It's the economy, stupid.

[Vrede too]

Why aren't more people - even trumper repugs - saying widespread tariffs are a bad stupid idea? The purpose of a tariff is to protect vital industries, not to raise prices on everything that crosses the border. If you've got a "backbone" industry, like steel and cars used to be, and you want to give it an advantage over international competitors, you can enact a tariff. But - big but - if you don't have that industry, you've got nothing to protect and you're stepping on your own dick to arbitrarily raise the prices for consumers. The US used to have a booming textile industry, and now it doesn't. It doesn't have one not because of international competition per se, but because American companies moved their production elsewhere. Tariffs wouldn't have helped in that case. What possible value comes from charging a tariff on international goods that you don't even make here anyway? Let's say the San Diego Zoo wants Pandas, which it did. They can't order one up from Kansas somewhere - Pandas are only in China. So if you want a Panda, you have to get a Chinese Panda and you have to pretty much agree to whatever terms are offered because you need that Panda more than China needs to let you have it. And it's somehow of value to anyone for the US government to tag an additional 50-100-whatever percent tariff on the Panda just because it came from China? OK, so I made up the Panda tariff part because we had our Pandas before Trump had the chance to tariff them, but the principle is the same. Unless you've got a compelling reason to protect a vital industry from real competitive risk, tariffs are crazy.

Not saying that I agree, but TACO's rationale is that these tariffs are a response to trade deficits, not about protecting particular industries.

[O Really]

Not saying that I agree, but TACO's rationale is that these tariffs are a response to trade deficits, not about protecting particular industries.

Well he may say that, but that doesn't mean it works or is a reasonable solution, or even that "trade deficit" is even inherently bad.

[Vrede too]

Not saying that I agree, but TACO's rationale is that these tariffs are a response to trade deficits, not about protecting particular industries.

Well he may say that, but that doesn't mean it works or is a reasonable solution, or even that "trade deficit" is even inherently bad.

All true.

Remember Nixon? Remember Watergate? Remember Agnew? Remember the endless bombing of Vietnam? Remember the Arab oil embargo? Ah, good times. Now we can relive those feelings:

The U.S. dollar has fallen at the fastest clip since 1973. Here's what that means.

... Over the past six months, the dollar has declined more than 10% compared with a basket of currencies from the U.S.’ major trading partners — something it has not done since 1973. Today, it sits at a three-year low.

The simplest explanation for the decline is that global investors now expect the U.S. economy to no longer outperform the rest of the world as a result of Trump’s tariffs and worsening fiscal issues. Even with U.S. stocks returning to record highs, the return on other countries’ equities has been even stronger. Meanwhile the return on lending to the U.S. is expected to decline as growth here slows.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Many, including members of Trump’s own Cabinet, assumed his tariffs strategy would strengthen the value of the dollar relative to foreign currencies. The thinking behind it was that as American consumers began to purchase fewer foreign goods, those other countries’ currencies would weaken relative to the dollar.

Instead, the opposite has occurred. U.S. growth prospects have weakened — in part because of Trump’s tariffs. That has made U.S. debt relatively less attractive for foreign investors, especially compared with the returns on lending to other countries, like Germany and Japan, that are now expected to experience higher growth.

We already know that Trump’s own Cabinet are idiots.

... At home, a bigger concern is inflation, and lost purchasing power for U.S. consumers and businesses, who still remain heavily reliant on imports. Until America is able to sustainably produce more goods on its own at higher volumes, purchasing power will decline as it becomes relatively more expensive to import goods from abroad.

... A weaker dollar, he said, could weigh on foreign investors’ willingness to buy U.S. financial assets, “which are so critical to supporting U.S. household balance sheets.”

“An emerging theme in asset management is the rotation out of US assets into Europe as investors seek non-US exposure,” Bank of America’s Hubert Lam and Christiane Holstein said in a late June note. “Sentiment toward US markets has turned negative due to mounting concerns over protectionist trade measures, abrupt policy shifts, a rising deficit, and a proposal for taxes targeting foreign investors in the US.”

