Trump’s insane Tariffs and their impact on inflation in NZ
Trump’s tariffs are a $1.4 trillion gamble with the economy and prices
President Donald Trump is on the verge of hitting America’s three biggest trading partners with sweeping tariffs, a far more aggressive use of his favorite economic weapon than anything he did during his first term.
The looming import taxes on Mexico, Canada and China will be a major test of Trump’s unorthodox use of tariffs, which he’s described as “the greatest thing ever invented.”
It’s an enormous gamble, arguably a bigger one than any economic policy Trump enacted during his four-plus years in the White House. And this strategy has the potential to upend the thing many voters care about the most: the economy and the cost of living.
But Trump’s tariffs pose a big risk: They could backfire, lifting already-high consumer prices at the grocery store, rocking the shaky stock market or killing jobs in a full-blown trade war.
“This may be the biggest own-goal yet,” Mary Lovely, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told CNN in a phone interview. “This is a huge gamble. It’s a recipe for slowing down the economy and increasing inflation.”
Core inflation in America rose .2 beating predictions of .3 while job data was stronger than expected.
Since Covid ruptured supply chains and geopolitical tensions changed just-in-time supply chains to just-in-case supply chains, the West has been importing inflation.
This has caused price gouging by Price Makers and crushed the working classes with a cost of living crisis.
Trump’s election is the beginning of an escalation that risks flocks of Black Swans.
To date we have been told by Trump’s defenders that his wild and mad proclamations are all the spin of a deal maker negotiating the best deal with the worst threats, and certainly the Art of the Deal is just a how to guide for Alpha Jock Dickheads doing Alpha Male Jock Dickhead stunts.
Taking offence at some unrelated issue and causing a Tantrum for emotional leverage to get the best deal you can isn’t Art or a Deal, it’s Alpha Male Jock Dickhead bully behaviour that has all the empathy of an average Andrew Tate bro culture tutorial.
This time around however Trump believes God saved him from an assassination attempt.
The difference between war crime and genocide tends to be believing God is on your side.
If Trump believes he’s the vessel for Christ’s retribution, he’s going to do shit for realzies.
I fear he absolutely intends to ram Tariffs on the world from Canada to China.
The impact of such a sweeping move will see the American currency spike and create an over valued global currency that hurts everyone else.
It hurts China and destabilises their already weak economy.
It hurts Canada and gives fuel to the MAGA movement in Canada and sets a narrative they should become a de facto 51st State.
Because he believes God has saved him to do special God stuff to be the bestest American President ever! This God delusion for a narcissist allows Trump to do things no other sane President would attempt so he will blunder into a Global economic meltdown because his decision making has become manifest fucking destiny.
This could cause enormous and immediate economic dislocation.which seems fine according to JD Vance…
In the end, Trump may not care too much if the dollar becomes a source of global instability. Vice President-elect JD Vance argued last year that the dollar’s role as a global reserve currency has subsidized Americans’ ‘mass consumption of mostly useless imports.’
…the last time the American Dollar became this dangerously over priced was in 1985 when a negotiated series of interventions was agreed to bring the dollar down in a controlled manner…
This problem last occurred in early 1985, when the dollar was universally reckoned to be dangerously dear. At that time the US was able to call on trading partners who depended on the US security umbrella – the UK, Germany, France and Japan – to negotiate the ‘Plaza Accord’, which coordinated a series of interventions in the foreign exchange market that allowed the dollar to decline in a measured way.
…there is no way China would agree today to helping America devalue their dollar generated by Trump’s Tariffs.
That leaves a dangerously overvalued currency risking massive financial dislocation all because Trump thinks God loves him.
New Zealand buys our petrol in American dollars, Trump’s Tariffs will see the Dollar spike as it over inflates meaning we will start seeing $4 a litre petrol and all the added inflationary pressure that generates.
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Luxon will be stoked as his hero generates more imported inflation on NZ .As we found after covid most of our inflation is imported so we cant escape the coming onslaught .Best reduce the cost of EVs and flood the market with them to reduce the amount of expensive fuel we import .
Yes more affordable EVs and mass solar installs are the way to go, China makes 80% of the worlds panels and prices are only coming down (except in the US now obviously). One of Pee Wee Brown’s first targets was EVs because the Govt. is a fossil fuel toadie to the end.
