Tariffs rollout and stock market mayhem

[struggle4progress]

Published Sat, Apr 5 20258:27 AM EDTUpdated 26 Min Ago
Jeff Cox

Before Wednesday, President Donald Trump’s tariffs were expected to be a problem for markets and the economy, but a manageable one ...

What happened instead is something worse than the worst-case scenario, which previously had been one where the U.S. would slap true “reciprocal” duties on its trading partners that would match tariffs charged to American exports ...

If Trump was playing chicken with the rest of the world, he lost round one ...

Markets recoiled at the developments, sending stocks into a vicious two-day sell-off that put the Nasdaq Composite, home to powerhouse Silicon Valley names that Trump has been courting in the early days of his second term, into a bear market ...

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/05/how-trumps-tariffs-rollout-turned-into-stock-market-mayhem.html

[struggle4progress]

1. 'reciprocal' tariffs aren't what they seem: the real story

The massive tariffs that President Donald Trump announced for dozens of trading partners Wednesday were pitched as “reciprocal,” simply aiming to match the tariffs other countries charge the United States.

But the methodology behind Trump’s attempt to rebalance trade has nothing to do with the tariff rate that foreign countries impose on the US.

The Trump administration instead a grossly oversimplified calculation that it said factored in a broad set of issues such as Chinese investment, alleged currency manipulation and other countries’ regulations. The administration’s calculation divided a country’s trade deficit with the US by its exports into the country times 1/2. That’s it.

The president is essentially taking a sledgehammer to address a litany of grievances, using the trade deficit that other countries have with the US as a scapegoat. And the vague calculation could have broad implications for countries America depends on for goods — and the foreign companies that supply them ...

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/05/business/trump-reciprocal-tariffs-real-numbers/index.html

[IronLionZion]

7. "grossly oversimplified calculation" might as well be the GOP slogan these days

[Shermann]

2. The USA can push around any one country.

However, if they form coalitions they can and will win a trade war. There isn't a big pot of free money there that we can simply take, individuals and companies and countries tend to resist having their money taken without getting anything in return.

[struggle4progress]

3. Oz: the great and powerful

[thought crime]

9. Tariff on commercial aircraft from US, anyone?

If all the tariffed countries ganged up and placed a big tariff on commercial aircraft against the US, it would immediately cripple that industry.
Trade wars can get ugly.

[Random Boomer]

4. Trump has incentivized the ostracization of the U.S.

His tariffs are so over the top and capricious that there's no point in trying to negotiate with him. Instead, countries will just learn to do without the U.S. and carry on by keeping a wide berth.

With the stroke of a pen, he has made this country irrelevant.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

5. Most sane people want nothing to do with Trump...

... so in his attempt to remake the U.S. of A. in his image, the rest of the world is responding in the same way. Trump just wants to turn America into West Russia.

[twodogsbarking]

6. Mayhem get the stock market. I think that is his brother.

https://www.google.com/search?q=mayhem+state+farm&sca_esv=57fd815ca78d81bf&ei=qEnxZ_D5HbCr5NoP8JqCgQs&oq=Mayhem+state&gs_lp=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-AMY-QPYAQHCAgsQABiABBiRAhiKBcICCxAuGIAEGJECGIoFwgIFEC4YgATCAgsQLhiABBjHARivAZgDAIgGAZAGE7oGBggBEAEYCZIHDzQuMy40LTEuNy0xLjAuMaAH5VCyBw8zLjMuNC0xLjctMS4wLjG4B4Y5&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:10ac3bf2,vid:Itfh8uOqAUI,st:0

[Ray Bruns]

8. "President Donald Trump's tariffs were expected to be a problem for markets and the economy, but a manageable one"

Who the fuck besides Nutlick and Navarro was thinking this?