Trump takes on China with 125% tariffs [View all]

Morning all. We are now in an extraordinary economic and geopolitical crisis. Trump implemented his madman tariffs last night at midnight. Here’s Politico this morning:

HE REALLY DID IT: President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs came into force at midnight, and this morning we awaken to a different world. The free trade system that America has embraced and nurtured since the mid-1930s has been officially torpedoed by direct order of the president. America’s trade barriers are now higher than at any point in the past 100 years, and key trade partners Canada, China and Europe are all preparing to hit back. And Trump made clear last night that this is not the high-water mark, with tariffs on the pharmaceutical industry coming next.

This is Trump’s America: You all saw the chart — now it’s reality for importers (and soon, shoppers) across the country. A 104 percent tax on cheap consumer goods from China. A 46 percent tax on cheap clothes made in Vietnam. A 24 percent tax on Japanese machinery and electronics. A 20 percent tax on European food, drink and goods. It’s unclear exactly how quickly these and many others tariffs will filter through to product pricing and consumer demand … but filter through they surely will.

Trump laps it up: During an epic 90-minute speech to the NRCC last night, Trump wore the 104 percent tariff on Chinese goods as a badge of honor. “They’ve ripped us off left and right,” he told the crowd. “But now it’s our turn to do the ripping.”