Donald Trump the Megathread part II

https://www.thejournal.ie/eu-us-tariffs-6762242-Jul2025/

Perhaps I'm missing something but if Trump wants to impose tariffs on his own people should we not just let him off?

Tariffs have the effect of raising the prices of everything, even Chinese goods will go up in price as they can get away with it

If the US want to pay more, let them off to do so but leave your own people alone

If a one-sided situation persists (yeah, big assumption that the US can be consistent and follow through for years in the age of Trump policy by social media rants, and extreme political polarisation), the costs will eventually drive companies to move production to the US.

Given the pretty open/free economic relationship we have with the US (we have been too open I would argue), if it stays unchanged long enough on our (EU) side, that could even extend to offshoring of companies and industries based in Europe to the US to produce there and export goods back here. Lost jobs, loss of skills/knowledge, damage to your industrial base.

Eventually the USs trading partners, even the ones like the EU, Japan, SK, their neighbours in Mexico and Canada etc. that do not want conflict with them (unlike say China - Chairman Xi is operating under different rules and feels free to hit the US right back where it hurts very quickly as we saw) will be forced to reciprocate to an extent to protect themselves.

My understanding of the economics is that it will leave all the countries engaged in it poorer in the end, and if the trade wars & mutual tariffing/blocking up of trade gets serious enough might even lead to some kind of global economic crisis, but countries won't have much of a choice if Trump/US forces this path on them.

But we have seen this movie before. If things get too hot for Trump, he will throw a few people under the bus and simply move on, and his supporters will move on with him.

Even now, there is a conspiracy that it has something to do with Israel or other dark forces, rather than simply blaming Trump for making the decisions. It allows them to pretend that somehow the most powerful man in the world is being controlled by somebody, anybody, and that once he gets rid of them, everything will work out.

It's lucky for Trump (assuming he's in those files, that is) that he's in a position to have those files edited or outright destroyed, hearsay notwithstanding.

I would disagree with Carlson on many things, but he has been excellent on Israel. The US's relationship with them is beyond toxic and he is repeatedly calling them out.

“My understanding of the economics is that it will leave all the countries engaged in it poorer in the end,…”

Yes, that’s my understanding too - “making America great” is more about making other countries less good - thus America stands out-it’s less hard work and more time for golf.

In the meantime The poor in America will get poorer and the rich richer also but that’s been ongoing for decades now so no change there- but tariffs will increase the divide further.

I can’t understand though how Trump doesn’t U turn on green energy- Shirley there’s a trick or two for America to pull that would greatly increase revenue in this area whilst still worshiping at the altar of oil. It’s a natural growth industry - jobs, revenue etc etc it seems a bit daft to ignore it entirely

Taxing exports is even dumber than what trump is doing to imports

its going to be a bitter pill to swallow though and lot of companies would go bust - as the US is a massive massive market. What Trump effectively wants with the EU is for our imports to the US to have a tariff of 10% or whatever but for the US have full unimpeded access to the EU market - no safety or food standards etc.

Ironically in all this you never hear services being mentioned - where the US has a massive trade surplus with the EU.

Closely related to the 'Good Czar, Evil Boyar' trope, that the Russian-and indeed later Soviet- masses used to excuse ill-treatment by their rulers. " If only the Czar knew how they are treating us….."

Trump doesn't like breaking with tradition.

It's just insane that we're watching Tucker Carlson develop a conscience over the past few weeks.

Anyone, who knows anything, about Carlson, knows this isn't his conscience speaking. It's a grift.

It's possibly also Putin/Russia speaking…(could be same thing).😀

It was blackly funny to see these 2 awful foreign policy cliques of the MAGA Republicans (pro Putin and pro Netanyahu/Likud) clawing at each other before + shortly after Trump decided to attack Iran!

So ESTA is doubling in price I think? And there’s a 250 dollar integrity fee for some visas, refunded if you leave before the appointed time?

Been a while since I got one (and not planning going anytime soon)

But esta site says price increase from $14 to $21 (Canada by comparison is 7CAD) but this could be old price increase and they haven’t yet updated system for BBB

Elsewhere there’s talk of increase to $40