“As such, investors are starting to diversify out of the US in both public and private markets,” they said.

... But assuming U.S. growth does weaken, the Federal Reserve will likely start cutting interest rates, further making U.S. financial assets less attractive to outside investors. That will cause the value of the dollar to decline even further, making it even more expensive to buy goods from abroad.

“It’s a doom loop,” said Danny Dayan, an investor and former hedge fund manager....

Thanks, MAGAts.

[O Really]

Not saying that I agree, but TACO's rationale is that these tariffs are a response to trade deficits, not about protecting particular industries.

Well he may say that, but that doesn't mean it works or is a reasonable solution, or even that "trade deficit" is even inherently bad.

All true.

Remember Nixon? Remember Watergate? Remember Agnew? Remember the endless bombing of Vietnam? Remember the Arab oil embargo? Ah, good times. Now we can relive those feelings:

Yeah, I remember all that. I also see that even the worst of any "high crimes and misdemeanors" or just plain corruption in the past pales in comparison to any garden variety day in Trumpland.

[GoCubsGo]

Monday.

[GoCubsGo]

Monday.

Apparently he sent out a bunch more of these letters today.

[GoCubsGo]

WTF?

[Whack9]

Those letters he spammed on social media reek of desperation. He probably thinks it makes him seem tough or something, but it's just embarrassing and makes him look weak.

[GoCubsGo]

Those letters he spammed on social media reek of desperation. He probably thinks it makes him seem tough or something, but it's just embarrassing and makes him look weak.

Yeah, it's like he thinks real life is a reality TV show.

[Whack9]

Those letters he spammed on social media reek of desperation. He probably thinks it makes him seem tough or something, but it's just embarrassing and makes him look weak.

Yeah, it's like he thinks real life is a reality TV show.

"Stay tuned!"
- Potemkin Administration

[GoCubsGo]

Those letters he spammed on social media reek of desperation. He probably thinks it makes him seem tough or something, but it's just embarrassing and makes him look weak.

Yeah, it's like he thinks real life is a reality TV show.

"Stay tuned!"
- Potemkin Administration

Same DonOld time, same DonOld channel!

[1 CAT FAN]

Those letters he spammed on social media reek of desperation. He probably thinks it makes him seem tough or something, but it's just embarrassing and makes him look weak.

Yeah, it's like he thinks real life is a reality TV show.

Iran's supreme leader told his people to chill and go fuck a goat.

[Vrede too]

Those letters he spammed on social media reek of desperation. He probably thinks it makes him seem tough or something, but it's just embarrassing and makes him look weak.

Dementia Don IS weak, he doesn't just look that way.

Yeah, it's like he thinks real life is a reality TV show.

"Stay tuned!"
- Potemkin Administration

Same DonOld time, same DonOld channel!

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d9/8d/85 ... 2b7214.jpg

It's all a game to TACO, but real lives are being affected.

Nissan says it has halted US production of three models sold in Canada

Nissan Motor has suspended U.S. production of three vehicle models for Canada amid mutual tariffs imposed by the U.S. and Canada on auto imports, the automaker said.

It has halted production of Pathfinder and Murano SUVs and Frontier pickup trucks, the Japanese automaker said in a statement late on Wednesday, without saying when the suspension went into effect or how long it expected it to stay in place....

Nissan assembles the Pathfinder and Murano in Tennessee and the Frontier in Mississippi....

Thanks, Donny. Wasn't SoupySales just extolling Tennessee jobs?

Elsewhere:

US Ports Urge Delay on 100% China Crane Tariff Amid Supply Gaps, Soaring Costs

[1 CAT FAN]

These companies say they're investing more in U.S. manufacturing as tariffs go into effect

Abbott Laboratories

Illinois-based medical device company Abbott Laboratories said in a statement Wednesday that a $500 million investment in manufacturing, research and development capabilities at plants in Illinois and Texas will "go live" by the end of the year.

