Trump Tariffs & Trade War megathread

[ProudModerate2]

Economist says there's a math error in the formula used to calculate Trump's tariffs.
Dr. Stan Veuger breaks down the math that President Donald Trump's administration used to calculate the tariffs and says there's an error in the equation.

Watch video here  ...  https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/08/business/video/trump-tariffs-math-equation-wrong-economist-veuger-cnc-digvid

[Joseph Cao]

A math error? One?

[ProudModerate2]

Trump trade official defends tariffs against Australia despite US trade surplus ...

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/08/politics/video/trump-tariff-greer-warner-australia-digvid

Why the Hell is trump applying a tariff on Australia, when we have a surplus with them?
It's just crazy ****.   Completely embarrassing.

Our allies and their citizens hate us. I would fear that people there, would verbally (or physically) harass me, if I visited (vacationed) their nation.

[emailking]

Economist says there's a math error in the formula used to calculate Trump's tariffs.
Dr. Stan Veuger breaks down the math that President Donald Trump's administration used to calculate the tariffs and says there's an error in the equation.

Watch video here  ...  https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/08/business/video/trump-tariffs-math-equation-wrong-economist-veuger-cnc-digvid

I appreciate that CNN actually went through the math in all that on air lol.

Basically the guy argues that if you use their methodology (which he disagrees with but if you use it) the tariffs are 4 times higher than they should be.

[Virginiá]

I'm shocked they have such glaring problems with equations as vitally important as these. I was assured that he only hired the best people. I don't understand how this could happen.

[Duke 🇺🇸]

Trump trade official defends tariffs against Australia despite US trade surplus ...

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/08/politics/video/trump-tariff-greer-warner-australia-digvid

Why the Hell is trump applying a tariff on Australia, when we have a surplus with them?
It's just crazy ****.   Completely embarrassing.

Our allies and their citizens hate us. I would fear that people there, would verbally (or physically) harass me, if I visited (vacationed) their nation.

We also don't have a trade deficit with the EU when you factor in software and services. The fact is, this regime wants to wall off the US economy much like North Korea, which gives the regime much more control over it much like communism.

[Mike88]

Now, 104% tarrifs over China, already for this Wednesday.

[emailking]

I know this was posted but just to have the story.

Tariffs on China set to rise to at least 104% on Wednesday, White House says

President Donald Trump is set to impose an additional 84% in levies across all Chinese imports on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on Tuesday. That will mean all goods from the country are subject to a tariff of at least 104%.

China was already set to see tariffs increase by 34% on Wednesday as part of Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs package. But the president tacked on another 50% after Beijing didn’t back off its promise to impose 34% retaliatory tariffs on US goods by noon Tuesday.

“Countries like China, who have chosen to retaliate and try to double down on their mistreatment of American workers, are making a mistake,” Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday. “President Trump has a spine of steel, and he will not break.”

“The Chinese want to make a deal, they just don’t know how to do it,” she added. She declined to share what, if any, terms Trump would consider to lower tariffs on China.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/08/business/trump-china-tariff

[emailking]

Era of cheap consumer goods may be over.

[Tekken_Guy]

Era of cheap consumer goods may be over.

Not all consumer goods are made in China.

[T0rM3nTeD]

Era of cheap consumer goods may be over.

Not all consumer goods are made in China.

Did you miss that Trump is tariffing the world?

[Tekken_Guy]

Era of cheap consumer goods may be over.

Not all consumer goods are made in China.

Did you miss that Trump is tariffing the world?

Yes, but none of them are as harsh as the ones on China.

Also, consumer goods were not cheap during the inflation surge of 2021.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Only 4% of American Democrats support tariffs. Come on Jared 😬

Well, he’s only about 0.5% of House Democrats.

[Jumped off the American Sinking Ship]

Only 4% of American Democrats support tariffs. Come on Jared 😬

bro is not winning the senate primary

[emailking]

Era of cheap consumer goods may be over.

Not all consumer goods are made in China.

Did you miss that Trump is tariffing the world?

Yes, but none of them are as harsh as the ones on China.

Also, consumer goods were not cheap during the inflation surge of 2021.

I'll rephrase, the era of many consumer goods being cheaper than they should be may be over.

[Storr]

Trump trade official defends tariffs against Australia despite US trade surplus ...

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/08/politics/video/trump-tariff-greer-warner-australia-digvid

Why the Hell is trump applying a tariff on Australia, when we have a surplus with them?
It's just crazy ****.   Completely embarrassing.

Our allies and their citizens hate us. I would fear that people there, would verbally (or physically) harass me, if I visited (vacationed) their nation.

The answer is simple, Trump doesn't like trade.

