Posted on 04/03/2025 8:09:44 AM PDT by RoosterRedux
World leaders across the globe are reacting to President Donald Trump’s "Liberation Day" tariff announcements, with some expressing disappointment and others making threats. On Wednesday, the president announced a baseline tariff of 10% on imports, in addition to reciprocal tariffs based on what each nation imposes on U.S. goods.
Trump believes these tariffs will incentivize foreign investment in the U.S. and spur domestic job growth.
While several U.S. allies articulated their frustration with the tariffs, they also expressed a lack of interest in launching trade wars. Many called for negotiations with the U.S. for new trade agreements.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the tariffs a "major blow to the world economy." Von der Leyen said in a statement that there would be "countermeasures," though she did not specify what they would entail.
Meanwhile, China’s Foreign Ministry said that "there are no winners in trade wars and tariff wars," according to the Associated Press (AP).
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
they also expressed a lack of interest in launching trade wars. Many called for negotiations with the U.S. for new trade agreements.
Its a war to them because they have been hosing us for decades thanks to our very own politicians
They been winning the trade war with us for decades, now that we want some
Balance they say there wont be winners?
RE: China says ‘no winners in trade wars’
So, you know the solution — DON’T RETALIATE AND FIGHT THE WAR. DO THE RIGHT THING. LOWER YOUR TARIFFS.
FOUR COUNTRIES DOING THE RIGHT THING:
Israel: On Tuesday, Israel announced the cancellation of all remaining tariffs on imports from the United States. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that this move is intended to strengthen economic ties with the U.S. and lower living costs in Israel.
Vietnam: Vietnam has outlined plans to reduce tariffs on several U.S. products, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), automobiles, and ethanol. The tariff on American LNG will decrease from 5% to 2%, on cars from a range of 45%-64% to 32%, and on ethanol from 10% to 5%. These measures aim to lower Vietnam’s trade surplus with the U.S. and avoid potential U.S. tariffs.
India: India is considering cutting tariffs on over half of U.S. imports, valued at $23 billion, to protect its $66 billion in exports from impending U.S. reciprocal tariffs. Negotiations are underway, with India indicating a willingness to significantly lower or entirely remove tariffs on many U.S. goods, contingent on the U.S. providing relief from the reciprocal tariffs.
Switzerland: Swiss Economic Affairs Minister Guy Parmelin emphasized that Switzerland has eliminated industrial tariffs, allowing almost 99% of U.S. goods to enter the country duty-free. This move is part of Switzerland’s efforts to avoid tariffs imposed by the U.S. under the new policy.
The only thing i disagree on this with Trump is..it should have been equal tariff. They tax our goods 50%? We tax their’s 50%.
He indicated we are being kind by implementing half of their rate. Why be kind? They sure as hell weren’t kind or showed any concern towards us.
Now they are out in front of cameras today crying like the little babies they are.
And yet they have a 100 year plan to drive us into oblivion.
Translation: “America being treated fairly in trade is a major blow to the world economy.”
That’s how much the world has been taking advantage of us—fairness to America is now framed as a threat to global stability.
But here’s the real issue:
We’ve been propping up weak, underperforming economies—both allies and adversaries. A stronger America doesn’t harm the world—it strengthens it.
Furthermore, if the EU and China had to compete on fair terms, they’d be forced to adopt more free-market policies—the kind that build stronger, more resilient economies. And that would actually benefit the world economy.
Trump knows what he’s doing. He’s always negotiating.
Winning:
My company is exploring relocating manufacturing to countries that offer tariff reductions through negotiations, while also considering reshoring some operations back to the U.S.
Not good to insult, con, and scam the biggest customer in the world.
Great China. Level the damn playing field.
So they can finally conquer the globe.
Negotiations to address trade imbalances is the reason for these tariffs.
Why is it that other countries placing huge tariffs on the USA is okay but when the USA tariffs them back it’s a trade war?
Trump’s team is not reciprocating in the traditional sense (i.e., matching the duties that trading partners charge the U.S.). That kind of reciprocity would have been relatively manageable, given that bilateral tariffs are generally low. Instead, the new tariffs appear to be based on a formula: ~(U.S. trade deficit from xyz country ÷ U.S. imports from xyz country) ÷ 2, with a minimum tariff set at 10%.
Since the U.S. runs large deficits with most major trading partners, the implied tariffs are dramatically larger than expected. Take Vietnam, for example: the U.S. imports approximately $136.6 billion of goods from Vietnam and exports only $13.1 billion, resulting in a $123.5 billion trade deficit. The deficit-to-import ratio is about 90%—and dividing that by 2 yields a 45% rate, closely aligned with the announced 46% tariff.
This highlights a key point: a country can charge zero tariffs on U.S. goods and still face steep U.S. tariffs under this methodology. I share the sentiment from Israeli officials.
According to journalist Amichai Stein: Israeli economic officials said, “We are in shock. We were sure that the decision to completely cancel tariffs on imports from the U.S. would prevent this move. But it didn’t happen.”
Seems China has. Of course China likes their tariffs
“While several U.S. allies articulated their frustration with the tariffs, they also expressed a lack of interest in launching trade wars. Many called for negotiations with the U.S. for new trade agreements.”
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Well, that was exactly the point of imposing those tariffs. Nobody took the United States seriously until we actually did something. This is a kin to actually filing a lawsuit against somebody in order to get them to talk about some kind of a reasonable settlement. Until you file the lawsuit, they don’t take you seriously. In the case of the tariffs, no one took us seriously Until the prospect of not selling anything to the United States, actually slap them in the face. Now they’re taking us seriously, and now they will negotiate seriously.
This is going to result in lower tariff barriers against US goods, almost everywhere else, and roughly no change on US tariffs on the importation of foreign goods, since they were already quite low. Trump is interested in creating a level playing field for our industries, so that our people can be employed, and also so that we can rebuild our industrial base, with particular emphasis on the defense industrial base. It won’t happen during Trump’s lifetime, but I predict that this move by Trump will be looked upon by historians as one of the smartest moves ever made by a US president on behalf of the US economy and it’s manufacturing base.
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