9 percentage points to prices across the goods they studied. And the impact, notably, was not limited to imported products facing the most fallout from tariffs. The New York Fed found that Trump's policies pushed up prices on American-made goods.


Researchers estimated that about two-thirds of the tariff-related price increase came from imports, while roughly one-third came from products made in the United States.