Canada, Greenland, Mexico, etc - USA Tariffs / Trade War commencing March 2025 #5

[TootsieFootsie]

because they don't pay their bills."

Pot kettle black.

 

[Seni]

When I was a kid my parents used to take us to Old Orchard Beach in Maine for our summer holidays. Lots of French from Quebec. We also would go to Bailey Island which I loved. I think Bailey Island reminded them of England. They had tuna tournaments there. All the local fishermen would enter the contest during the off season to make money. Being fairly young, I remember thinking - I eat tuna and salmon sandwiches from a can and kind of conflated the size based on what I knew about salmon living in Canada. So you can imagine my shock when some kids and my sister and I were walking along a dock and looked down and saw all these fish in a feeding frenzy just off the dock. I asked what they were doing and this guy said they are feeding on a tuna head. I'm thinking... really? all those fish... nah. So he pulled up this gaff hook and brought this enormous head out of the water so I could see the size. I think I screamed. It was the first time I actually got the sense of how enormous these tuna were, weighing upward of 700 pounds. Fast forward thirty years and I convinced my husband that we should go on a holiday to those same places which was a blast. (Except for getting poisoned from red tide mussels but that's a whole other story.) They still had tuna tournaments but it wasn't even remotely like it had been when I was a child. Now, the local fishermen were at a disadvantage. The people who entered the tournament were wealthy people with state of the art boats that utilized small planes that could tell them where the tuna were running. Not only that, the ones with the most sophisticated equipment were business men from Japan who were looking for tuna for sushi. All those locals were out of their depth because of the imbalance of foreigners and tech bros using technology to seek the pods. While we were there, a Japanese company won the contest. I think they won about $4000 bucks which would have tided a local over the dry patch before fishing started up again. But the winning tuna weighed about 700 pounds and within 2 hours was on its way to Japan to be used for sushi which would have been worth about $40000. It was kind of thrilling and sad at the same time.

Cool, better ir you split it up

 

[acutename]

A little more detail on the Trump pin.

Trump Is Now Mandating His Cabinet/Loyalist Wear "Trump Golden Bust" Pins

The Golden Trump Ego Age Marches On

deanblundell.substack.com

Authoritarian Alert! There’s a new dress code in Trump’s Washington, and it’s straight out of a dictator’s playbook. Remember Mao Zedong and those little red pins with a gold image of his head on them? Stalin had them, too, as does Kim Jong Un; as Dean Blundell notes, if you fail to wear your Kim pin properly, you can get arrested in North Korea. Trump apparently loved the idea of having similar pins with his head on them, as do some of his cabinet members;

scary but not verified

What we know about rumors Trump admin ordered 'loyalists' to wear golden lapel pins of president's face

A Substack post by a Canadian sports writer claimed Republican officials were "quietly told" to ditch alternative pins in favor of a golden Trump pin.

www.snopes.com

 

[LovesPeace2]

Canadian Car Travel To U.S. Plunges 32% In March As Boycott Escalates

The Canadian travel boycott of the U.S. picked up steam last month, setting up a potential $6 billion economic loss in commerce in 2025.

www.forbes.com

It was the third consecutive month of steep decline of inbound Canadian car travel, following a 23% year-over-year drop in car travel and a 2.4% drop in air travel to the U.S. in February, after President Donald Trump announced tariffs and began referring to Canada as “the 51st state.”

 

[MelmothTheLost]

US sees biggest drop in Australian visitors since Covid as travellers avoid Trump’s America

Almost 4,600 fewer people went to the US in March compared with the same time last year, according to government data

www.theguardian.com

Australians are increasingly avoiding travel to the US under Donald Trump’s second presidency, fresh data shows, with forecasters expecting tourist numbers to plummet further throughout the year.

I fully expect numbers from the UK to drop as well - not just families going to Florida for the theme parks but also people booking cruises which start from Miami or Fort Lauderdale or other US ports.

 

[Lilibet]

scary but not verified

What we know about rumors Trump admin ordered 'loyalists' to wear golden lapel pins of president's face

A Substack post by a Canadian sports writer claimed Republican officials were "quietly told" to ditch alternative pins in favor of a golden Trump pin.

www.snopes.com

Thanks for pointing this out,@acutename. I apologize for sloppy research.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

I am an American, but I fully support those in other countries who are boycotting travel to the US.

I am sorry for the Americans who rely on tourism for their living who will no doubt suffer at best and go under at worst.

It's all a horrific mess but the only correct thing to do is fight, i.e. boycott. IMO

 

[TootsieFootsie]

MSN

The Independent

Chinese factories flood TikTok with videos urging Americans to buy direct after Trump’s tariffs​

 

[iamshadow21]

Trump tariffs won't lead supply chains back to U.S., companies will go low-tariff globe-hopping: CNBC survey

A U.S. manufacturing boom is an unlikely result of Trump's tariffs, with costs too high and a global hunt for low-tariff regimes coming, a CNBC survey found.

www.cnbc.com

 

[SouthAussie]

Trump tariffs won't lead supply chains back to U.S., companies will go low-tariff globe-hopping: CNBC survey

A U.S. manufacturing boom is an unlikely result of Trump's tariffs, with costs too high and a global hunt for low-tariff regimes coming, a CNBC survey found.

www.cnbc.com

Yes, I think the half a dozen companies who were touted by the WH as 'making deals' (via 75 countries phone calls, so they claim) has proved that, so far.

When I took the time to go back and look at the companies, all of them have current manufacturing in the US that they will bolster to suit their American market is all. Except two - one of which has spoken for 3 years about building bicycles in the US, and one which was a deal made with Biden.

There might be a few thousand jobs created as a total, but one company already said that robotics will be involved.

