Tariffs, Trump & the Chicken Wars

4 months ago 10

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News this morning that that the dumbest US president in some time has started the dumbest trade war in history’ — that evaluation, by the way, is by the Wall Street Journal— that's 25% tariffs slapped on Canada and Mexico, and 10% tariffs on China, with tit-for-tat retaliation already promised in return. (Or as James Valliant & Daniel Kraus explain things more accurately: 'Trump Puts a New Tax on Americans–Canada Shoots Itself in Return.')

Here's a bit of an explainer about tariffs for you to help you get your head around it all, along with an 'amusing' story about the Chicken Wars ...

PS: The US Tax Foundation estimates Trump's 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and 10% tariffs on China will:

Increase taxes by $1.2T (2025-2034)
Reduce GDP by 0.4% Reduce employment by 344k jobs
Result in an average tax increase of $830 per US household (2025)

And the Wall Street Journal estimates that Trump's tariffs of 25% on imported steel and 10% on aluminium.
will punish American workers, invite retaliation that will harm U.S. exports, divide his political coalition at home, anger allies abroad, and undermine his tax and regulatory reforms. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.7% on the news, as investors absorbed the self-inflicted folly.

So: Make America Poor Again? Just wilful economic destruction simply in order to ... what? Feed one ignorant ego?

UPDATE:

Cartoonist Bruce McKinnon has an even simpler explainer ...