Canada, Greenland, Mexico, etc - USA Tariffs / Trade War commencing March 2025 #4

[Trooper]

I still can't comprehend the 47% tariff on Madagascar. They export vanilla and fish... Not a lot of their fish goes to the US. And then there are the hissing cockroaches that some people have as pets...

It is just bizarre... and the tariff on BOTSWANA!! the utter madness of it all

 

[Warwick1991]

• '''The new tariffs could leave some US companies bringing in certain goods from China facing a 104% tax'''

From that little gem of information, you could fairly say that the USA has shot both of its feet off .. ENTIRELY voluntarily so, .. the absolute quintessential 'unforced error,' as tennis fans would say..

All for nothing, too... A purposeless disaster created by a gangster.

 

[Snoopster]

China vows to fight 'till the end' after Trump's latest tariffs threat

Xi is laying it out, in detail exactly as anyone who has the faintest idea of how China's methods and processes work... keeping in mind they work on a 10 year plan, and Trump works on a 10 minute plan.

From this article..

Summary​

• China has responded strongly after US president Donald Trump threatened to hit Beijing with an extra 50% tariff if it doesn't withdraw its retaliatory levy on Tuesday
• Beijing's commerce ministry said it would never accept the "blackmail nature of the US" and vowed to "fight till the end"
• Analysts say the stand-off increases the likelihood of an all-out trade war between the world's two largest economies
• The new tariffs could leave some US companies bringing in certain goods from China facing a 104% tax
• Most Asian markets opened higher on Tuesday, although Taiwan saw a further 4% fall
• Europe's biggest stock markets - including London's FTSE 100 - all closed over 4% down on Monday

I'd place my money on China. They have the resources, the manufacturing, the machinery, low cost labor, the skills, the distribution, and....long term thinking.

The USA depends on other countries for many resources and skills. Yet they slapped their trading partners in the face. They were rude and abusive.

Here on WS we don't like abusive partners.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want China to "win". They are dangerous. They abuse their workers. They don't care about the environment. They don't care about human rights. But the US admin is handing them a huge gain in competitive traction. And I hate that they are doing that! Such incredibly dumb and careless moves on the part of the USA. MOO, of course.

 

[Herat]

I'd place my money on China. They have the resources, the manufacturing, the machinery, low cost labor, the skills, the distribution, and....long term thinking.

The USA depends on other countries for many resources and skills. Yet they slapped their trading partners in the face. They were rude and abusive.

Here on WS we don't like abusive partners.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want China to "win". They are dangerous. They abuse their workers. They don't care about the environment. They don't care about human rights. But the US admin is handing them a huge gain in competitive traction. And I hate that they are doing that! Such incredibly dumb and careless moves on the part of the USA. MOO, of course.

If there was ever any leverage we would have to stop the use of Uygher slave labor by China, we have completely lost it.

 

[acutename]

I still can't comprehend the 47% tariff on Madagascar. They export vanilla and fish... Not a lot of their fish goes to the US. And then there are the hissing cockroaches that some people have as pets...

from Google:

Key Exports to the U.S.:

• Apparel: Including both knit and non-knit items.
  

• Vanilla: A significant export to the U.S.
  
  
• Titanium Ore: A major export commodity.
  
  
• Cobalt: A valuable mineral export.
  
  
• Nickel: Another important mineral export.
  
  
• Other notable exports: Precious stones and coffee.
  
• In 2024, the U.S. imported $733.2 million worth of goods from Madagascar, while Madagascar imported $53.4 million worth of goods from the U.S.
  
  
• This resulted in a U.S. goods trade deficit with Madagascar of $679.8 million in 2024.

 

[Trooper]

Wall Street dives as hopes wane for tariff delays – as it happened

This blog is closed

www.theguardian.com

'''''Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez aims to open new market opportunities during a visit to China and Vietnam this week on the heels of Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.

The trip comes as the European Union rethinks its global trading relationships amid turmoil caused by the US import duties announced last week that have sent world markets into a tailspin, Agence France-Presse reports.

Sanchez is to arrive in Hanoi on Wednesday for talks with Vietnam’s top leader, To Lam, on the same day Trump’s 20% tariffs on EU products come into effect.

On Thursday, he will travel to Ho Chi Minh City, the Asian manufacturing powerhouse’s commercial capital, to meet business leaders.

Sanchez then heads to China for his third visit in just over two years, where he is scheduled to meet President Xi Jinping and Chinese investors on Friday.''''

(I think this is going to turn into a much bigger story over the next week or so. )

 

[Herat]

Wall Street dives as hopes wane for tariff delays – as it happened

This blog is closed

www.theguardian.com

'''''Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez aims to open new market opportunities during a visit to China and Vietnam this week on the heels of Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.

