"There's a new tariff in town!"
Posted on 04/07/2025 2:06:55 AM PDT by RoosterRedux
Let’s be honest—anytime the word “tariff” shows up in the news, most folks either glaze over or get caught up in the shouting matches about trade wars. But if you strip away the noise, something pretty interesting is happening. President Trump’s approach to tariffs isn’t just some off-the-cuff political move; it’s part of a much bigger strategy aimed at resetting the economic playing field. Let’s walk through it.
Why are these tariffs happening? The simple answer is leverage.
Trump’s worldview, and really his entire economic posture, is built around one foundational belief: America has been getting the short end of the stick in global trade for decades. Whether it’s China flooding the U.S. with cheap goods or Europe slapping taxes on American exports while enjoying free access to our markets, Trump sees an imbalance that needs correction.
Tariffs, in this context, aren’t just taxes on imports. They’re bargaining chips. By imposing tariffs, Trump is essentially saying, “If you want access to the world’s largest consumer market, you’re going to play fair.”
But it goes deeper than that. Trump has consistently targeted China, and not without reason. China’s state-subsidized industries, intellectual property theft, and currency manipulation have tilted the global economic playing field. Tariffs are Trump’s tool to counter that tilt. He’s not afraid to raise costs in the short term if it means forcing China (and others) to come back to the negotiating table.
What else is being done alongside the tariffs? Tariffs are just one prong of a three-part strategy that Trump is quietly piecing together.
First, there’s the push for a massive capital infusion into the U.S. economy. Trump wants to make America the most attractive destination in the world for business investment.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
"There's a new tariff in town!"
Good “big picture” article.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reveals 50 nations reached out to negotiate tariffs, warns ‘there is no postponing’
I think every pundit has overlooked an important angle to this whole story.
One of the goals here — an absolutely necessary, but messy one — is to force turmoil in the financial markets in a desperate attempt to drive investors out of the stock market and into the bond market. This is being done to drive down interest rates for U.S. Treasury bonds.
There’s a reason why all this is happening today — in early April 2025. Five years ago the U.S. was issuing a flood of new money to deal with the financial chaos of the COVID disaster. 5-year Treasury bonds were being issued on this date with rates in the 0.35% range. Those bonds are maturing NOW, and must be paid off with new debt.
On the day Trump was inaugurated in January, 5-year Treasury bonds were being issued at rates of around 4.40%.
The U.S. is facing a financial catastrophe if those 2020 bonds have to be replaced with new ones paying more than 10x the interest.
The 5-year bond rate was reported at about 3.95% last week.
The next reporting date from the Federal Reserve on these rates is TOMORROW.
Using government policy to chase money into T-bills is an ugly process. Using zany, chaotic tariff policy to do it requires a certain type of personality at the top. I think we have the right one there.
This complete reset of the economy is why the stock market has pulled back so sharply. There’s a massive amount of uncertainty about what the “new” economy will look like.
It’s like comparing two home improvement projects.
One buyer plans to repaint and spruce up the landscaping—modest upgrades with fairly predictable results. Appraisers can easily estimate how those changes will add value.
Now compare that to someone buying a fixer-upper for a full renovation—walls coming down, layout changes, a big investment. Will the upgrades be cost-effective or over the top? Will the improvements suit the property, or go too far? Appraisers call it “superadequacy” when someone installs a $50,000 kitchen in a $100,000 condo. Will that happen here? The uncertainty lies in not knowing what the final product will look like—or whether it will justify the cost.
That’s how markets are viewing Trump’s economic reset: not as a minor remodel, but as a full-scale overhaul of a neglected property.
The upside? Renovation is Trump’s wheelhouse.
America has stopped making things and the globalists have exported way too much of our manufacturing. It’s a huge national security issue, and is completely unsustainable. In the meantime, we’ve allowed other nations to tax our exports while they enjoy the jobs the globalists outsourced to them, and sell their goods to us with their tariffs. That’s crazy, and a formula for economic ruin.
Wow, I didn’t realize the significance of bonds in this situation. There’s a lot to watch this morning.
Just when I thought I’d seen all the nutters come out of the woodwork in
the past 20 years, now I gotta see all the tariff nutters show up with the latest theories as to why tariffs will change the world for the good guys once and for all.
Hooray!
Will they have us cheering for the Great Reset?
Since they've tried to kill him twice, Deep States think so, too.
BTTT
This is not going to have the impact they think it will. I think some people have the very childish notion that they can protect all of America’s industries from foreign competition AND that other countries will bend the knee like good little mercantile colonies and buy American goods and sell almost nothing into the US, and will be happy to do so.
The more likely effect long term is to push other countries into greater cooperation and trading links with each other and trying to reduce dependence on American markets for strategic reasons, because whilst it is nice to be able to sell to the US and buy goods that the US does well at, dealing with such a mercurial and unpredictable trading partner that could pull the rug at any moment on the whims of one man.
Its not great to put all your eggs in the American market instead of heavily diversifying your trade to cushion the impact of any future fit of madness coming from the US.
In fact, its already happening. Japan, South Korea and China(!) have already agreed to come together to formulate a common response to trade tarrifs for mutual protection, Canada is looking to deepen its trade links with the EU, the UK, Australia etc as well as across the Pacific and defence contracts are being cancelled because they understandably assume that the functionality and access to spares will be used as leverage against them if they don’t do exactly as they’re told.
Its the same kind of arrogance and hubris that eventually brought Athens to its knees when they started crapping on all their Delian League allies.
no one has to”force” turmoil on the stock markets. this kind of economic overhaul means the globalist theme is dead. all the multinationals will have to scramble to meet earnings estimates - investment money will have to be reprogrammed as priorities change. the health of economies abroad becomes a concern. this amount of realignment means uncertainty. thus switches - asset allocation changes - here we are. markets always overshoot, so there is that too.
Changing your name to sonofaglobalistpigdog would be appropriate.
Good article...my 401k has suffered a lot and will do so again today but I’ll ride it out. Markets should settle down this week.
I’ll trust a Billionaire on economic bets over an economist any day.
Is that you Spartacus?
Agree.
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