I supported closing the Marsden Refinery because if was mainly a convenient part of the NZ industry price fixing, but with a hostile Govt. not moving to sustainable energy sources, have changed my mind and think it should have been kept for tight supply times.
It was smart taking the subsidy off EV’s. They are cheaper now without the rebate than they were with the rebate.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/535572/buy-now-for-a-well-priced-ev-industry-expert-says
All the subsidy did was push prices up
Charging station implementation nationwide has been rolled back 50% from the planned numbers, and RUC was one of Pee Wee’s first actions-which Labour had signalled too. RUC for ICE vehicles is meant to happen also-but that will be at long odds with these vandals.
Again, this is the beauty of Trump. He’s the uncouth face of imperialism laid bare. Rip that mask off Trump, show the world the real face of the leader of the free world.
Yes. I understand why US liberals are mad at Trump, he’s just doing the bestial crimes openly that they do more covertly.
Why anyone here who isn’t openly being paid by the CIA would be mad that Trump is exposing Ammurrican perfidy is rather confusing.
He’ll bankrupt America just like all his other companies. So many righties are sucked in by his name.
He’s a failed businessman.
Trump-Steaks, Vodka, University…all down the gurgler, a trail of unpaid workers on property developments, multiple bankruptcies-not a financial genius-but will the bubbas and MAGAs care? doubtful.
Now…a bankrupt USA…someone will care.
He’s doing the same with his country as he did with his 3 casinos.but he’ll walk away with the money & leave everyone else in the sht.
Bob has Dunning Kruger Effect.
Taking a detached view – you have to admire Trump and the Republicans for what they have achieved.
They hate and fear the poor and worship the rich and yet they have succeeded in persuading so many of the poor to actually vote for them.
Last night I watched an interview with a New York shopkeeper whose shop only stocks products made in the United States. Tariffs he said would not affect him.
He stocks items that use chocolate, coffee and coconut for example and I am sure that has to be imported into the USA.
I am sure you can see where this is going. A manufacturer may produce chocolate biscuits in the USA but will need to import cocoa from abroad. If a tariff is on these imports the costs for producing in the USA will increase and these costs will be passed on to consumers.
People, drugs, cigarettes
‘People, drugs, cigarettes’
sorry that last was a muse on items smuggled into the USA now.
I wonder if there will be massive smuggling to beat tariffs as in 18th-19th century Britain to avoid import taxes. Napoleon boasted that his army was clothed in cloth made in England and boots made in Manchester while the British drank smuggled brandy, wine and wore smuggled silk stockings.
The price of fish rose because of short supply. British fisher people found a much more lucrative occupation. As war raged sailors from France and Britain found common prosperity in evading the tariffs.
The Trump Tariffs are entirely justified. Any country running a trade surplus should be subject to tariffs. Remember that “globalisation” is supposed to make production more efficient in that every country can specialise on what they’re good at/plentiful as opposed to wasting money/labour/resources on things they are not. Canada, Mexico and China (especially) have been taking the piss at US’s expense for decades now, running massive multi billion surpluses. Add to that, both labour and environmental arbitrage are out of control.
Tariffs are a means to equal the playing field (i.e. when you’re doing the right thing (e.g. not exploiting labour and environment) but they are not). Add to that they they don’t feel the need to do anything to control border security (which is easy when it’s all going in one direction), and this is what you both get and deserve.
Are you telling me Canadian workers are exploited relative to those in the US? I doubt that very much. Also the US are subsidising some domestic food producers are they not? All this bullshit that countries have been taking piss out the US! Really? A super power was forced into this situation? That’s laughable
Trump is attacking his allies and befriending authoritarian dictators. Someone on the far right here explain why their ideology is so great? Serious question.
If things get really bad, maybe it’s time for the world to drop the us as a reserve currency.
Now the British Commonwealth should adopt the UK Pound as a trading currency .
After all 2/3rds of the worlds nations are in the Commonwealth.
Knock the Yankee dollar off its peg.
Needs to happen, just like Trump sez, “I’ll make things worse before things can get better”
Now the British Commonwealth should adopt the UK Pound as a trading currency .
After all 2/3rds of the worlds nations are in the Commonwealth.
Knock the Yankee dollar off its peg.