The trip comes as the European Union rethinks its global trading relationships amid turmoil caused by the US import duties announced last week that have sent world markets into a tailspin, Agence France-Presse reports.

Sanchez is to arrive in Hanoi on Wednesday for talks with Vietnam’s top leader, To Lam, on the same day Trump’s 20% tariffs on EU products come into effect.

On Thursday, he will travel to Ho Chi Minh City, the Asian manufacturing powerhouse’s commercial capital, to meet business leaders.

Sanchez then heads to China for his third visit in just over two years, where he is scheduled to meet President Xi Jinping and Chinese investors on Friday.''''

(I think this is going to turn into a much bigger story over the next week or so. )

And so it begins.

Trumps fiasco is giving all other nations the incentive to form new alliances and trade partners, or strengthen existing trading. I wonder if any of Trump's billionaire advisors even thought about the real downside of all this.

 

[Trooper]

Is it safe to visit the US? – podcast

Adam Gabbatt reports on the visa and green-card holders being held in US detention centres

www.theguardian.com

'''''
there seems to have been a real spike in the number of people being questioned and now detained. We’ve seen that with tourists, but also people on green cards and working visas.”

One of those people was Jasmine Mooney, a Canadian entrepreneur who had travelled to the US on a work visa many times.


When Jasmine travelled to the US in March, an officer questioned her on her previous issues getting a visa granted and she was told she would need to reapply for a visa through the consulate.

“She goes: You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re not in trouble. You are not a criminal. And she was being so nice at this point, and it was so odd but now, when I look back, I’m like: Oh, she knew it was about to happen to me.”

When the officer told Jasmine she would be sent back to Canada, Jasmine assumed she would just need to book herself a flight home. Instead, she was detained and sent to an Ice detention centre for two weeks.

“This guard took me,” Jasmine tells Michael. “Hands me this little mat and this aluminum foil thing that I’ve never seen before. And she goes, this is your blanket. And I’m like: What do you mean? That’s my blanket? And then they open like, it’s jail. It is a jail cell exactly like you see on the movies. This tiny little cement cell with an open toilet. There were five other girls in there.”

( a chilling tale ..... not even safe to fly over the USA, anyways, that's my mantra!!!)

 

[IzzyBlanche]

In my lifetime, garment manufacturing moved from the NY metro area to NC and then off shore. I recall shoe manufacturers in New England going off shore too. The property for the factories is (or it was up to yesterday!) too expensive- it has condos and apts now. I feel as if DJT is trying to go back not forward. IMO

I'm so old I remember that commercial "Look for the union label" used by the ILGWU (International Ladies' Garment Worker Union).

I'm also so old I remember living in NYC when there was a Garment District. A guy I dated off and on worked in a warehouse there.

All gone.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

• '''The new tariffs could leave some US companies bringing in certain goods from China facing a 104% tax'''

From that little gem of information, you could fairly say that the USA has shot both of its feet off .. ENTIRELY voluntarily so, .. the absolute quintessential 'unforced error,' as tennis fans would say..

I just want to say, NOT the USA.

One deranged man, enabled by people who have the power to stop him but not the courage to do so.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

exactly when did Truth Social become an official means of US Govt communication?

Same time as Signal became an official conduit for classified information.

 

[Herat]

from Google:

Key Exports to the U.S.:

• Apparel: Including both knit and non-knit items.
• 
  
• Vanilla: A significant export to the U.S.
  
  
• 
  
• Titanium Ore: A major export commodity.
  
  
• 
  
• Cobalt: A valuable mineral export.
  
  
• 
  
• Nickel: Another important mineral export.
  
  
• 
  
• Other notable exports: Precious stones and coffee.
• 
  
• In 2024, the U.S. imported $733.2 million worth of goods from Madagascar, while Madagascar imported $53.4 million worth of goods from the U.S.
  
  
• 
  
• This resulted in a U.S. goods trade deficit with Madagascar of $679.8 million in 2024.

The Madagascar cobalt and nickel mines are run by the Ambatovy company. Its major shareholder is the Japanese company Sumimoto Corp. Both have been struggling to make a profit due to unresolved technical issues.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

I still can't comprehend the 47% tariff on Madagascar. They export vanilla and fish... Not a lot of their fish goes to the US. And then there are the hissing cockroaches that some people have as pets...

In recent decades the country has emerged as a source of high quality gems, including ruby, sapphire and various forms of beryl, including emerald and aquamarine.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

The Madagascar cobalt and nickel mines are run by the Ambatovy company. Its major shareholder is the Japanese company Sumimoto Corp. Both have been struggling to make a profit due to unresolved technical issues.

Interesting. It's worth remembering that it's not having the natural resources that matters, it's being able to get them out of the ground cost-effectively. This is Venezuela's problem with oil. On paper they have vast reserves. In reality the geology is extremely difficult, so much so that it costs an average of $150 per barrel to get the stuff to the surface.

