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Trump exempts phones, computers, chips from ‘reciprocal’ tariffs
- beardyw 2y agoPerhaps the task of rewriting history needs to start right away.
- almog 2y agoThat might explain why Apple's stock was leading the rally yesterday...
- techpineapple 2y agoWasn’t Howard Lutnick on TV recently explicitly saying they wanted to bring iPhone assembly here? How is one to understand the union of these two perspectives? https://fortune.com/2025/04/07/howard-lutnick-iphones-america-apple-tariffs/ https://fortune.com/2025/04/07/howard-lutnick-iphones-americ...
- ceejayoz 2y ago> How is one to understand the union of these two perspectives? Only one perspective actually matters right now, and it's notoriously mercurial. Administration officials often have about as much knowledge of what's to come as we do.
- sidvit 2y agoHoward Lutnick got pulled from the TV sidelines over stuff like this apparently. Bessent is running the show now which is probably why they’re actually responding to the bond market punching them in the face this week
- seanmcdirmid 2y agoHe definitely blinked. Also illegal immigrants who work in hotels and on farms won’t be deported. Weird.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- yodsanklai 2y agoWho would have guessed.
- BearOso 2y agoYeah, they're really exemplifying the "shoot first and ask questions later" model.
- vdupras 2y agoNothing means anything anymore. This of course will change completely on monday, then again on tuesday. Of course in the spirit of insider plundering. This circus will go on until we hear the magic words "the chocolate rations have been increased by 20g".
- backWurdz 2y ago[dead]
- tines 2y agoThings started to make more sense to me once I realized that human beings hate freedom and love tyranny. Once you accept this, it all falls in place. Deporting citizens to foreign prisons? Sounds great. Incoherent foreign and economic policy? Love it. Freedom of the press? Who needs it! Destruction of democracy? Own the libs! Legalize bribery of foreign officials? Even the playing field! And finally, words don’t need to mean anything because they are simply evocations intended to stir up certain emotions. They are more akin to a hunter’s duck call. The hunter doesn’t speak duck and doesn’t care whether that sounds he’s making have any meaning, he simply makes noise and looks for a result. Not getting the desired result? Just change the noise a little. This is why democracy will eventually fail and autocracy will rise in its place. And no one will ever learn.
- ajross 2y agoUgh. Note that this is a capitulation. China's retaliatory import tariff rate remains in effect, and they get to decide which industries to relax, if any. The net effect is that if you're in one of the handful of businesses that export to China, the Trump administration threw you under the proverbial bus.
- vdupras 2y agoWhile we're at it, China might as well impose a 145% export tax on phones, computers and chips, just to taunt.
- superkuh 2y agoAnyone have a readable mirror that contains text?
- jmclnx 2y agoI cannot read it, but didn't China restrict the export of some tech related items as part of their tariffs ? I remember hearing those items are need to make assemble some components needed for some boards. I hope Wall Street is still hammering this admin. on why these tariffs are bad.
- timbit42 2y agoYou're thinking of rare elements.
- kevin_thibedeau 2y agoSeems a bit anti-business to have an unequal playing field just for the star-bellied sneetches. Also silly that those with the biggest piles of capital are getting exemptions when the whole purpose of this exercise is to spur local investment in manufacturing. If anything, small businesses below some threshold of revenue/staff should be getting exemptions.
- croes 2y agoThat’s how oligarchies work.
- izacus 2y agoEastern Europe and large part of Asia to US citizens: "First time?"
- DangitBobby 2y agoWe are returning champs of the Oligarchy World Tour at this point.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- bogwog 2y agoWdym? It's entirely merit-based, with the 'merit' being $1 million dollar totally-not-a-bribe dinner with the president: https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/trump-reportedly-suspends-nvidia-h20-export-ban-plan-after-usd1-million-dinner-with-jensen-huang https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intell...
- rqtwteye 2y agoThat's definitely how it looks like
- ArinaS 2y ago[flagged]
- footlose_3815 2y agoIt's so painful watching this administration be forced to react to their preventable mistakes in-real-time with no repercussions. One thing is throwing and seeing what sticks, but at the seat of the presidency, it seems like such an antipattern for leadership. And yet, the support is unwavering. It's exhausting.
- northrup 2y agooh, they'll be repercussions. We, as a nation, will be paying for this for years and years to come.
- sfifs 2y agoMy partner just canceled her trip where she'd have easily spent 4-5k in the US economy due to uncertainty in the border governance. A lot of my friends are rethinking sending their children to US for college education while Trump is in power and are considering European schools. That's probably a few million dollars over next 2-3 years potentially lost from the US economy from just people i personally know. And no one is coming from China.
- chvid 2y agoWhat imports of size from China are then under full tariffs? Seems silly just to mess up a few toy importers.
- SonOfKyuss 2y agoAuto parts come to mind. Also there are plenty of products on shelves at big box retailers like Walmart that are made in China and won’t fall into the exempted categories.
- ojbyrne 2y agoAuto parts, but also autos.
- hu3 2y agoSo Tesla gets a handwave against world conquering BYDs.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- stafferxrr 2y agoIt is a huge amount of various goods. So much so that even if you look up a breakdown, 25% will be in other. Chemicals, base metals, stone, glass, etc etc. What doesn't China export? Basically everything. So everything minus these exemptions.
- greatgib 2y agoSextoys...
- relyks 2y agoClothing. A lot of apparel and accessory retailers have significant portions of their items produced in China.
- vkou 2y ago
- know-how 2y ago[dead]
- ajross 2y agoPointed it out in the other thread, but this is a capitulation. China imposed retaliatory tariffs that remain in effect! There are a handful of businesses that do indeed export to China, and the net effect here is that they've all been thrown under the bus. China gets to kill/pick/control them at will now.
- dave4420 2y agoHow will China react to this, I wonder.
- ajross 2y agoThe horrifying thing is that they don't have to. They hold all the cards now. They can drop their new trade barriers at will. Maybe they'll ask for concessions. Maybe they'll leave them in place to kill off troublesome competitors. Maybe they'll coerce the affected companies into selling to Chinese-owned interests at a steep discount. Maybe they'll just take a bunch of bribes. This is how a trade war looks. And we're losing. Badly.
- seanmcdirmid 2y agoThey will either ignore it or double down with an export tax on items in that class.
- est 2y agoChina waits paitiently for the big BOOM of US treasury bond in June.
