this post was submitted on 03 Apr 2025
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Summary

Global leaders criticized Trump’s new tariffs, which range from 10% to 49%, warning of trade wars and economic fallout.

The UK and Italy urged negotiation, while Brazil passed a reciprocity bill. China and South Korea vowed countermeasures.

Australia and New Zealand rejected Trump’s logic, citing existing trade deals and low tariffs. Norfolk Island was baffled by a 29% duty despite having no exports.

Financial markets dropped, oil and bitcoin sank, and leaders warned of inflation. Analysts say Trump risks fracturing global trade with little to gain economically.

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[–] [email protected] 288 points 1 week ago (3 children)
[–] [email protected] 165 points 1 week ago (4 children)

ok, then...

i have a huge trade deficit with walmart.

i buy way more from them than they do from me ($1200-1500 a year vs $0); just like the u.s. buys more from many countries than those countries buy from the u.s.

like the leaky diaper's new ~~tariffs~~import tax, i should charge myself a ridiculously high extra tax on purchases from walmart until they buy $1200-1500 a year of some mythical product from me to even out the 'unfair' imbalance?

yea. that'll work.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 week ago (8 children)

I think Trump doesn’t want to trade at all. He wants us to produce everything we need.

[–] [email protected] 52 points 1 week ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 33 points 1 week ago (2 children)

the "logic" is pretty much as you described it. Only, after charging yourself with the extra tax on Walmart purchases, you obviously can't afford Walmart any longer, so you learn to make your own soap with ash and the fats of animals that you have started breeding in your own flat.

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Thank you! Neither the BBC nor the Flemish public tv seem to say this yet (they just repeat the statement Trump gave)

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[–] [email protected] 151 points 1 week ago (8 children)

I hope the EU reacts with something non-tariffy. Like forbidding US online platforms to serve ads and collect personal data, with severe punishments if they still do.

[–] [email protected] 90 points 1 week ago (5 children)

I recently read an article that suggested the best retaliation would be to stop enforcing US intellectual property in the EU. One of the biggest exports they have is media, if we would stop enforcing their copyright it would cost them a lot of money.

[–] [email protected] 47 points 1 week ago (19 children)

You don't even have to go that far. Just adopt sane copyright laws, like copyright only lasting the life of the artist.

[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Thats still too long imo. Patents are 20 years, so should every IP protection.

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[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Yes that would be amazing and a great stimulant for EU companies to start developing a competing platform of it's own (we have BeReal, Dailymotion, Medal and Dumpert, but they aren't very big AFAIK)

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[–] [email protected] 104 points 1 week ago (2 children)

If I was Prime Minister, I'd impose a retaliatory tariff of 9000% just because it's all just this stupid.
Call it the Goku tariffs, but drag it out over an hour or two with a lot of screaming.

[–] [email protected] 69 points 1 week ago (9 children)

Wouldn't it have to be 9001%?

[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 week ago
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[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Call a press conference, build up to announcing the 9000% tariff but then end the conference promising to come back next week and make the announcement.

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[–] [email protected] 104 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Shortly after Trump’s announcement, the British government said the United States remains the U.K.’s “closest ally.”

I'm sorry TERF island, that's not gonna keep Trump from stabbing you in the back too.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 1 week ago (1 children)

It's heartbreaking, really.

The UK is like a kid who just got his face covered in mud by bullies, and goes "aren't my friends wonderful for playing with me?".

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[–] [email protected] 90 points 1 week ago (5 children)
  1. Order tariffs
  2. Make everything more expensive for everyone everywhere
  3. Piss off the entire world and invite countermeasures
  4. ??????????????
  5. MAGA
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[–] [email protected] 89 points 1 week ago (5 children)

Have we forgotten that he has done this each month since he was Inaugurated?

Today the stock market will crash on this news. The wealthy will buy on this massive dip, and in a few days, HitlerPig will announce that the countries on his list have responded to his tariff threats, so he is postponing them for a month or so.

