Free Republic

WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance told Breitbart News exclusively on Wednesday evening that for the “first time in probably 40 years,” the United States has a president in President Donald Trump who is reversing the trend of the U.S. serving as a “piggy bank” for the rest of the world.“So for 40 years, America has been the piggy bank of the world,” Vance said when asked about the importance of the president’s announcement on Wednesday. “We absorb all of the ridiculous trade practices and economic practices of friend and foe alike. For the first time in probably 40 years,...

Germany’s outgoing Chancellor voices the frustrations felt across the European ruling class at President Donald Trump tearing up the status quo on trade, decrying an “attack”.The European Union, which has been hit with tariffs twice as high as post-Brexit Britain given the bloc’s protectionist policies and tariffs on imports, is expressing its distress and even outrage at President Trump’s bid to reform the United States’ trade relationship with the world.Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz who is still technically in power nearly six weeks after he lost the Federal elections in February spoke in defence of the globalist status quo on Thursday....

Stellantis is halting production at two manufacturing plants, one in Canada and another in Mexico, just a day after President Donald Trump announced 25-percent tariffs on all foreign-made cars.During a speech in the Rose Garden on Wednesday evening, Trump announced the auto tariff and the United States reciprocal tariffs, marking an end to the nation’s decades-long free trade policy that has eliminated millions of American manufacturing jobs.Stellantis, whose former CEO Carlos Tavares was the highest paid auto executive — raking in nearly $40 million annually before his resignation in December of last year — has announced that its Windsor Assembly...

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had a simple three-word response to countries looking to respond to the United States’ broad tariffs: “Do not retaliate.” President Donald Trump announced on his self-proclaimed “Liberation Day” and declared a 10% tariff on all goods as well as retaliatory tariffs on some of the U.S.’s closest allies that he says are taking advantage of the U.S. Tariffs of 34% on China, 20% on the EU, 24% on Japan, and 32% on Taiwan are some of the more noticeable ones. Due to an existing 20% tariff, the tariffs on China went up to 54%. “My advice...

The response from the EU is exactly what we would expect to see from the end of the 80-year-old Marshal Plan.EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyden has three big concerns with the new trade/tariff reset. I strongly suggest everyone to read the EU concerns slowly to fully absorb decades of hypocrisy now surfacing:#1 The EU will not be able to compete for U.S. market share with 20% general tariffs and 25% auto tariffs.#2 The EU must deploy countermeasures against the risk of losing industrial capacity and manufacturing to the United States.And #3 The EU must defend itself against China...

Vice President JD Vance appears on Fox News this morning to discuss the trade tariffs and the ongoing MAGAnomic trade reset.The reciprocal tariffs and global trade rebalance are two components of a much larger MAGAnomic policy. Tax structures to the benefit of the working-class, upward pressure on wages and expanded GDP growth are all elements of increasing the wealth of Main Street and middle-class Americans. WATCH:.

Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney, who assumed the top government role after the resignation of his radical leftist predecessor Justin Trudeau, vowed to “fight” the tariffs that President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday — which overwhelmingly did not affect Canada. President Trump unveiled a long list of reciprocal tariffs on American trade partners on Wednesday, a day he branded “Liberation Day” for the American economy. The tariffs, he explained, were intended to target countries that levy high tariffs on American goods while enjoying nearly fully unencumbered access to the U.S. market.

China has reacted negatively to President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, with the country’s Communist Party-controlled foreign ministry accusing the U.S. of “bullying.” Trump unveiled a 34 percent tariff on Chinese goods at his “Liberation Day” event from the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday in response to China’s 67 percent tariff on American products. “In other words, they charge us, we charge them, we charge them less, how can anybody be upset,” the president said.

@RapidResponse47 President Trump has been calling attention to the disaster falsely marketed as "free trade" for decades. In reality, foreign countries have gotten rich at the expense of the American worker. Today, he finally levels the playing field.

Nike stock is plunging on Thursday, the day after President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs that will end the nation’s decades-long free trade policy. “NKE was last seen 11.3% lower at $57.62, as investors digest the long-term impact of rising supply chain costs on the company’s margins,” Schaeffer’s Investment Research reports. “The stock is set to snap a three-day win streak, extending its late-March post-earnings bear gap and hitting its lowest level since November 2017. Nike stock now carries a 23.5% year-to-date deficit.” On Wednesday evening, Trump announced reciprocal tariffs — adding a 34 percent tariff on China, a 46...