- yellow_lead 2y agoThis link is better: https://wccftech.com/trumps-reciprocal-tariffs-have-reportedly-excluded-pc-smartphone-imports/ https://wccftech.com/trumps-reciprocal-tariffs-have-reported... Or, the primary source seems to be: https://content.govdelivery.com/bulletins/gd/USDHSCBP-3db9e55?wgt_ref=USDHSCBP_WIDGET_2 https://content.govdelivery.com/bulletins/gd/USDHSCBP-3db9e5... But you'd have to look up those codes to know they're for PCs, smartphones
- instagib 2y agoThanks for a great free article. The title is sensationalism when it should be phone and computer associated parts are exempted from tariffs or something like that.
- SamuelAdams 2y agoActual source: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHSCBP/bulletins/3db9e55 https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHSCBP/bulletins/...
- sleepyguy 2y agohttps://www.marketwatch.com/articles/tariffs-exclusions-exemptions-apple-nvidia-dell-smartphones-pcs-b2e069ff?mod=home_ln https://www.marketwatch.com/articles/tariffs-exclusions-exem... >This latest round of tariff rates is currently set at 125% for Chinese goods and a 10% tax on imports from other trading partners. China also had an additional 20% tax on its goods that began in March, bringing its total to 145%. Importers of these electronics will no longer face the newest taxes, and it cuts the Chinese rate down to 20% for them. The exceptions cover $385 billion worth of 2024 imports, 12% of the total. It includes $100 billion from China, 23% of 2024 imports from there. For these electronics, the average tax rate went from 45% to 5% with this rule. The biggest global exemption is the import category that includes PCs and servers, with $140 billion in 2024 imports, 26% of it from China. Circumstances may change again, but this benefits AI king Nvidia, server-makers like Dell, Hewlett Packard Enterprise HPE +2.91% , and Super Micro, and PC makers like Dell and HP HPQ +2.49% . The average tax rate went from 45% to 5% here, according to Barron’s calculations. The biggest newly exempt category for Chinese goods is smartphones, with $41 billion in 2024 U.S. imports, 81% of all smartphone imports. A 145% tax on that would be $60 billion, but even the new 20% tax is a hefty $8 billion.
- cinbun8 2y agoFrom an outsider’s perspective, it’s difficult to discern any coherent U.S. strategy—assuming one even exists. One day it’s a 145% tariff on China. The next, it’s “Well, it’s still 145%, but Apple and Nvidia are exempted because their stock prices might take a hit.” Then comes a 90-day pause, adding to the confusion. It’s not clear whether Jamieson Greer is actually steering this, or if any of it was thoroughly thought through.
- backWurdz 2y ago[dead]
- whalesalad 2y agochaos is the strategy
- Henchman21 2y agoDestruction is the goal.
- csomar 2y agoChaos is a strategy but in this case it's just chaos.
- goatlover 2y agoNo, other autocrats have instituted chaos to grab power before. Too many people underestimate Trump and his allies. They are going to grab as much power as they can for as long as they can.
- ArinaS 2y ago> "assuming one even exists" I actually doubt it does. Everyting is just too chaotic to be a strategy.
- FabHK 2y agoAgreed. I think at this point we can discard the assumption of 4D chess. (This is not to say that there aren't some Project 2025 plans in the background that parts of the administration are aiming to push through.)
- gotorazor 2y agohttps://www.msn.com/en-us/money/technology/apple-nvidia-dell-and-others-get-a-tariffs-exemption-under-new-rules/ar-AA1CNvQ6 https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/technology/apple-nvidia-dell...
- greatgib 2y ago[flagged]
- lightedman 2y agoOther businesses not exempt from these tariffs should sue for violation of equal protection. Equal protection under the law means equal treatment under the law and this absolutely is not equal treatment at all.
- mppm 2y agoThis is pretty much how I expected this to play out, at least for now. Trump acts all tough and doesn't back down publicly, but China actually doesn't back down. So what happens is that some businesses get exemptions to mitigate the impact. Then some fine print gets changed about how the rules are enforced. Like, suddenly it turns out that Kiribati is a major electronics supplier to the US :) End result - US economy takes a hit, China takes a smaller hit. Trade balance widens further, most likely. The rich get richer, while many small companies struggle to survive.
- jmull 2y ago> doesn't back down publicly Seems like he has been backing down publicly all week. Quickly too. This has been a massive catastrophe, though I suspect you're right about the end result.
- mppm 2y agoMaybe publicly was not the right word. What I really meant is that the nominal 145% rate will remain in effect, so he can continue to pretend that the tariffs are still there and still hurting China, while he makes "minor adjustments" to protect American businesses.
- optimalsolver 2y agoComment cited here: https://www.themotte.org/post/1827/culture-war-roundup-for-the-week/317629?context=8#context https://www.themotte.org/post/1827/culture-war-roundup-for-t...
- A1vis 2y agoThe media coverage seems a bit weird to me. The primary source was released 12 hours ago, but when I did a bit of research 4 hours ago I only saw a few reports from dubious Chinese sources like this: https://www.zhitongcaijing.com/content/detail/1277768.html https://www.zhitongcaijing.com/content/detail/1277768.html Then about 2 hours ago all major media outlets were covering it.
- pcurve 2y agoNot full exemption. They're still subject to the 20% tariff (instead of the ridiculous 145%) so Trump can save his face.
- CapsAdmin 2y agoI was trying to find out of this is still the case. How did you reach that conclusion?
- giarc 2y agoSmartphones getting exemptions? Didn't the administration talk about how American's would be tightening screws on iPhones as they brought back these jobs? I'm starting to think they don't know what they are doing.... /s
- grandempire 2y agoAre the tariffs good or bad?
- perihelions 2y agoThis reads to me as "we're doubling-down on 145%+ tariffs for everyone else". This is getting frighteningly close to a Russian-style economy. As in, a handful of powerful, connected "insiders" will be allowed to operate businesses, and will dominate... while everyone else gets wiped out, by acts of government. The furthest system possible from the free-market paradigm that built the American economy as it stands today. Russia is not a prosperous nation.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- hackernewds 2y agoIt opens up avenues to all sorts off oligarchy style bribery and lack of market competition. ultimately, the country will be looted, since the most successful businesses will not thrive on its merits
- aswanson 2y agoHis crypto coin also allows anyone to bribe him anonymously. It's incredibly corrupt.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- jader201 2y ago> a handful of powerful, connected "insiders" will be allowed to operate businesses, and will dominate... while everyone else gets wiped out, by acts of government Note that this is not an exemption for companies, but an exemption for goods: > A new list of goods to be exempted from the latest round of tariffs on U.S. importers was released, and it includes smartphones, PCs, servers, and other technology goods, many of which are assembled in China.
