Free Republic

So far, American consumers have been shielded from much of the impact. But as the world of international shipping adjusts to his policies, the president is facing a potential reckoning. With the US-China trade war starting to gum up container traffic between the world’s two biggest economies, freight companies are warning of plunging bookings and a surge in “blank sailings” – where ports are skipped or voyages are called off altogether. Earlier this week, America’s most powerful retail executives trooped into the White House to deliver a blunt prognosis: tariffs on Chinese goods risked causing “empty shelves” in two weeks...

China just raised the stakes in its standoff with Washington. Despite President Trump's recent attempts to dial down the rhetoric and hint at possible tariff relief, Beijing isn't budging. A spokesperson from China's Commerce Ministry flatly rejected any notion of progress, calling U.S. claims of renewed dialogue groundless. The message: if the U.S. wants to talk, it needs to first undo the damagestarting with a full rollback of unilateral tariffs, now as high as 145%. China also made it clear that future talks hinge on more than just kind words; Washington needs to get serious about core issues like sanctions...

Americans barely remember the Mexican-American War, but in Mexico memories of the war and other military quarrels with the United States remain deeply felt. Mexico lost half its territory, including California, in the war that broke out this week in 1846. President Claudia Sheinbaum, who often speaks of Mexico’s sovereignty, said, “We are neither a protectorate nor a colony of any foreign nation.” MEXICO CITY — At the entrance to Mexico City’s largest park lies a towering marble monument to six young military cadets killed in battle. The Niños Héroes — “boy heroes” — died while defending Mexico’s capital...

China has quietly exempted from tariffs some semiconductors made in the United States, in an attempt to protect its leading technology companies from a bitter trade showdown with President Donald Trump.Levies on at least eight classifications of U.S.-made microchips have been dropped to zero, instead of the 125 percent retaliatory tariff rate Beijing has imposed on all other U.S. goods, Caijing, a Chinese financial media outlet, reported Friday.The article was later deleted. But two importers who spoke to The Washington Post confirmed that certain semiconductors are now exempted from tariffs. One company in Shenzhen listed the exemptions on social media...

@Rightanglenews BREAKING - Sen. Rand Paul is co-sponsoring a bill to strip President Trump’s authority on tariffs and hand the power to Congress, just weeks after voting against Trump’s budget.

During an interview with WVON on Thursday, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said “the fluctuations of the market and Trump’s tariffs” have resulted in massive losses to the city “just because of the uncertainty and the chaos.” And also stated that he wants to raise taxes by imposing a financial transaction tax and expressed openness to a corporate head tax and stated that those things, along with lots of other ideas, would put “the burden on the very people that Donald Trump is trying to protect.” While discussing the city’s budget, [relevant remarks begin around 5:35] Johnson said that the budget...

China has quietly exempted some semiconductors from tariffs, and is considering more exclusions for certain US industries, as the world’s two largest economies attempt to navigate a trade war with potentially devastating effects, according to reports. Taxes on at least eight classifications of US microchips have been lowered to zero, a huge drop from China’s 125% retaliatory tariff on all other US goods, Caijing, a Chinese financial magazine, reported on Friday. Though the article was later deleted, two importers confirmed that certain semiconductors have been spared from the hefty duties, according to The Washington Post. Chinese officials are weighing further...

China appears to have quietly rolled back retaliatory tariffs of 125% on some semiconductors made in the US, according to details provided to CNN on Friday by three import agencies in the southern technology hub of Shenzhen, as Beijing tries to soften the blow of an ongoing trade war on its all-important tech industry. The exemptions apply to integrated circuits, also known as microchips or semiconductors, according to the agencies. They found out about the exemptions, which have not been officially announced, on Thursday. On April 12, China raised its reciprocal tariffs to 125% for all goods originating from the...

WALMART'S CEO has reportedly issued a stark warning to US leaders over unavoidable price changes and empty shelves. Doug McMillon and other retail executives admitted that supermarkets will see overhaul changes in just two weeks. ...Tea, avocados, sneakers, home furniture, bananas, video games, clothes, toys, and foreign-made cars are all expected to become much more expensive under Trump's trade plan. In a disturbing comment, billionaire Mark Cuban warned that companies may start charging more even if a product isn't affected. "Even if it's made in the USA, they will jack up the price and blame it on tariffs,"

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is continuing his push against President Donald Trump's tariffs, with legislation he is co-sponsoring against them to come before the Senate next week. Paul says lawmakers should be in control of tariffs, rather than Trump, through the use of a national-emergency law. The discussion will come less than a month after Paul was one of the only two chamber Republicans to vote against his party's budget, which is seen as a key part of the president's tax cuts, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. "I don't have any bad feelings towards the president, but this is...