 

[Yellowbelly]

from Google:

Key Exports to the U.S.:

• Apparel: Including both knit and non-knit items.
• 
  
• Vanilla: A significant export to the U.S.
  
  
• 
  
• Titanium Ore: A major export commodity.
  
  
• 
  
• Cobalt: A valuable mineral export.
  
  
• 
  
• Nickel: Another important mineral export.
  
  
• 
  
• Other notable exports: Precious stones and coffee.
• 
  
• In 2024, the U.S. imported $733.2 million worth of goods from Madagascar, while Madagascar imported $53.4 million worth of goods from the U.S.
  
  
• 
  
• This resulted in a U.S. goods trade deficit with Madagascar of $679.8 million in 2024.

Madagascar is the world's leading exporter of vanilla and cloves. Both of these plants require tropical rain forest conditions to grow which the United States doesn't have. Their other main export is nickel, a mineral the United States doesn't have large deposits of. Madagascar, then, has resources that the United States wants, but the Madagascans themselves are dirt poor so can't afford to buy much of what the United States produces. Hence they have a large trade surplus with the USA, which in the mind of the current American administration **MUST BE PUNISHED**

The Observatory of Economic Complexity

The world's leading data visualization tool for international trade data.

oec.world

 

[SouthAussie]

Wall Street dives as hopes wane for tariff delays – as it happened

This blog is closed

www.theguardian.com

'''''Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez aims to open new market opportunities during a visit to China and Vietnam this week on the heels of Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.

The trip comes as the European Union rethinks its global trading relationships amid turmoil caused by the US import duties announced last week that have sent world markets into a tailspin, Agence France-Presse reports.

Sanchez is to arrive in Hanoi on Wednesday for talks with Vietnam’s top leader, To Lam, on the same day Trump’s 20% tariffs on EU products come into effect.

On Thursday, he will travel to Ho Chi Minh City, the Asian manufacturing powerhouse’s commercial capital, to meet business leaders.

Sanchez then heads to China for his third visit in just over two years, where he is scheduled to meet President Xi Jinping and Chinese investors on Friday.''''

(I think this is going to turn into a much bigger story over the next week or so. )

It really sounds as if the big US plan has backfired. China will welcome everyone with open arms, and no (or few) tariffs.

imo

 

[SouthAussie]

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/07/trump-tariffs-live-updates-stock-market-crypto.html

GOP Megadonor Ken Langone latest billionaire to blast Trump's tariffs

And now a lawsuit has been raised by a rightwing group which is backed by wealthy Leonard Leo and billionaire Charles Koch - who both advised Trump on the nomination of three conservative supreme court justices during his first presidency, which has given the court a 6-3 rightwing majority.


The New Civil Liberties Alliance filed a suit against Trump’s imposition of import tariffs on exports from China, arguing that doing so under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) – which the president has invoked to justify the duties on nearly all countries – is unlawful.

The group’s actions echo support given by four Republican senators last week for a Democratic amendment calling for the reversal of 25% tariffs imposed on Canada.

Rightwing group backed by Koch and Leo sues to stop Trump tariffs

New Civil Liberties Alliance says president’s invocation of emergency powers to impose tariffs is unlawful

www.theguardian.com

 

[SouthAussie]

This is from the US Tax Foundation ....

• The Trump tariffs will reduce after-tax income by an average of 1.9 percent and amount to an average tax increase of more than $1,900 per US household in 2025.

Tracking the Economic Impact of the Trump Tariffs

The tariffs amount to an average tax increase of nearly $1,300 per US household in 2025.

taxfoundation.org

 

[Lyanna]

And now a lawsuit has been raised by a rightwing group which is backed by wealthy Leonard Leo and billionaire Charles Koch - who both advised Trump on the nomination of three conservative supreme court justices during his first presidency, which has given the court a 6-3 rightwing majority.


The New Civil Liberties Alliance filed a suit against Trump’s imposition of import tariffs on exports from China, arguing that doing so under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) – which the president has invoked to justify the duties on nearly all countries – is unlawful.

The group’s actions echo support given by four Republican senators last week for a Democratic amendment calling for the reversal of 25% tariffs imposed on Canada.

Rightwing group backed by Koch and Leo sues to stop Trump tariffs

New Civil Liberties Alliance says president’s invocation of emergency powers to impose tariffs is unlawful

www.theguardian.com

Am pleased people are acting and speaking up about Donald and his "bull in a China shop" approach, but it should never ever have got this far. No person in government should have this much power, isn't that why there's congress, senate and whatever the other one is - too safeguard and to make sure things like this do not happen?

Moo

 

[Lyanna]

Wall Street dives as hopes wane for tariff delays – as it happened

This blog is closed

www.theguardian.com