- redserk 2y agoIt isn’t really cheap or easy to build a PC or smartphone business with name recognition… Nor is it cheap or easy to build a company that would likely be able to appeal tariff exemptions…
- icedchai 2y agoThis certainly is a surprise. :eyeroll:
- seafoamteal 2y agoHas the Proton CEO acknowledged just how farcically off base he was when he said the GOP was the party of small businesses?
- wwweston 2y agoDemand for Proton services is probably up.
- 9283409232 2y agoI was thinking about this yesterday and how stupid a comment it was to make.
- techpineapple 2y agoThe thing that’s really been getting to me, is that, I’m liberal, not pro-Trump, but the MAGA American heartland story has been really getting to me. I want to see small business, manufacturing, small town American succeed. And there’s some part of me that thought maybe Trump, as much as I don’t like him, is the thing that is needed to make that happen, but man it seems like he’s really fucking over the people who supported him the most.
- t-writescode 2y agoSome of the biggest boons to small business would be universal healthcare and that's just ... you know, never going to happen under a Republican president (or a Democrat, for that matter). It would greatly ease the burden of employing others in small businesses and it would greatly increase the safety net of would-be entrepreneurs. It would also improve works-rights-as-capitalism because you could more easily quit abusive employers and make employers more merit-based as well. Addendum: The $450 I spend every month on health insurance is a meaningful part of my monthly spend as I'm trying to start my business.
- archagon 2y agoIt’s a common misconception that Republicans are pro-business. They loathe small business and love big business. If everyone could just be indentured to one of a dozen mega-conglomerates, that would be their perfect world.
- techpineapple 2y agoHow bananas is it that Trump ran against big tech and now big tech is the winner while mom and pop shops are the losers.
- dhx 2y agoExempt items are: 8471: Computers. 8473.30: Computer parts. 8486: Semiconductor manufacturing equipment. 8517.13.00: Smartphones. 8517.62.00: Network equipment. 8523.51.00: Solid state media. 8524 and 8528.52.00: Computer displays. 8541.* (with some subheadings excluded): Semiconductor components EXCEPT LEDs, photovoltaic components, piezoelectric crystals). 8542: Integrated circuits. The 8541.* category exclusions are interesting. Does the US self-produce all required quantities of LEDs and piezoelectric crystals and doesn't need to import those? Is the exception on photovoltaic components to discourage American companies from producing solar panels? [1] https://hts.usitc.gov/search?query=[INSERT https://hts.usitc.gov/search?query=[INSERT HEADING CODE HERE. EXAMPLE: 8471]
- ghusto 2y agoSlightly off-topic, but is the result of the USA tariff "trade-war" mean that we get to trade at a discount with China in Europe? What I mean is, since it's cheaper for China to trade with us in Europe now, does that mean we gain some bargaining power?
- mrweasel 2y agoOne danger is that all the cheap Chinese crap will be redirected at Europe. It does have to upside of cheaper goods for Europe overall, which is fine for everything we don't make and which is overall adding value. The risk is that we also get all cheap plastic junk, unless EU regulations can keep it out environmental concerns.
- jopsen 2y agoI suspect that trade policy is one of the core competences of the EU. And countries arguing for particular tariff policies and getting cutouts is widespread EU past time.
- throw04 2y ago[dead]
- righthand 2y agoWhy is no one highlighting how this is repeating history 8 years ago? I don’t get it, there’s this magical reporting gap where all of this is new strategy but it’s the exact same strategy. Why don’t we acknowledge this instead of searching for some new angle? Here are a bunch of links from 2018/2019: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/13/apple-dodges-iphone-tariff-after-trump-confirms-china-trade-agreement.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/13/apple-dodges-iphone-tariff-a... https://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/investing/t052-s001-14-stocks-already-hurt-by-president-trump-tariffs/index.html https://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/investing/t052-s001-14-s... https://www.texastribune.org/2019/06/07/trump-tariff-threat-dropped-mexico-stem-tide-central-american-migrants/ https://www.texastribune.org/2019/06/07/trump-tariff-threat-... https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/trumps-tariff-strategy-can-be-traced-back-to-the-1980s/ https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/trumps-tariff-str... https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-to-delay-tariff-increases-on-chinese-imports-11551050187 https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-to-delay-tariff-increases... https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/19/hundreds-of-chinese-goods-exempted-from-trumps-tariffs-1753322 https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/19/hundreds-of-chines... https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/china-threatens-retaliation-for-trumps-planned-tariff-hike https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/china-threatens-retalia... https://www.cfr.org/blog/trumps-tariffs-are-killing-american-steel https://www.cfr.org/blog/trumps-tariffs-are-killing-american...
- SpicyLemonZest 2y agoThe articles you've linked are about threats of 10% to 25% tariffs in the context of active trade negotiations between the US and China. Here, there's an actually imposed tariff of 145% and no talks at all as far as has been reported. It's not the same situation.
- steveBK123 2y agoSo we are exempting all the tech transfer & natsec risk items but maintaining new embargo-level tariffs on cameras, children's toys, and t-shirts. Makes a lot of sense if you don't think about it.
- polski-g 2y agoAmerican children yearn to work in a sock factory.
- steveBK123 2y agoFlorida is passing laws to make that easier, yes
- Hikikomori 2y agoArt of the deal.
- randcraw 2y agoArt of the bribe, actually.
- inverted_flag 2y agoI’ve noticed that the pro-trump posters have been quiet on this site recently, pretty funny.
- fells 2y agoBecause, in reality, they voted for his regressive cultural policies, not his regressive economic policies. Though in November I'm sure they were telling us how good he would be on the economic front.
- add-sub-mul-div 2y agoIt's funny, (well, not funny) because the social issues are the ones where the toothpaste doesn't go back in the bottle. Progress over the long run only goes in the right direction, there's no path to undoing broad acceptance of homosexuality just like we'll never go back to forbidding interracial marriage or women voting. So the top 1% will benefit economically from the right being in power, but the rest will spend the rest of their lives mad about whatever the current social change is, regardless of who's in power.
- SpicyLemonZest 2y agoProgress seems to only go in the right direction on social issues, because people are very good at developing reasons why the social views they happen to hold are the objectively correct ones. As any advocate will talk your ears off about, open borders used to be the consensus position, until 150 years of immigration restrictions convinced people that it's not realistic to just let anyone move wherever they'd like.
- fknorangesite 2y ago> Progress over the long run only goes in the right direction, there's no path to undoing broad acceptance of homosexuality just like we'll never go back to forbidding interracial marriage or women voting. This is remarkably naive. I wish you were right, but this sentiment isn't optimism; it's complacency.
