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

[LoveyG]

The hypocrisy of trying to shut off Medicaid and then thinking shutting off trade with China because of fentanyl in the US will stop the drug epidemic is just astonishing.

I have the feeling the GOP plan is to "rehab" the drug addicted population by putting them into these huge new factories at minimum wage. You know, these huge new Apple and Nvidaia factories that will make America Rich Again.

Our local news paper has a police blotter and about 75% of it is people arrested for fenanyl intoxication, meth intoxication, fentanyl and meth intoxication, trafficking of either of them, and then add child abuse for having children living in deplorable conditions as their parent(s) are full on addicts, then burglaries and break-ins for money to buy drugs.

Shutting off the supply is not going to stop this drug epidemic.

I don't think they really care about the drug crisis. It just gives them an easy target.

 

[Lyanna]

The hypocrisy of trying to shut off Medicaid and then thinking shutting off trade with China because of fentanyl in the US will stop the drug epidemic is just astonishing.

I have the feeling the GOP plan is to "rehab" the drug addicted population by putting them into these huge new factories at minimum wage. You know, these huge new Apple and Nvidaia factories that will make America Rich Again.

Our local news paper has a police blotter and about 75% of it is people arrested for fenanyl intoxication, meth intoxication, fentanyl and meth intoxication, trafficking of either of them, and then add child abuse for having children living in deplorable conditions as their parent(s) are full on addicts, then burglaries and break-ins for money to buy drugs.

Shutting off the supply is not going to stop this drug epidemic.

Moo, they have no intention to cut off the supply. Illegal drugs are also included in GDP figures under the black market. In 2017, illegal drugs contributed $50million to GDP.
Whilst it's not massive compared to some things, it's a huge amount of money.
That figure does not include the money laundering element of illegal drugs either as the government has difficulty tracking that.
Whilst they may talk of cutting it down, it's clear they have no intention of doing so, otherwise they wouldn't be cutting funding to the services that addicts require support from. If they meant it, they would invest heavily into out reach programmes, support groups and therapies etc. The fact they aren't tells you all you need to know.

Moo, imo, jmo

 

[Yellowbelly]

Trump tariffs live updates: Trump says US and China are discussing a deal

Trump revealed for the first time Thursday that the U.S. is talking to China about a deal on tariffs, but he wouldn't say if he's talked to China's Xi directly.

abcnews.go.com

I don't blame China. I don't blame Vietnam," he said, referring to meetings on trade between the two countries on Monday.
I see the meeting today, is that wonderful? That's a lovely meeting. We're meeting, like trying to figure out how do we screw the United States of America?" he said. "Don't forget, the European Union was formed to do just that. The European Union was formed to hurt the United States and -- and on trade, and to get us on NATO because they don't pay their bills."

The ultimate genesis of what became the European Union was an attempt to stop France and Germany ever going to war with each other ever again, and NATO was esentially an American idea to implement the Truman Doctrine as a bulwark against communist expansion.

Why do I doubt that the man has ever read a history book in his life.

 

[detective.moon]

Trump's threats over chip tariffs raise tensions in Taiwan

After a week of feuding with the Chinese, Donald Trump has set his sights on Taiwan. American dependence on Taiwan's chip industry has been a thorn in the American president's side for years. He wants to bring the “stolen” chip industry back to the United States, causing great tension in the Taiwanese parliament.

Because there is much more at stake for Taiwan than just economic interests. The chip industry is not only the backbone of Taiwan's economy, but also acts as a crucial buffer against Chinese aggression.

[…]

It is not only the U.S. that depends on Taiwanese chips: Europe and China also have major interests in the Taiwanese chip industry. For example, ASML is TSMC's biggest supplier and China is the biggest buyer of TSMC's chips. In 2023, China bought more than half of all chips TSMC made that year, to the dismay of the US.

But China's reliance on Taiwanese chips also serves as a deterrent against a possible Chinese invasion. China, which sees Taiwan as a renegade province, has repeatedly said it will take Taiwan by military force if it cannot do so peacefully. But a disruption of TSMC's operations by an invasion by China will have major consequences for the Chinese economy.

Trumps dreigementen over chipheffingen leiden tot spanningen in Taiwan

Taiwan zit in een lastig parket: de industrie die het land beschermt tegen een mogelijke invasie van China, is dezelfde industrie die president Trump probeert van het eiland af te krijgen.

nos.nl

 

[Yellowbelly]

Read these statistics and weep. The man is going to precipitate a massive US recession out of nowhere all by himself.