China on Thursday denied any suggestion that it was in active negotiations with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump over tariffs, saying that any notion of progress in the matter was as groundless as “trying to catch the wind.” China’s comments come after Trump said Tuesday that things were going “fine with China” and that the final tariff rate on Chinese exports would come down “substantially” from the current 145%.

President Trump continues to walk back his original tariff assault, and markets are pleased. They rose again Wednesday after Mr. Trump said he won’t fire the Federal Reserve Chairman and is likely to retreat from his highest China tariffs. Is this Mr. Trump’s François Mitterrand moment? Readers of a certain age will recall how the French Socialist President swept into power in 1981 promising a far left agenda of government control over the private economy. The market reaction was brutal. Within a year he had put socialism on pause and by 1983 he had abandoned most of it. He went...

US President Donald Trump has signaled a potential U-turn on his trade war with China amid continued market volatility, saying the high tariffs on Chinese goods will “come down substantially, but it won’t be zero.” Trump’s remarks, made at a White House news event Tuesday, appear to mark a rhetorical climbdown after weeks of tough posturing and tit-for-tat retaliation that sent tariffs on China beyond a staggering 145%. “145% is very high and it won’t be that high,” Trump said in a question-and-answer session with reporters in the Oval Office. “It won’t be anywhere near that high. It’ll come down...

It could take up to five years to develop a domestic supply chain to supplant China’s global monopoly in processing rare earths into materials needed to produce everything from iPhones to F-35 fighter jets. While the United States has most of the 17 rare earth elements and 50 critical minerals underground, it has no industrial capacity to refine them into processed metals and magnets, according to Melissa “Mel” Sanderson, American Rare Earths board member and Critical Minerals Institute co-chair. “Currently in the United States, we have zero magnet manufacturers,” Sanderson told The Epoch Times. She said that’s why China imposed...

Kevin O'Leary describes the situation with China succinctly. Video transcript with timestamps (courtesy of OpenAI 4o): [0:00] So nobody's talking—like nobody's talking about China like you are. Why? [0:05] Because I've lived it. I've lived it for almost a quarter of a century. Um, the way it works—let me be very specific so it's not just noise, okay? Let's say you have a great innovation here in America. Somebody comes along and creates a product that reduces the cost of maintaining a hotel bathtub or sink by 30%. A company like Drain Wig. You know, it's just a very simple...

Beijing instructed South Korea to halt rare material products such as transformers, EVs, aerospace and medical equipment.. Beijing has asked South Korean companies to cease exporting products containing Chinese-originated heavy rare earth metals to U.S. defense firms, warning that Seoul could face sanctions. China’s Ministry of Commerce sent official notices to at least two South Korean companies recently, the Korea Economic Daily reported on Tuesday, citing sources in the South Korean transformer industry. The outlet said the letters did not specify what type of penalties South Korean companies could face if the industry continues to export equipment to the U.S....

Pierre Poilievre, leader of Canada’s Conservative Party, seemed set to become Canada’s next prime minister at the start of 2025. For more than a year, his party had a 20-point lead in opinion polls over then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party and momentum toward a landslide victory. Then came President Trump. Trump’s trade war and threats to annex Canada have upended Canadian politics. In less than three months, the Conservatives have gone from heavy favorites to underdogs in an election set for April 28. Poilievre’s problem is bad timing. His preferred foil, the unpopular Trudeau, resigned in March, when Trump’s...

China is doubling down: China has just announced that they will be pulling back from US private equity investments. Chinese state-backed funds are halting new investments in US PE firms due to government pressure. According to PE executives, funds like China Investment Corporation (CIC) have already begun withdrawing planned commitments. Chinese investors are also avoiding US-linked deals, even when managed by non-US based PE funds. Just 24 hours ago, China warned they would retaliate against countries that cooperate with the US in ways that compromise their interests. It's very clear what's happening here: China is seeking to isolate the US...

Transcript linked to video. Covid history, lawsuit succeeded in MO, grabbing assets per judgment. Farmland bought by CCP getting seized. China refuses to honor the judgment, but plaintiff class (?) is seizing land by in rem jurisdiction! Ask lawyers. I'm done with paralegaling.

This week is significant for Christians worldwide, including myself, as we commemorate Jesus Christ’s death and sacrifice on Good Friday and celebrate his resurrection on Easter Sunday. However, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has announced new regulations that will severely restrict foreign missionaries in China starting May 1. Citing the need to combat “extremism” and protect national security, these measures threaten religious freedoms. Under the new regulation, foreign missionaries must obtain government approval for lectures, sermons, and group activities, facing a burdensome application process that details the date, time, location, and attendees. Additionally, the regulation includes a comprehensive set of...