- 2y ago
- cmurf 2y agoThe corruption is the plan. The tariffs are the boot on everyone's neck. Carve outs based on friend, foe, and bribes adjust the pressure. This will be on-going and capricious.
- qgin 2y agoNot something you would do if there was any chance of a larger deal near term
- throw0101d 2y agoThere are valid reasons for tariffs: * https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/when-are-tariffs-good https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/when-are-tariffs-good Especially when it comes to certain areas of the economy: > Democratic countries’ economies are mainly set up as free market economies with redistribution, because this is what maximizes living standards in peacetime. In a free market economy, if a foreign country wants to sell you cheap cars, you let them do it, and you allocate your own productive resources to something more profitable instead. If China is willing to sell you brand-new electric vehicles for $10,000, why should you turn them down? Just make B2B SaaS and advertising platforms and chat apps, sell them for a high profit margin, and drive a Chinese car. > Except then a war comes, and suddenly you find that B2B SaaS and advertising platforms and chat apps aren’t very useful for defending your freedoms. Oops! The right time to worry about manufacturing would have been years before the war, except you weren’t able to anticipate and prepare for the future. Manufacturing doesn’t just support war — in a very real way, it’s a war in and of itself. * https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/manufacturing-is-a-war-now https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/manufacturing-is-a-war-now > China has rapidly established itself as the world’s dominant shipbuilding power, marginalizing the United States and its allies in a strategically important industry. In addition to building massive numbers of commercial ships, many Chinese shipyards also produce warships for the country’s rapidly growing navy. As part of its “military-civil fusion” strategy, China is tapping into the dual-use resources of its commercial shipbuilding empire to support its ongoing naval modernization * https://www.csis.org/analysis/ship-wars-confronting-chinas-dual-use-shipbuilding-empire https://www.csis.org/analysis/ship-wars-confronting-chinas-d... But none of the current "reasons"—which may simply be rationalizations / retcons by underlings for one man's fickle will—really make much sense: * https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/all-the-arguments-for-tariffs-are https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/all-the-arguments-for-tariffs-...
- lazyeye 2y agoI think we need to also consider that "conventional economic thinking" got us into this mess (de-industrialized, vulnerable economy, hollowed out working/middle class, enormous debt/deficit). There never seems to be any accountability for this though. I suspect it's because a particular section of society has done very well from the status quo.
- Havoc 2y agoAnd in ~24hr policy will zigzag again It's not like businesses need to plan or anything so this is great
- cantrecallmypwd 2y agoWelcome to technofeudalism.
- jeswin 2y agoI am among the few who think it might eventually prove itself a good idea. To start with, Europe has no good cards to play. Ultimately, Europe will side with the United States while it builds self-sufficiency on several fronts, especially defense. Europe also recognizes that the complete relocation of production capacity into China wasn't good in the long run; it's just that they had no ability to act on their own. The US has repeatedly suggested publicly that it's not entirely about tariffs, and more might have been said privately. The tariffs the EU and Britain will drop are probably not what the US is after; what the US wants is to reduce global demand for Chinese manufacturing. Europe will find it easier to sell this—bringing manufacturing back and protectionism even at the cost of say, welfare and environment—to the public due to the violent shakedown over the past two weeks, as well as what happened with Ukraine and Russia. Ongoing European emergency measures to increase defense spending will be followed by incentives to rebuild strategic industry—like how China supported civilian–military partnership with policy. Meanwhile the Indian government is already looking for ways to replace Chinese imports with US imports, where it can [1]. Japan and North Korea will follow suit; Trump is already saying that Korea needs to pay for US troops. The US is (in my view) on solid footing here. At the very least, they get better trade deals from everyone else—Europe, India, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, etc. A number of companies will move production back into the US, and the government can prioritize those with more military value (chip-making, batteries, cars, shipbuilding [2] , etc.). And if the US can convince others to start decoupling from China, this will weaken Chinese manufacturing capacity. Given the pain it's going to inflict in the short term, Trump is the only person who could have started this trade war. There might have been ways to do this without such a shake-up, but I am not convinced that this was a stupid move. This was an anti-China move right from the beginning, disguised as an outrage against everyone's tariffs. [1]: https://www.financialexpress.com/business/industry/replace-chinese-goods-with-us-imports-govt-tells-industry-amidst-trumps-tariff-threat/3777822/ https://www.financialexpress.com/business/industry/replace-c... [2]: https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3306177/us-fires-fresh-broadside-chinas-shipyards-new-executive-order https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3306177/u... To clarify: none of this is China's fault. They did a fantastic job for their country, pulling hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.
- Spooky23 2y ago
- walterbell 2y agoPer Bloomberg, 20% fentanyl tariff on China still applies and these categories may yet receive their own unique tariff, https://archive.is/jKupW https://archive.is/jKupW The exemption categories include components and assembled products, https://content.govdelivery.com/bulletins/gd/USDHSCBP-3db9e55 https://content.govdelivery.com/bulletins/gd/USDHSCBP-3db9e5... 8471 ADP (Automatic Data Processing) Machines: PCs, servers, terminals. 8473.30 Parts for ADPs: keyboards, peripherals, printers. 8486 Machines for producing semiconductors & ICs: wafer fab, lithography. 8517.13 Mobile phones and smartphones. 8517.62 Radios, router, modems. 8523.51 Radio/TV broadcasting equipment. 8524 2-way radios. 8528.52 Computer monitors and projectors (no TVs). 8541.10 Diodes, transistors and similar electronic components 8541.21 LEDs 8541.29 Photodiodes and non-LED diodes 8541.30 Transistors 8541.49.10 Other semiconductors that emit light 8541.49.70 Optoelectronics: light sensors, solar cells 8541.49.80 Photoresistors 8541.49.95 Other semiconductor devices 8541.51.00 LEDs for displays 8541.59.00 Other specialized semiconductor devices 8541.90.00 Semiconductor parts: interconnects, packaging, assembly 8542 Electronic ICs Industrial-scale workarounds were developed for previous tariffs, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43652823 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43652823. Such loopholes will need to be addressed in any new trade agreements.
- codedokode 2y ago> 8486 Machines for producing semiconductors & ICs: wafer fab, lithography. Does US buy them from China too?
- walterbell 2y agoUnlikely. The exclusions above are for reciprocal tariffs from all countries, i.e. China 0% reciprocal + 20% (fentanyl) + 2018-2024 rates non-China 0% reciprocal
- grey-area 2y agoReciprocal is inaccurate, you should stop using that term - this label was chosen to obfuscate what is going on and confuse those who don't know better.
