Strap in Tight: Trump Announces MORE Tariffs

The weekend news, as well as the beginning of the week’s news cycle has been inundated with coverage of the damage in the Carolinas, caused by Hurricane Florence.

Believe me, I understand the impact, all too well. My weekend pursuits were stunted by the storm. As she moved into North Carolina, she shut power down for the majority of my city.

Now, after three hot, sticky days, and with the hurricane snack stash depleted, I emerge from the dark days of Florence to find that our Tweeter in Chief used the hurricane coverage to sneak in some really horrible moves.

Among those moves would be the economy-killing $200 billion in additional tariffs on Chinese goods.

Yes. I know. MAGA. Liberal tears. Something, something.

It’s unceasingly astounding that his loyal troops are so fond of calling everyone who opposes Trump’s arrogance and incompetence “liberals,” “RiNO,” or worse yet – Hillary/Obama acolytes.

It’s astounding because much of what Trump has done is left of Obama and Hillary (Newsflash, Deplorables: massive government spending and tariffs are NOT conservative platform issues. They’re absolutely liberal.).

This latest round of ill-advised tariffs are set at 10 percent and will take effect on September 24. They’ll run to the end of the year at that level, then will increase to 25 percent.

The tariffs will hit everything from fish such as salmon and halibut, vegetables, nuts, grains, orange juice and metals including titanium and uranium.

Changes to the proposed list were made after the Trade Representative received comments and held hearings on the issue.

The president has vowed to do another round of tariffs on $267 billion on Chinese goods if Beijing retaliates against this round.

No. This will not end well for our economy.

President Trump, a man who has supported himself on credit and mob ties for decades is not the vaunted businessman he has been made out to be by the ghost writer of his book, “The Art of the Deal,” or the reality TV show he hosted.

There have been more than a few horror stories to emerge from this administration, along with the accompanying frustration that was enough to drive his top economic adviser, Gary Cohn to resign.

The man does not know what he’s doing, and he’s taking the nation on a long ride to nowhere.

The U.S. is using Section 301 of the trade law to levy the tariffs, saying that China has for years escaped punishment for engaging in unfair trade practices that include intellectual property and technology theft.

To address that point, Trump gave a statement defending his protectionist policies:

“These practices plainly constitute a grave threat to the long-term health and prosperity of the United States economy,” Trump said in a statement.

“China has had many opportunities to fully address our concerns. Once again, I urge China’s leaders to take swift action to end their country’s unfair trade practices. Hopefully, this trade situation will be resolved, in the end, by myself and President Xi of China, for whom I have great respect and affection,” Trump said a statement.

He has “affection” for Xi because the man has grabbed control of the nation and made himself ruler for life – a move that greatly appeals to Trump’s authoritarian ambitions.

The initial list of goods was tweaked, with some goods like Apple products and other electronics, playpens, and bicycle helmets removed.

Not all Republican lawmakers or business leaders were as hyped for this new round of tariffs as Trump.

“Any time tariffs are imposed I worry that Americans will be forced to pay extra costs — in this case on nearly half of U.S. imports from China,” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) said Monday.

“I continue to emphasize that the ultimate means to create an effective outcome is for President Trump and President Xi to engage constructively to develop a long-term and profound solution that levels the playing field for American manufacturers, farmers and workers,” Brady added.

“The U.S. economy runs on pro-growth policies, but that’s not what tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods deliver,” said U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas Donohue in a statement.

No. It does not. It doesn’t make U.S. goods more competitive. It narrows the market for them and increases the price for American consumers.

Perhaps if someone acted out the finer details of trade for the man-baby with a playful puppet show, he’d pay attention.

“Today’s decision makes clear that the administration did not heed the numerous warnings from American consumers and businesses about rising costs and lost jobs on Main Street, in factories, and on farms and ranches across the country,” Donohue said.

He did not.

Donohue went on to say that there are issues that need to be ironed out with China, as far as market access and unfair subsidies, along with cybersecurity issues and technology theft, but these are things that can be achieved through measures that are less destructive to our economy.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is prepared to engage in more talks with  Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, but unless someone tosses a shiny object into the Oval Office to distract President Goofy, it’s not likely that there will be any actual progress made.

And as China prepares to retaliate, our nation is forced to hold its breath, waiting to see who the great gamble of allowing a crooked Manhattan businessman into the White House hurts next.