The USA should have a reverse Mt Rushmore monument where they remind themselves of their worst ever presidents. John Tyler, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Donald Trump. That's the sort of company history is going to judge him amongst.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1911724263649714585

 

[Cedars]

I don't think they really care about the drug crisis. It just gives them an easy target.

I think a lot of what Trump says is to appeal to his base, his supporters. He is a Reality TV star, but IMO he is seriously 'reality' challenged.

I just think people should keep in mind that he has announced many things but then withdrawn or postponed them - or just failed and gave up (remember the wall?).

Announcing things is not the same as making them actually happen. Advertising discovered this a long time ago - if you promise people what they think they want, they'll buy your stuff whether it works or not...at least, for awhile.

JMO

 

[Trooper]

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.

Official statistics from the US International Trade Administration reveal the number of visitors from Australia in March 2025 was down by 7% compared with March 2024 – a reduction of 4,559 people.

The figures – which count any visit of one or more nights – also show sharp drops in visitors from Europe and other areas, as countries updated their travel advice for the US. Overseas arrivals to the US from all origins dropped 11.6% in March, the government data showed.

The downturn in travel following Trump’s inauguration exceeded even the global tourism industry’s worst case predictions, according to travel analytics group Tourism Economics.

( this is a demonstration of the prevalence of 'unintended consequences ' ... )

 

[MerlinFalcon]

You have to figure a lot of people who are travelling from greater distances like Australia and a Europe probably booked months ago. It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming months as more people will stay away because they’re fully aware of what’s going on.

 

[keek]

You have to figure a lot of people who are travelling from greater distances like Australia and a Europe probably booked months ago. It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming months as more people will stay away because they’re fully aware of what’s going on.

SO many people from Canada come to MA to stay on Cape Cod and def. Florida. So many tourists I would see in the summer from Europe and was interesting when being by them, seeing them excited to see the places we were in. One time we overheard a family excited to go to Cape Cod Potato Chip factory.

 

[SouthAussie]

There’s a new dress code in Trump’s DC — and it’s straight out of a dictator’s playbook

www.rawstory.com

With regard to this thread, this part is interesting. (The whole article is on point though, for current times)


Seniors are first in the line of fire as Trump’s tariff bomb explodes.

Top Senate Democrats just proposed an emergency Social Security payment boost:Senators Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, and Elizabeth Warren are putting forward legislation to increase the monthly Social Security payments of everybody in the country by $200 a month to compensate for the coming Trump tariff inflation.

The Social Security Emergency Inflation Relief Act is a response to the early signs that inflation — and shortages — are about to explode as both major and minor retailers across the nation are cancelling orders for Chinese goods rather than pay a 145% import tax (tariff). These cancellations will produce shortages and drive up prices, hitting low income people the hardest (as Republican policies always do).

(from your linked article)

 

[Trooper]

From the people I speak with in the course of the day, most of whom are quite habitual in their travel pursuits, the biggest reason for them not to go anywhere near the USA now and for the foreseeable future , is the tremendous offence of the USA threatening Canada. This has infuriated them, even though it does not affect their lives in any material way, it just aggravates them, and they are not shy about being vocal about it.

I was a bit astonished at the vehemence.. it wasn't as if they thought Trump would try the same rort ( rort, As a verb, rort means to swindle or dupe. Part of Aussie slang since at least the 1910s, rort is a backformation from rorter. It is now commonly used in reference to election rigging, embezzlement, and other dodgy practices indulged in by the nation’s movers and shakers. ) .. on Australia, ( he is welcome to try it on ) . it wasn't the trade nonsense, it wasn't the fentanyl, it was the utter cheek of the nutter to try and pull this kind of scam on their next door neighbor.. Also, baffled by the utter stupidity of it .

 

[MerlinFalcon]

From the people I speak with in the course of the day, most of whom are quite habitual in their travel pursuits, the biggest reason for them not to go anywhere near the USA now and for the foreseeable future , is the tremendous offence of the USA threatening Canada. This has infuriated them, even though it does not affect their lives in any material way, it just aggravates them, and they are not shy about being vocal about it.