- wraaath 2y agoHere's the set of categories exempted from the tariffs (via perplexity) Original source: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHSCBP/bulletins/3db9e55 https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHSCBP/bulletins/... Backup: https://archive.is/el9Mz https://archive.is/el9Mz via Perplexity: 8471: Automatic data-processing machines and units thereof, including computers, laptops, disc drives, and other data processing equipment. 8473.30: Parts and accessories for automatic data-processing machines, such as components used in computers. 8486: Machines and apparatus for the manufacture of semiconductor devices or electronic integrated circuits. 8517.13.00: Mobile phones (cellular telephones) or other wireless network devices. 8517.62.00: Communication apparatus capable of connecting to a network, such as routers and modems. 8523.51.00: Solid-state storage devices (e.g., flash drives) used for recording data. 8524: Recorded media, such as DVDs, CDs, and other optical discs. 8528.52.00: Flat-panel displays capable of video playback, including monitors and televisions. 8541.10.00: Diodes, including light-emitting diodes (LEDs). 8541.21.00: Transistors with a dissipation rate of less than 1 watt. 8541.29.00: Other transistors not specified elsewhere. 8541.30.00: Thyristors, diacs, and triacs used in electronics. 8541.49.10 to 8541.49.95: Semiconductor devices such as integrated circuits (ICs) categorized by specific types or functions. 8541.51.00: Semiconductor devices designed for photovoltaic applications (solar cells). 8541.59.00: Other semiconductor devices not elsewhere classified. 8541.90.00: Parts of semiconductor devices or electronic integrated circuits. 8542: Electronic integrated circuits, including microprocessors and memory chips.
- 42772827 2y agoAs if the US would make the propaganda machine / spy device / tracker more expensive
- CodeCrusader 2y agoSeems like the tariffs are becoming a lot more complicated, and it is possible that it is happening by design
- enaaem 2y agoTariffs can be very expensive to enforce, so you want to keep it as simple as possible.
- FromTheSteppe 2y agoIt actually feels nice to see US people having a taste of the kind of government their intelligence service force other nations to have by coups, except that it does not feel nice at all. I'm sorry guys.
- UncleSlacky 2y agoFascism is when colonialism comes home.
- throw0101d 2y agoThere are valid reasons for tariffs: * https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/when-are-tariffs-good https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/when-are-tariffs-good Especially when it comes to certain areas of the economy: > Democratic countries’ economies are mainly set up as free market economies with redistribution, because this is what maximizes living standards in peacetime. In a free market economy, if a foreign country wants to sell you cheap cars, you let them do it, and you allocate your own productive resources to something more profitable instead. If China is willing to sell you brand-new electric vehicles for $10,000, why should you turn them down? Just make B2B SaaS and advertising platforms and chat apps, sell them for a high profit margin, and drive a Chinese car. > Except then a war comes, and suddenly you find that B2B SaaS and advertising platforms and chat apps aren’t very useful for defending your freedoms. Oops! The right time to worry about manufacturing would have been years before the war, except you weren’t able to anticipate and prepare for the future. Manufacturing doesn’t just support war — in a very real way, it’s a war in and of itself. * https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/manufacturing-is-a-war-now https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/manufacturing-is-a-war-now > China has rapidly established itself as the world’s dominant shipbuilding power, marginalizing the United States and its allies in a strategically important industry. In addition to building massive numbers of commercial ships, many Chinese shipyards also produce warships for the country’s rapidly growing navy. As part of its “military-civil fusion” strategy, China is tapping into the dual-use resources of its commercial shipbuilding empire to support its ongoing naval modernization * https://www.csis.org/analysis/ship-wars-confronting-chinas-dual-use-shipbuilding-empire https://www.csis.org/analysis/ship-wars-confronting-chinas-d... But none of the current "reasons"—which may simply be rationalizations / retcons by underlings for one man's fickle will—really make much sense: * https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/all-the-arguments-for-tariffs-are https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/all-the-arguments-for-tariffs-...
- owenversteeg 2y agoI’m not seeing anyone discuss this here, so I figured I’d raise an important point: this style of tariffs is crushing for US manufacturing. While a universal tariff with no exceptions incentivizes domestic manufacturing, a selective tariff with specific industry exceptions is absolute poison. You might think, as the authors of this exemption did, “well then we will exempt computer parts.” Then people will simply import the parts. But if you manufacture those parts in the US, you are suddenly at a massive disadvantage. Your computer parts factory likely runs using a large amount of imported raw materials, imported machines, and imported tooling, and there are no tariff exemptions for those broad categories… so you’re screwed. Oftentimes there is no reasonable domestic substitute. You will go out of business in favor of someone importing the parts, which now happens tariff-free under an exemption. That’s why, generally speaking, tariff exemptions are deadly to domestic manufacturing.
- jopsen 2y agoEven universal tariffs with no exceptions is a problem. Many things cross US/Canada/Mexico border in the process being manufactured. And tariffs will stack up. Many advanced products (tech/chip, etc) are not entirely made in any single place. Some stuff is imported, and some is exported again, and tariffing the world, will also make the world tariff you. I think this is all around bad. Best case scenario the US has elected a president who decided to burn all political capital, alliances and credibility in search of a slightly better deal. Doing this sort maximum pressure economic extortion style policies, *might* getter you a slightly better deal. But at what cost? Can EU countries buy US military equipment, when it turns out that the US will withhold support for equipment we've bought and paid for, in order to pressure a democracy, fighting for its existence, into surrender. Trump may get a win in the headlines, because everyone thinks he'll go away if he get a win.
- randunel 2y ago> Can EU countries buy US military equipment, when it turns out that the US will withhold support for equipment we've bought and paid for, in order to pressure a democracy, fighting for its existence, into surrender. Why would anyone buy US military equipment that's either "10%" handicapped on purpose, or remotely disabled whenever the US changes its feelings about the users of said military equipment?
- EasyMark 2y agoSo the broligarchs get an escape hatch and everyone else (particularly the middle class) has to pay up to appease the ego of the worst president in US history? This seems like a bad economic and very undemocratic plan that we're getting here.
- steveBK123 2y agoIn a dark sense this is probably perfect for him. He announces big tough tariffs on China, his base claps, hoots and hollers. He quietly walks it back via internal memo to CBP on a Friday night. His base gets to see him be tough on China, without actually suffering any consequences of goods shortages or price increases.
- neonate 2y agohttps://archive.ph/xQGXr https://archive.ph/xQGXr
- howard941 2y agoThey're called reciprocal but the Chinese tariffs on US goods looks like they're gonna stay. That and dumping our bonds doesn't bode well for the rest of us.