WASHINGTON — Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick slammed European Union policies after President Trump announced a 20% tariff on the 27-nation trading bloc — saying that “they hate our beef because our beef is beautiful and theirs is weak.” Lutnick, a former CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, defended Trump’s sweeping “Liberation Day” reciprocal tariffs, which will start taking effect April 5, by pointing to the allegedly unfair treatment of US goods in global trade. “The European Union won’t take chicken from America. They won’t take lobsters from America. They hate our beef because our beef is beautiful and theirs is weak. It’s...

Opioid overdose deaths in the U.S. rose dramatically after 1999, but also exhibited substantial geographic variation. Job loss due to international trade is positively associated with opioid overdose mortality at the county-level. This association is significantly stronger in areas in which fentanyl is present in the heroin supply. In general, the loss of 1,000 trade-related jobs was associated with a 2.7 percent increase in opioid-related deaths. When fentanyl was present, the same number of job losses was associated with a 11.3 percent increase in such deaths. The positive relationship between trade-related job loss and opioid-related overdose death is well illustrated...

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced a bill with far-left Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), which would almost certainly put Trump’s new tariffs entirely on ice. The legislation’s stated purpose is to ‘reassert’ the legislative branch’s power over tariff policy. “The Trade Review Act of 2025” requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of imposing new tariffs. The president must also present a detailed rationale and analysis of the potential consequences for American businesses and consumers. Moreover, the legislation will require ALL tariffs to be approved by Congress within 60 days, or they will automatically expire.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Wednesday that it is a “fallacy” to think tariffs will help the country’s economy as President Trump gears up to impose massive reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trading partners. Paul, who has spoken out against tariffs previously, joined The Hill’s “Rising” on Wednesday, where he discussed his disagreement with tariffs, calling them “a tax.” “On tariffs, I think it’s just economically — it’s a fallacy to think that it’ll help the country,” the Kentucky senator said. “Tariffs are a tax, and if you tax trade or if you tax anything, you’ll get less of it.”

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...

Key Points “That is what I see, that Donald Trump will buckle under pressure, that he corrects his announcements under pressure,” German economy minister Robert Habeck said Thursday. Elsewhere, outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he believed the latest tariff decisions by Trump were “fundamentally wrong,” according to a CNBC translation. On Wednesday, Trump imposed 20% levies on the European Union, including on the bloc’s foremost economy Germany. ****************************************************************

Key Points Stellantis is pausing production at two assembly plants in Canada and Mexico as the company attempts to navigate President Donald Trump’s new round of 25% automotive tariffs. The actions will result in roughly 900 U.S.-represented employees at supporting plants getting temporarily laid off in addition to roughly 4,500 hourly workers at the Canadian plant. ****************************************************************************

President Trump unveiled his new “liberation day” tariffs on Wednesday, and they are another large step toward a new old era of trade protectionism. Assuming the policy sticks—and we hope it doesn’t—the effort amounts to an attempt to remake the U.S. economy and the world trading system. All details aren’t clear as we write this, but Mr. Trump’s tariffs look “reciprocal” in name only. First he’s hitting every nation in the world with a 10% “baseline” tariff to sell in the U.S. market. For those he calls “bad actors,” he’s adding up the country’s tariff rate on U.S. goods, plus...

Companies are beginning to move production to the United States to avoid tariffs. “President Trump’s economic polices are simple: if you invest in and create jobs in America, you’ll be rewarded. We’ll lower regulations and reduce taxes,” Vice President J.D. Vance posted online. “But if you build outside of the United States, you’re on your own.” Hyundai announced a massive $20 billion investment in the United States with plans to open plants in Georgia and Alabama. Around $5.8 million will go towards an updated steel plant that is expected to employ over 1,400 people. Hyundai believes it will soon produce...

Carey Stewart Cezar, a retired nurse who lives in Baltimore, watched with dismay Wednesday as President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on imports. Cezar voted for Vice President Kamala Harris in last year’s presidential election and opposes Trump’s economic policies. But she said she has another reason to be skeptical of Trump’s tariffs: She is a descendant of one of the legislators behind the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, a law that many economic historians believe worsened the Great Depression. “I think it’s a terrible idea and potentially devastating,” Cezar, 70, said in a phone interview Wednesday, a few hours...