Apple

Apple in February said that it's committed to spending more than $500 billion on expanding its U.S. manufacturing capabilities over four years.

The company says it will expand its current facilities, increasing the number of workers employed at plants in Arizona, California, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas and Washington.

Chobani

Chobani, known for its Greek-style yogurt, is expanding manufacturing in New York State. The yogurt company on Tuesday announced plans to spend at least $1.2 billion opening a million-square-foot factory in Rome, New York.

Company executives believe the plant will be the largest dairy factory in the U.S., with the capacity to produce up to one billion pounds of dairy products annually. Chobani said the domestic expansion, which will create 1,000 new jobs, is necessary to meet demand.

Cra-Z-Art

Randolph, New Jersey-based toy company Cra-Z-Art in March said it is growing its U.S. production capacity by 50%, "to combat the cost of tariffs for imported goods from China and other countries."

Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is planning to invest more than $55 billion in new U.S. manufacturing facilities over four years. The investment represents a 25% increase compared with the previous four years, the health care company said in March. The brand new Wilson, North Carolina, facility will focus on manufacturing next-generation medication for people with cancer, and immune-mediated and neurological diseases, the company said.

The pharmaceutical company will also expand capacity at existing domestic plants in a move it says "will create high-paying, high-technology jobs."

Honda Motor

Honda Motor this week said it is moving production of its Civic Hybrid Hatchback from Japan to the U.S., in the face of a barrage of tariffs by the Trump administration, including a 25% tariff on vehicles and auto parts imported into the U.S.

Hyundai Motor Company

Hyundai in March announced a $21 billion commitment to investing in domestic manufacturing from 2025 to 2028. "Hyundai Motor Group is deepening its partnership with the United States, reinforcing our shared vision for American industrial leadership. The Group's investment and efforts will further expand our operations in the U.S. and grow our American workforce," Hyundai said in a March statement.

IBM

IBM on April 28 pledged to invest $150 billion in U.S. manufacturing over five years. At least $30 million will go toward research and development to further U.S.-based computer manufacturing, the computing giant said.

"We have been focused on American jobs and manufacturing since our founding 114 years ago, and with this investment and manufacturing commitment we are ensuring that IBM remains the epicenter of the world's most advanced computing and AI capabilities," IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said in a statement.

Merck

Drugmaker Merck is investing $1 billion to build a U.S. plant in Delaware. The move comes amid plans by President Trump to impose tariffs on pharmaceuticals, which would include taxes on imported ingredients used drug manufacturing.

The company said it plans to build a new 470,000-square-foot facility in Wilmington, Delaware, where it will make Keytruda, the company's immunotherapy treatment for different cancers. The plant will be Merck's first U.S. facility dedicated to making Keytruda for U.S. patients, the company said.

"This is part of a significant investment to not only bring the world's best-selling medicine closer to the American patients who rely on it, but to also establish a home for our biologics portfolio of products serving U.S. patients," Merck said in a statement.

This one's for cubby, got to keep you in supply of AI photo shop images.

Nvidia

Last week, American chip maker Nvidia announced that for this first time in the company's history, it will be manufacturing chips and AI supercomputers in the U.S.

Nvidia said in a statement that it has commissioned more than a million square feet of manufacturing space to build its Blackwell chips in Arizona and AI supercomputers in Texas. The company said it expects to produce up to half a trillion dollars' worth of AI infrastructure in the U.S.
"The engines of the world's AI infrastructure are being built in the United States for the first time," Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang said in the same statement. "Adding American manufacturing helps us better meet the incredible and growing demand for AI chips and supercomputers, strengthens our supply chain and boosts our resiliency."
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-manufac ... c-tariffs/

[GoCubsGo]

Just saw a Mazda car commercial.

"Current prices and inventory not yet affected by tariffs."

Yikes!