- api 2y agoSo we are going to… uhh… tariff and try to repatriate a lot of lower value less strategically important manufacturing while giving up on higher value strategic stuff like chips?
- TheAlchemist 2y agoIt's not even a week since Secretary of Commerce Lutnick was explaining how he wants to bring back millions of jobs 'screwing the little screws in iPhones' to Amercia ? There is really a good chance that we will develop a deep understanding of how the French Revolution happened and why they went straight to guillotines.
- kristopolous 2y agoThey gave every strong indication of their incompetence possible - over years. A bunch of people said "yay for incompetence" and here we are. These are the people who score in the bottom 20% and make up conspiracy theories on how they were right and it's the establishment who's wrong. Any random person waiting at a bus stop would likely have managed things better.
- TheAlchemist 2y agoIt's not that they are managing it badly that I'm talking about. It's that they manage it in a way to maximize their personal profits, with an absolute disregard of the ordinary folks. Tariffs are one example - none of it makes sense, but companies still pay millions for a 'dinner at Mar-a-Lago' to get a favorable treatment. What's hapening with law firms is even more disgusting. I get the feeling that a lot of Democrats and 'real' Republicans thinks that he will get what he wants and then they just wait out 4 years. It's an almost 80 years narcissist, who doesn't care about people nor law, and who dreams about becoming a King. It only gets worse from here, not better.
- kristopolous 2y agoIf that was the case there'd be more coherency. There's these days where multiple people are asked a question, each answer is a shocking departure from policy and they all contradict and then an administrator comes out and is like "you're going to bring mining the global supply for rare earth minerals to Ohio?! Geology does not support you my good man". So not even cynicism is supported by the evidence. I mean they're also pillaging of course. Incompetent And malice. Both are possible
- aoeusnth1 2y agoOne of the most surprising things about this announcement is that it didn't happen during business hours where the insiders could buy call options before hand.
- dyauspitr 2y agoInsiders already bought call before market close on the previous day.
- Animats 2y agoSince last night, anyway. The people who make shipping work are frantically trying to keep up. One of the biggest customs brokers posts updates twice a day on weekdays. Last update 4 PM Friday, so they haven't caught the biggest reversal. If tariff rates change while in transit, the bond paid before the item was shipped may now be insufficient. So the container goes into storage (where?) until Customs and Border Protection gets paid. Some recipients don't have the cash to pay. Low-end resellers who order on Alibaba and sell on Amazon, for example. Port operators hate this. Unwanted containers clog up the portside sorting and storage systems. Eventually the containers are either sent back or auctioned off by CBP, like this stuff.[1] Some shippers outside the US have stopped shipping to the US until this settles. This includes all the major laptop makers - Lenovo, Acer, Dell, etc.[2] Nobody wants to be caught with a container in transit, a big customs bill due on receipt, and storage charges. That will recover once the rates are stable for a few weeks. Probably. Customs and Border Protection is trying to keep up. Sometimes you have to pay more because Trump raised tariffs. Sometimes you can get a credit back because Trump dropped tariffs. Those are all exception transactions, with extra paperwork and delays. Where's the Flexport guy from YC? He should be able to explain all this. Consumer version: expect to see some empty shelves, rejected orders, and higher prices for the next few weeks. [1] https://bid.cwsmarketing.com/auctions/catalog/id/167 https://bid.cwsmarketing.com/auctions/catalog/id/167 [2] https://www.techspot.com/news/107504-trump-tariffs-force-major-laptop-makers-halt-us.html https://www.techspot.com/news/107504-trump-tariffs-force-maj...
- jmward01 2y agoThis is a massive sign that Trump's double down strategy is failing badly. He only has one play: Be a bully and double down any time someone fights back. It works when you have the leverage but as soon as you don't anymore you loose, big. The US just ran out of leverage. I don't know about everyone else but I just started looking into how to move money and investments outside the US.
- timmg 2y ago> I don't know about everyone else but I just started looking into how to move money and investments outside the US. Based on tweets I've seen, you are not the only one engaging in "capital flight". Not great for the US. One would like to think this will be a good lesson for the administration. But I'm worried that they are not acting completely rationally.
- jmward01 2y agohe only has the one play so there is really only one outcome.
- cavisne 2y agoSo now the finished products are tariff free, but the input costs when bought into America are tariffed. The exact opposite of what you would want to do to bring manufacturing back to America.
- wslh 2y agoTrump's unpredictable tariff decisions challenged long-standing investment assumptions, even shaking confidence in U.S. Treasury bills, assets once considered the safest in the world. It showed how a handful of people can make global markets, and people's lives tremble.
- ken47 2y agoBehind the apparent waffling, the one constant is the administration’s effort to direct hatred towards China. You have American military leaders predicting an invasion of Taiwan in a specific time window. It’s all a circus.
- frogperson 2y agoIsn't this the same scam that Yelp pulls?
- arunabha 2y agoI was following HN guidelines and trying to come up with the most charitable interpretation. However, try a I might, I can't come up with anything better than 'sheer incompetence' Tariffs can work, but they need to be paired with sound industrial policy and careful, strategic implementation. At the best of times, it takes a decade plus for the results to start showing. Instead of that, so far we have seen * Tariffs imposed as executive orders under a dubious exercise of the National Emergencies Act. This alone pretty much guarantees that they will be rolled back by the next president * Zero participation from Congress and not even a pretense of attempting to build a bipartisan consensus * Haphazard implementation with rates and countries affected whiplashing wildly from day to day * Immediate capitulation at the first sign of trouble. At this point we have shown the world that * There is no real plan and probably never was a plan * Trump has no actual stomach for a fight. Big economies like China can just wait for Trump to fold completely * No one should be rushing to invest in the US given the shaky legal and political foundations of the tariffs We brought our economy to the brink of a financial crisis, alienated all of our long standing allies, destroyed confidence in the US Dollar and economy, eased off tariffs on China while China has done no such thing and our exports to them are still tariffed at over 100%. All of this for no real policy gains. It would be laughable if the consequences to us and future generations weren't so dire.
- emsign 2y agoThe question that is in everybody's head: How long until he changes his mind on that too?
- wnc3141 2y agoMy cynical read is that there will eventually be complete corporate capture of these tariffs. Then firms will try to protect their carveouts that make unfair advantages. Its about their corporate supporters choosing winners and losers. Its the only reason I can conjure that corporate America has otherwise been silent.
- roland35 2y agoWill be? Seems like it already happened! All for a low price of a $1M dinner.