I was a bit astonished at the vehemence.. it wasn't as if they thought Trump would try the same rort ( rort, As a verb, rort means to swindle or dupe. Part of Aussie slang since at least the 1910s, rort is a backformation from rorter. It is now commonly used in reference to election rigging, embezzlement, and other dodgy practices indulged in by the nation’s movers and shakers. ) .. on Australia, ( he is welcome to try it on ) . it wasn't the trade nonsense, it wasn't the fentanyl, it was the utter cheek of the nutter to try and pull this kind of scam on their next door neighbor.. Also, baffled by the utter stupidity of it .

Isn’t it amazing how he hasn’t mentioned fentanyl at all in weeks? It was the whole “reason” behind all of this 51st state garbage and it’s disappeared.

 

[Trooper]

Isn’t it amazing how he hasn’t mentioned fentanyl at all in weeks? It was the whole “reason” behind all of this 51st state garbage and it’s disappeared.

And no news of all the hundreds of rehab places ready for the fallout from when the fentanyl stops.. no mention of all the qualified counsellors, and medicos needed.. ( Cuba , as usual would help ) its like when he said women who have abortions need to be punished, yet there is no evidence of hundreds of kindergartens, and primary schools being built . ...

It's all posturing and flouncing, rather like a never ending Kabuki play, the General rushes on stage right and pulls frightful faces,, the drums bang and bells ring, then he runs off stage left...

Nobody says a dickie bird about these TENS OF MILLIONS DYING EVERY DAY FROM BEING FORCED TO CONSUME FENTANYL.. gimme a break.

 

[SouthAussie]

Isn’t it amazing how he hasn’t mentioned fentanyl at all in weeks? It was the whole “reason” behind all of this 51st state garbage and it’s disappeared.

His capacity for concentration appears to be very limited. Flitting from one thing to another. In all matters.

imo

 

[Trooper]

Read these statistics and weep. The man is going to precipitate a massive US recession out of nowhere all by himself.

The USA should have a reverse Mt Rushmore monument where they remind themselves of their worst ever presidents. John Tyler, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Donald Trump. That's the sort of company history is going to judge him amongst.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1911724263649714585

Yes, indeed, something like a huge acreage of ground where people can dump their rusted out old vehicles, stuff that's been in the shed for decades... all bits of twisted wire, and broken lamps, and piles of widgets and old chunks of asbestos and sheetrock, everything that does not compost.. Trump's Dump..... big neon sign, free entry.....

 

[branmuffin]

SO many people from Canada come to MA to stay on Cape Cod and def. Florida. So many tourists I would see in the summer from Europe and was interesting when being by them, seeing them excited to see the places we were in. One time we overheard a family excited to go to Cape Cod Potato Chip factory.

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.

 

[ilovewings]

Tariffs are not supposed to be under the control of the president of the United States. Tariffs are supposed to be under control of congress: it is dangerous to put tariffs under the control of one person- as though he is a king- he is certainly acting as a king and the Republican controlled congress is facilitating this madness-- They are allowing the country to drift into a recession and possibly even a depression, though no one wants to use that word. People need to spread some the anger against Trump towards the cowards in Congress.

 

[keek]

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.

Sad face for the local fishermen. Agree with all.

 

[acutename]

“25 percent tariff on imported vehicles will apply to nearly 80 percent of vehicles priced under $30,000”. The analysis cited models such as the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Chevy Trax and Trailblazer, Nissan Sentra and Honda HR-V.

And

Shigeru Ishiba says Japan does not plan to make big concessions and will not rush to reach a deal in upcoming tariff negotiations with the US.
“I’m not of the view that we should make big concessions for the sake of wrapping up negotiations quickly,” the prime minister said in parliament

Trump updates: El Salvador’s Bukele says will not return Abrego Garcia

Trump administration officials have also repeated they are not responsible for returning Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the US.

aje.io

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The Toyota Corolla is manufactured in several locations around the world, including Japan, the United States, and other countries. Specifically, the Corolla sedan is primarily assembled in Blue Springs, Mississippi, at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi. Corollas are also built in Japan, with some models being exclusively manufactured there. Additionally, Corollas are produced in other countries like Canada, Brazil, China, and the United Kingdom.

The other cars are made in Mexico....

 

[Lilibet]

There’s a new dress code in Trump’s DC — and it’s straight out of a dictator’s playbook

www.rawstory.com

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;