"This chart also tells you that you should ignore anyone citing the relatively mild effects of Trump’s 2017-18 tariffs as a reason not to be worried. Trump’s actions then were minor trade skirmishes, while this is all-out trade war."

The infamous Smoot-Hawley tariff played a major role, of course, in precipitating the Great Depression, worldwide economic devastation.

#Trump #tariffs #LiberationDay #recession #inflation #trade
/2

"What makes Mr Trump’s 'Liberation Day' so dangerous is its scale. In 2024, the US ran a $1.2tn trade goods deficit. Only two months from his White House return, Mr Trump has imposed tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico, China, all steel and aluminium imports, and foreign cars and auto parts. Next up: friends in Asia, including Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, India and Vietnam."

~ The Guardian

#Trump #tariffs #LiberationDay #recession #inflation #trade
/3

theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

The Guardian view on Donald Trump’s tariffs: a spectacle of struggle and control

Editorial: The US president wields tariffs not as a policy tool but as an instrument of pressure, rewarding loyalty and punishing defiance – even among allies

^{Editorial (The Guardian)}

"With new tariffs, slowing economic growth, chaos in government, and a debt ceiling crisis looming, America is being isolated in ways that most serve Vladimir Putin.

The Trump-Musk administration is, as predicted, oriented around solving problems for Vladimir Putin."

~ Dave Troy

#Trump #Musk #tariffs #LiberationDay #recession #inflation #trade #Putin
/4

america2.news/liberation-day-m…

‘Liberation Day’ Marks America's Slide Towards Irrelevance

^{Dave Troy (America 2.0)}