- Taniwha 2y agoI manufacture a small open source product in China, I also warehouse there (because shipping is so much cheaper). About 1/3 of my customers live in the US, other customers live in countries that charge tariffs, they have to deal with local customs or post offices to pay what they owe, it's not something that's really an issue for me (except for occasionally helping people track down missing packages). Currently shipping out of China seems disrupted, more because the shipping companies are leary about getting stuck with the tariffs, the US doesn't have the infrastructure to collect them, Post Offices don't have the bandwidth, people can't take time off work etc etc - that may change, but it's not something that can change overnight Trump's exemption for computer stuff will likely mean that my packages will eventually sail through, but I'm about to do another build, China's reciprocal tariffs will affect my cost of parts and it's a bit unfair making my non-US customers pay for this silly pointless trade war, since the silliness changes every day I think I;m just going to wait this out for a month or two
- throwaway5752 2y agoRealize the administration is not competent or ethical. It fits their behavior and has predictive value.
- differentView 2y ago95+% of his tariffs will be walked back within a year.
- Ylpertnodi 2y agoBut travel (to the us) income will forever be lost.
- jwmoz 2y agoBond yields are king
- peteforde 2y agoI listened the book "Lucky Loser" (Craig/Buettner) a few months back. It's a well-researched timeline of how the Trump fortune was made, and to be really kind, how monumentally terrible DJT is at business on a fundamental level. The shady deals and repulsive ethics are not exceptions but the status quo. The only reason he's in the situation he's in is because the guy who created Survivor saw an opportunity. Now the whole world is paying the price. I listened because I thought it would be funny, but the shitty behaviour and unapologetic corruption is just so naked that it actually left me feeling pretty upset for all of the obvious reasons. I'd say that I don't understand how anyone can be charmed by this con artist, but the truth is that I have simply lost a ton of faith in the "average" person.
- andrekandre 2y ago> I'd say that I don't understand how anyone can be charmed by this con artist, but the truth is that I have simply lost a ton of faith in the "average" person. the same could probably be said about the "average" person with regards to buttoned-up polished politicians with which trump contrasts himself to; he looks authentic to many people....
- jfengel 2y agoFrom what I am hearing, he seems to have appealed on culture war issues. On economic issues, it was assumed that Biden had been doing something bad and Trump would end it, but they didn't much care past that. There is still a halo of "Democrats are bad at the economy" dating from the 1970s and rooted in the New Deal.
- peteforde 2y agoYeah, the New Deal. That terrible disaster that turned America into a temporary economic powerhouse until their kids decided no further investment was necessary to keep the good times rolling. Enjoy your bridges.
- mrguyorama 2y agoThere is immense anger at the democrats. There's never any actual evidence for why though. Because nobody likes admitting the why: The democrats are hated because of the Civil Rights Act, and how the feds enforced it in the south. It is not a coincidence that states that tried to ignore the Civil Rights Act have been strong Republican voters ever since. Democrat hatred is based in tyranny. The "tyranny" of being forced to treat black people as equals.
- jpster 2y agoI suspect it would be a good idea if the US abolished the presidency and moved to a parliamentary system. Turns out that concentrating so much power in a single position is a bad idea.
- YZF 2y agoYou still often have one man with all the power in a parliamentary system. The Prime Minister. Take Canada as an example. JT had basically complete power over government. It's as rate for the prime minister party or coalition to go against him as it is for a president in the US to be impeached. I think the trick has to be to just get better people into those positions. Which means better people need to have some incentive to get into politics. It's a tough one for sure.
- lawn 2y agoIn Sweden our "prime minister" does not have all the power, not even close.
- rsynnott 2y agoThere may be some parliamentary country where what you say is correct, but in general, yeah, no, that’s not how it works. Remember Liz Truss, all 49 days of her? A PM who fucks up on a Truss/Trump scale generally finds themselves very rapidly seeking alternative employment. Truss was forced to appoint a borderline sane chancellor about two weeks after causing the bond yield to go crazy, and was gone within another couple of weeks.
- AstralStorm 2y agoUnlike UK, US has only impeachment and 25th as procedures. Perhaps a convention. There is no vote of no confidence.
- ascorbic 2y agoThe prime minister in the UK is regularly kicked out by their party, and it's the same in most parliamentary systems. Liz Truss introduced ridiculous ideological economic policies that caused a bond market revolt. Her party kicked her out within the lifetime of a lettuce. This is only possible in a parliamentary system. Most of her recent predecessors were similarly if less rapidly removed. In the past 40 years, only three prime ministers lost their job at an election. Six were either forced out or resigned. Of those, arguably only Tony Blair left through choice.
- lifeinthevoid 2y agoCan the other countries implement “export tariffs” on said goods? Would be a nice move to mess with Trump.
- mppm 2y agoIt would be karmically appropriate, but I'd guess nobody has an actual interest in doing so. Export restrictions are also easier to circumvent than import restrictions by routing through third countries. Unless, of course, you apply the export tariff to everyone, which again nobody has an interest in doing.
- ChoGGi 2y agoTrump's implementation of tariffs seems to be taking 4 chess boards and smashing them together.
- codesun99 2y ago[dead]
- wood_spirit 2y agoSo is china also giving an exemption?
- safgasCVS 2y agoMay I propose a tinfoil hat perspective on tariffing China: America is prepping the ground for a full war with China. That's the only position that make sense to me other than the obvious "these guys are all corrupt idiots". I don't know which is which but at least the war perspective makes more sense to me. I believe we are at the propaganda stage where allies will be 'encouraged' into adopting similar positions and portraying China as a global threat. Nations such as India, Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea and Australia are already encouraged to act highly aggressively towards China whenever possible. Given most of those countries political elite worship America and long to send their kids to Harvard they will comply and willingly allow their countries to be used as cannon fodder to maintain Western hegemony. The sweet-talking of Russia is an attempt to recreate the Sino-Russian split during the cold war and at least ensure Russia doesn't fight alongside China in a war. None of this is related to bringing jobs back, nation building or caring one bit about blue collar workers. its an attempt to maintain the American global hegemony that China very clearly threatens. If Trump and his close supporters can get filthy rich from this then all the better.