(as per my previous post on the subject)

imo

 

[Yellowbelly]

MSN

The Independent

Chinese factories flood TikTok with videos urging Americans to buy direct after Trump’s tariffs​

I don't think that works after May 2nd. They've scapped the de minimis on items sent by post from China.

Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Closes De Minimis Exemptions to Combat China’s Role in America’s Synthetic Opioid Crisis

CLOSING LOOPHOLES IN THE TARIFF SYSTEM: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order eliminating duty-free de minimis treatment for

www.whitehouse.gov

 

[Lilibet]

I am sorry for the Americans who rely on tourism for their living who will no doubt suffer at best and go under at worst.

Possibly the financial burden will motivate them to lean on the government. Sometimes losing money is all that gets attention from people.

JMO

 

[MelmothTheLost]

I don't think that works after May 2nd. They've scapped the de minimis on items sent by post from China.

Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Closes De Minimis Exemptions to Combat China’s Role in America’s Synthetic Opioid Crisis

CLOSING LOOPHOLES IN THE TARIFF SYSTEM: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order eliminating duty-free de minimis treatment for

www.whitehouse.gov

I imagine the Chinese will look to route shipments, even if only nominally or with fraudulent documentation, through third party territories - which is where the penguins come in. There are a number of tiny Pacific island nations, for example, whose politicians might be amenable to acting the Trojan horse for backhanders.

 

[SouthAussie]

China is the second largest holder of US debt and could, theoretically, dump it to devalue the dollar.

"China is the second largest holder of US debt – otherwise known as treasuries – at $760bn. Countries like China like to buy US debt because the dollar is considered the standard currency in international trade, and thus, a low-risk investment. China is only second to Japan, which holds $1 trillion, according to the US Treasury Department.

China could theoretically weaponise the US Treasury holdings – by dumping it – meaning that it would sell off treasury holdings for less than they are worth. By doing so, China would then, because of the amount it owns, devalue the US dollar."

Can China use US debt in its tariff war against the US?

China is the second largest holder of US debt and could, theoretically, dump it to devalue the dollar.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[SouthAussie]

"China’s Foreign Ministry has accused the US of being behind “malicious cyber-behaviour”, saying this incident caused serious harm to infrastructure, defence, finance and personal information security.

The case first came to light when police in the northeastern city of Harbin posted on social media that they were looking for information regarding three Americans who they said were spies working for the US’s National Security Agency.

They said these individuals are wanted in relation to attacks that were made around the Winter Asian Games which took place in Harbin in February. They said they detected 270,000 cyberattacks in total, and they attributed two-thirds of those to actors within the US.

And right now, the timing is interesting because this will only worsen tensions as both countries are engaged in this intensifying trade war."

‘Deliberate cruelty’: Biden gives first address since leaving White House

These are the updates for Tuesday, April 15, 2025 as Joe Biden defends Social Security and Donald Trump attacks Harvard.

aje.io

 

[ilovewings]

A little more detail on the Trump pin.

Trump Is Now Mandating His Cabinet/Loyalist Wear "Trump Golden Bust" Pins

The Golden Trump Ego Age Marches On

deanblundell.substack.com

Authoritarian Alert! There’s a new dress code in Trump’s Washington, and it’s straight out of a dictator’s playbook. Remember Mao Zedong and those little red pins with a gold image of his head on them? Stalin had them, too, as does Kim Jong Un; as Dean Blundell notes, if you fail to wear your Kim pin properly, you can get arrested in North Korea. Trump apparently loved the idea of having similar pins with his head on them, as do some of his cabinet members;

When I first read this article my jaw dropped open! What is so frightening is that there is no push back- the Republicans who have power are allowing this nightmare to proceed and the Democrats have no voice-

 

[Lilibet]

When I first read this article my jaw dropped open! What is so frightening is that there is no push back- the Republicans who have power are allowing this nightmare to proceed and the Democrats have no voice-

@acutename pointed out that this had not been verified, thankfully. So far, it appears to be voluntary, which is disgusting enough.

What we know about rumors Trump admin ordered 'loyalists' to wear golden lapel pins of president's face

A Substack post by a Canadian sports writer claimed Republican officials were "quietly told" to ditch alternative pins in favor of a golden Trump pin.

www.snopes.com

 

[LovesPeace2]

Manitoba freezes some electricity exports to U.S., plans to turn northward

The Manitoba government says it is repatriating energy by not renewing two hydroelectric export contracts to Minnesota.

www.ctvnews.ca

Manitoba will soon have more energy for itself and other Canadian jurisdictions after two hydroelectric contracts with a Minnesota utility expire at the end of this month, Premier Wab Kinew said Monday.

 

[ilovewings]

@acutename pointed out that this had not been verified, thankfully. So far, it appears to be voluntary, which is disgusting enough.

What we know about rumors Trump admin ordered 'loyalists' to wear golden lapel pins of president's face

A Substack post by a Canadian sports writer claimed Republican officials were "quietly told" to ditch alternative pins in favor of a golden Trump pin.

www.snopes.com

Actually it doesn't matter at this point if it is voluntary or not, the very idea that politicians would even volunteer to wear the Trump-head lapel pin is beyond astounding. Not in America: oh wait- yes, in America----It is mentally jarring that a president of the United States would actually even suggest such a thing really does remind me more of North Korea- SMH

 

[LovesPeace2]

China orders halt to Boeing jet deliveries as trade war with US intensifies - Times of India

International-Business News: Amid trade tensions with the US, China has reportedly instructed its airlines to halt further Boeing aircraft deliveries and U.S. parts purchases foll

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Chinese carriers have also been asked to stop buying aircraf ..