[Voice of low info America]

Only 4% of American Democrats support tariffs. Come on Jared 😬

Especially stupid to support Trump's tariffs representing a district that depends more on trade with Canada than just about any other Congressional district in the country.

[AlterEgo]

Era of cheap consumer goods may be over.

Not all consumer goods are made in China.

Did you miss that Trump is tariffing the world?

Yes, but none of them are as harsh as the ones on China.

Also, consumer goods were not cheap during the inflation surge of 2021.

Yes, inflationary pressure that also raised wages and kept the job market humming with low unemployment vs. inflationary pressure that is going to cause the loss of millions of jobs.

Seriously, bro?

[Tekken_Guy]

Era of cheap consumer goods may be over.

Not all consumer goods are made in China.

Did you miss that Trump is tariffing the world?

Yes, but none of them are as harsh as the ones on China.

Also, consumer goods were not cheap during the inflation surge of 2021.

Yes, inflationary pressure that also raised wages and kept the job market humming with low unemployment vs. inflationary pressure that is going to cause the loss of millions of jobs.

Seriously, bro?

Sorry, I was thinking about me and my family's own personal financial situation than that of the the larger economy. I'm a freelance journalist and my mom's a realtor.

[falling apart like the ashes of American flags]

Regardless of errors Trump's formula makes zero sense to begin with. For example there were 100% tariffs on Lesotho...why? Well the answer is that Lesotho produces a lot of diamonds, but it's such a third world country it has hardly any US imports, so of course the US has a huge trade deficit with Lesotho. What are the tariffs supposed to do, get people to buy diamonds mined in the US....of which there aren't any? (The sole diamond mine in the US was in Arkansas but it's no longer in use and is now part of a state park.)

[Duke 🇺🇸]

Regardless of errors Trump's formula makes zero sense to begin with. For example there were 100% tariffs on Lesotho...why? Well the answer is that Lesotho produces a lot of diamonds, but it's such a third world country it has hardly any US imports, so of course the US has a huge trade deficit with Lesotho. What are the tariffs supposed to do, get people to buy diamonds mined in the US....of which there aren't any? (The sole diamond mine in the US was in Arkansas but it's no longer in use and is now part of a state park.)

Said before the goal here seems very North Korea like. If you can't source and/or manufacture a certain product in the US, you just won't have access to it. Expect shortages on many good or for some goods to outright leave the US market because the prices are so high that there is no demand for them.

[President Johnson]

It's truly beyond me how anyone could ever have thought Trump was good on the economy and prices. This guy doesn't even get the basics on economics. He might unironically be that stupid. Has there ever been an American president with that little of an intellect? I don't think so.

[Tekken_Guy]

Regardless of errors Trump's formula makes zero sense to begin with. For example there were 100% tariffs on Lesotho...why? Well the answer is that Lesotho produces a lot of diamonds, but it's such a third world country it has hardly any US imports, so of course the US has a huge trade deficit with Lesotho. What are the tariffs supposed to do, get people to buy diamonds mined in the US....of which there aren't any? (The sole diamond mine in the US was in Arkansas but it's no longer in use and is now part of a state park.)

Said before the goal here seems very North Korea like. If you can't source and/or manufacture a certain product in the US, you just won't have access to it. Expect shortages on many good or for some goods to outright leave the US market because the prices are so high that there is no demand for them.

What goods could we lose?

[Crumpets]

Regardless of errors Trump's formula makes zero sense to begin with. For example there were 100% tariffs on Lesotho...why? Well the answer is that Lesotho produces a lot of diamonds, but it's such a third world country it has hardly any US imports, so of course the US has a huge trade deficit with Lesotho. What are the tariffs supposed to do, get people to buy diamonds mined in the US....of which there aren't any? (The sole diamond mine in the US was in Arkansas but it's no longer in use and is now part of a state park.)

Gonna be really fun to see Hawaii, Florida and a handful of territories have to substitute for all tropically-grown produce we import from around the world and go back to solely seasonal fruits and veggies.

[Tekken_Guy]

Regardless of errors Trump's formula makes zero sense to begin with. For example there were 100% tariffs on Lesotho...why? Well the answer is that Lesotho produces a lot of diamonds, but it's such a third world country it has hardly any US imports, so of course the US has a huge trade deficit with Lesotho. What are the tariffs supposed to do, get people to buy diamonds mined in the US....of which there aren't any? (The sole diamond mine in the US was in Arkansas but it's no longer in use and is now part of a state park.)

Gonna be really fun to see Hawaii, Florida and a handful of terroritories have to substitute for all tropically-grown produce we import from around the world and go back to solely seasonal fruits and veggies.

Our produce imports aren't going to go away. They'll simply get more expensive.