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#8 | Posted by itchyp at 2025-04-07 12:58 AM
WE are winning! All of US! Say THANKS PWESIDENT TWUMP!!
The reason you think "we" are winning is because you don't understand the game, and in all of the excitement of "Winning!" you lost the sight of the end-game - you're just one of the "apprentices" who buy DJT "vision" and stock and meme-coins... and HODL until they eventually go to 0... just like suckers who bought into his "brand" before.
Your attention is being focused [by Trump] on the "battle of tariffs" while it's only a tool that's supposedly is going to solve the "problem" of "trade deficits" and, of course, at the same time to make the US "rich" by collecting huge tariff duties and revive and protect jobs in US "manufacturing" - these are supposed to be the end goals of the "game" according to Trump, no?
That assumes that 1. the USA only has "trade deficits" because it's been "taken advantage of / raped" by countries with high tariffs that make US goods too expensive to import; and 2. the USA can import enough goods that taxes / tariffs on them will compensate for shrinking real inflation-adjusted GDP and higher costs to consumers.
Both assumptions are demonstrably wrong, because, as I pointed out here (drudge.com), after decades of world-wide free-trade agreements (WTO and some bilateral/multilateral FTAs, like Mercosur, NAFTA/USMC or whatever Trump will want to call it next, etc.), we already have nearly tariff-free world trade.
98% of world trade is governed / covered by WTO and these FTAs. Tariffs are the red herring by Trump to "win" his usual Apprentice s**tshow for his MAGA cult.
ustr.gov - The United States has comprehensive free trade agreements in force with 20 countries, separate from WTO
en.wikipedia.org - [Incomplete] List of World's Multilateral and Bilateral Trade Agreements, Areas and Zones
Trump wanting to re-make most of them into bilateral agreements will change absolutely nothing in "trade deficits" and if, for example, we get ZERO TARIFFS with every country (YAY!), we'll have the same situation we have now - same high (or higher) "trade deficits" and no income from Trump's "External Revenue Service" and no "protection" for our manufacturing sector employment - IOW, this would not solve any "problems" he told you we have and would "lose" every one of supposed goals he told you he would accomplish using tariffs for "trade wars" and in the process alienate consumers and potential consumers of our trading partners and allies.
In fact, the best thing many of these countries can do is call Trump's bluff and hand him the "win" of ZERO TARIFFs immediately - it will either not make an iota of difference from current trade or will make "trade deficits" worse. Since "trade deficits" is a phony issue anyway, nobody (except maybe some US exporters) will notice or feel any difference, but at the end of the year the embarrassing numbers will show up. At least, that's the best case scenario for US economy.
Tariffs or not, you can't force people to buy from the source they loathe, given they have the alternatives. That's why Trump couldn't find contractors to work with him and banks to finance his ill-conceived short-term splashy "projects" and how his businesses went bankrupt.
How is that for "Winning!" the game you have no idea you're actually playing? Or maybe you're just being played and someone is screwing with your brain?
If you keep your eyes on the ball instead of chasing every "squirrel" or "shining object" Trump throws out, you might keep you sanity and your money. If not, you'll be just one of many Trump cult zombies.
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