- grey-area 2y agoThere is no grand geopolitical strategy here. Trump and his advisors really are this stupid and think that huge worldwide tariffs are a good idea. That they have kept 10% worldwide tariffs (also insane) shows they still think they are a good idea that will bring back manufacturing to the US. The damage to US soft power is irreversible unfortunately and the trust of former allies will never return. I suspect you’ll find as the empire declines people no longer aspire to send their kids - would you if they might be detained for weeks in inhumane conditions and deported for having opinions or a skin colour the regime doesn’t like? Yes China is the current rival and thus was hit hardest, but they’ve already had to retract a lot of tariffs days after introduction simply because they had no idea what impact it would cause on borrowing costs. Yes if Trump sees an opportunity to demand fealty from anyone with power or money he will take it, and enjoy it, but he genuinely thinks that is his due anyway. You could say they have a plan in project 2025, but that’s more about destroying the US government and retaining power. If it were a functioning democracy he’d be removed after the damage he’s done.
- cranium 2y agoThe 145% tariff is so absurd I wouldn't be surprised to see cheap chips glued to the item to exploit the exceptions. "Oh yeah, that's not a shoe: it's the protective case for an ESP32 WiFi router".
- ben_w 2y agoPerhaps one could say they are "Smart shoes": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DonAdams.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DonAdams.jpg
- re-thc 2y agoIoT to make a comeback?
- SOLAR_FIELDS 2y agoFor those who think this is ridiculous, this happens already on a regular basis with batteries to get around the regulations and fees around shipping them. Instead of getting the battery in the mail you’ll get a cheap flashlight in the mail with a battery inside it.
- ignoramous 2y ago> Instead of getting the battery in the mail you'll get a cheap flashlight in the mail with a battery inside it. Much like those Wrapper upstarts, then?
- CSMastermind 2y agoFamously, people got in trouble for importing "ice tea mix" to get around sugar tariffs.
- xbmcuser 2y agoThe moment they put tariffs I was thinking they just supercharged smuggling and illegal border crossing with multi trillion dollar market.
- alistairSH 2y ago
- SergeAx 2y agoSo, America decided not to "reshore" that from China, but textile and plastic slop from AliExpress, right?
- Zufriedenheit 2y agoI think with these erratic changes, the US government is paralyzing the economy. How are businesses supposed to restructure their supply lines if policy changes every 48h?
- graycat 2y agoComputers and China? Hmm .... For my next computer, e.g., for a Web server, considering an AMD processor, Gigabyte mother board, Western Digital disks (rotating and/or solid state), main memory, video display, etc. Just checked, none of that comes from China!!! The businesses are in Taiwan, South Korea, the US. Manufacturing is in Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea. The processor design, the US. The equipment for manufacturing the chips, Holland. So, for my startup, I'm happy! For a smart phone -- not much interested.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- melbourne_mat 2y agoSo a 145% tariff on high tech goods will hurt the US too much? China should ban high tech exports to the US. That's gonna hurt both sides but the war was already started by Trump.
- Nihilartikel 2y agoSo now it just sounds like my favorite imported soy sauce will be more expensive. Can't wait for the Pittsburgh soy sauce brewery industry to be onshored again!
- thih9 2y agoI’m not from the US, after news like this I’m more likely to perceive US as unreliable - and more likely to buy Chinese alternatives too.
- seydor 2y agoHe really seems delighted when foreign countries reach out to him and to his friends for "making deals". It's all about personal connections with his big supporters and donors, who are all apparently part of the greater government now. It should be called the "recorruption" of the US. The US is about to find out that the rest of the world is much more adelt dealing with a corrupt government because they have more experience with it
- FrustratedMonky 2y agoSo, Tim Cooks donations and genuflections, paid off?
- i_love_retros 2y agoI'm not buying anything except essential items (mostly just food) for the foreseeable future. I imagine lots of people will do the same. Surely this will cause a recession. MAGA!
- atomicbeanie 2y agoTime to just call these tariffs: sales tax. Extra money for the government on all goods imported are taxes. The rest of the complexity distracts from the basic cash flow and the inevitable results. More money spent and consumed by the government.
- otterley 2y agoThey’re worse than sales taxes, because the goods imported are subject to levies even if they’re unsold and eventually destroyed.
- DangitBobby 2y agoRight, but the goal is to solve a marketing issue. The Trump base is resistent to criticisms of dear leader and the mechanisms behind tariffs raising all prices can be misunderstood (and let's be honest, who really trusts economists). Call it a sales tax, they know what that is. The mechanism doesn't matter.
- mrguyorama 2y agoTo "solve the marketing issue", you have to be able to market to them. They have 100% bought into a totally controlled media ecosystem. How do you get your marketing material on Fox, or Truth Social?
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- Loughla 2y agoIs nice that my family's small business is set to get absolutely crushed by tariffs at the end of the month while large tech companies are exempt. Thank goodness for America first policies. So cool. Very cool.
- iugtmkbdfil834 2y agoThis whole thing has multiple layers of annoying to even a slightly reasonable person. Naturally, further consolidating strength of the existing major behemoths is among those as well.
- cosmicgadget 2y agoYou should go to one of the million dollar dinners at Mar-a-Lago.
- jccalhoun 2y agoI'm not economist. Maybe tariffs could work. (It seems like most of the experts say they don't. And how they were determined certainly seems especially dumb) However, it doesn't take a genius to see that enacting them without advance notice to prepare for them is the worst way to do it. Give companies time to prepare. Give countries time to negotiate. The result would be the same without the uncertainty and chaos. Unless this really is some plan for the rich to short stocks and make a killing in the market, I don't see how this implementation would be a good idea to anyone.
- BuckRogers 2y ago[flagged]
- uwagar 2y agoif they had planned all the tariff rates and things that get tariffed so well, why the see-saw? they are making up as they go along. this is worse than an incompetent biden!
- tim333 2y agoAnd they're back(?): >NOBODY is getting “off the hook” for the unfair Trade Balances, and Non Monetary Tariff Barriers, that other Countries have used against us, especially not China which, by far, treats us the worst! There was no Tariff “exception” announced on Friday. These products are subject to the existing 20% Fentanyl Tariffs, and they are just moving to a different Tariff “bucket.” The Fake News knows this, but refuses to report it. We are taking a look at Semiconductors and the WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN in the upcoming National Security Tariff Investigations... (truth social Apr 13, 2025, 8:36 PM. You need the day and time to see what the tariffs are that particular hour really)
- atoav 2y agoAfter that wishy-washy flip-flopper with his tariff-trainwreck I wonder how many people will still go for the comforting fantasy that he is in fact "playing 4D chess"? People that didn't care about his moral failings, the lying, how he treats women may care about him just being incompetent to the degree that the things he operates would fare better if he did nothing, especially if they have to pay the bill. For Trump behaving erratic is a feature, as it favours people who have sworn loyalty and who Trump has deemed worthy as they at least might get a little head ups (enough for the stock market). Sadly this turns the US not only into an absolute laughing stock, it also makes any business with it a risky one.