The stock market will recover a bit, and the wealthy will make a fortune. In a month, he'll do it all over again.

It's deliberate market manipulation.

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[–] [email protected] 86 points 1 week ago (14 children)

Putting tariffs on Norfolk Island and Heard and McDonald Islands are particularly funny considering Heard and McDonald Islands only has penguins living there lol.

[–] [email protected] 47 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Those penguins are trying to rip off America! It's about time they pay their fair share

[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I’ve never once heard a penguin say thank you.

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[–] [email protected] 82 points 1 week ago (1 children)

"No basis in logic"

No shit, this whole administration has no basis in logic. Just look at Project 2025 and the progress they've made on it in a little over 2 months.

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[–] [email protected] 78 points 1 week ago (2 children)

and the price of bitcoin dropped 4.4%.

I cannot express how much I hate that this appears in a serious economic article.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 week ago (8 children)

You don't like hearing about made up currency with no backing that's primarily used for pump and dump schemes and money laundering?

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[–] [email protected] 50 points 1 week ago (4 children)

They’re AI generated tariffs. He asked Grok and these are the numbers it spat out.

[–] [email protected] 39 points 1 week ago (1 children)

He's imposing tariffs on uninhabited islands... what a fucking moron...

[–] [email protected] 55 points 1 week ago (6 children)
[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 week ago

McDonald's fucked up his order recently which is why their island received tariffs.

He's going to get free hamberders for life when they cave.

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[–] [email protected] 46 points 1 week ago
[–] [email protected] 46 points 1 week ago

All the goods that Trump excempts from tarrifs is tipping his hand. If I were one of these countries like Taiwan where semiconductors are exempted, I would apply an export duty equal to the tarrif on other goods. If you want to tarrif me fine but you're going to have to commit.

[–] [email protected] 39 points 1 week ago (1 children)

no tariffs on russia, only sanctions?

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[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 week ago (6 children)

Trump's government has made the US a village idiot - and if the idiot gets into a fight with the whole village, the idiot will have more bruises.

Why he does that - I don't pretend to understand.

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[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 week ago (2 children)

What about Israel? Aren't they sucking you dry? Perhaps add some tariffs there?

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[–] [email protected] 34 points 1 week ago (1 children)

No basis in logic if he were actually trying to do what he says he is. He's not. They make perfect sense if the goal is to destabilize the country. We elected a fucking Manchurian candidate twice, and the in-between term was spent on a bunch of business as usual and not setting up protections in case it happened again. This country is fucking done.

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[–] [email protected] 34 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (4 children)

There is simple logic in it. Punish everyone, and then let them come to you asking for exemptions. Then he can demand things in exchange. After that it's "Pray I don't alter the deal any further."

UK already asked for an exemption and he said they should buy chlorinated chicken first. If every country responds in the same way and gives in he's making bank. If they respond with a boycott on anything American, especially digital services, things get bad.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

Well if hes following Project 2025, which it seems based on recent comments by Elon Musk, then hes expecting other countries to remove all tariffs first. As you say, chlorinated chicken, but if you dont then you dont get to sell your healthy chickens to America, and all that money you owe thats denominated in USD becomes very hard to acquire.

Maybe the better option is to allow it but to label it with its harmful chemicals, let the free market decide, in a kind of democratic process of people determining their own marginal utility versus budget constraints. You can still buy cigarettes in the UK and Europe as well, so whats a bit of American chicken versus a lifetime of smoking?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago

Then next Trump would just threaten with tariffs again until the labeling had been removed. Then he'll threaten again for their oversized cars. There won't be an end to this.

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[–] [email protected] 31 points 1 week ago

Dead horse economics:

Wake up you lazy horse!

[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Oh, do you guys think he might be a stupid maniac gosh

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 week ago (3 children)

None of Trump's policies have any basis in reality

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 week ago

No basis in logic is a nice summary of the Trump administration in general.

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