So that makes him a classic useful idiot.

Measure once, pay twice?

¨Sir, you are scaring the banks, and if banks get scared they kill presidents. They hire professionals, not some kid on a roof.¨

¨Oh¨

Unless USA does become a hereditary monarchy and the whole circus continues with Queen Ivanka.

And if everyone is moving to the USA at the same time, the existing supply lines get overburdened immediately, causing prices of all raw materials to explode until new supply can be developed.

Trump will of course say that this is not fair and he was supposed to divide and conquer, not get them to unite and retaliate.

No, but the plan is floating around to tax EU used data for foreign companies right into unprofitablily.

“This is the carrot. Take it. You really won’t like the stick.”

Not that historica, so far it seems to imitate the 2008 financial crisis crash. But yeah, the financial system almost died then. With Trump, the whole global economic system could very well end in the wood chipper.

What do you mean US? There’s a country left after this?

Then next Trump would just threaten with tariffs again until the labeling had been removed. Then he’ll threaten again for their oversized cars. There won’t be an end to this.

Inviting his friends from Russia no doubt.

The rest of the world starts building a new world order and economic system, one that will be a lot less advantageous to the USA than the one they just trashed.

In points, but not in percentage. At least not yet. But it sure seems to want to measure up to all major crisis and leave its mark.

Rumour goes the idea is to force others to peg their currency to the dollar in fixed exchange rates so they can stay the reserve currency and still re-industrialize. Tariffs are used to force others into that arrangement. With how trustworthy USA has been the last few months, countries are not going to be enthousiast about this.

There is simple logic in it. Punish everyone, and then let them come to you asking for exemptions. Then he can demand things in exchange. After that it’s “Pray I don’t alter the deal any further.”

UK already asked for an exemption and he said they should buy chlorinated chicken first. If every country responds in the same way and gives in he’s making bank. If they respond with a boycott on anything American, especially digital services, things get bad.

Then they’ll still think it was a good idea, it just went wrong in the execution.

Trump will be remembered as the spark that caused the old world order to blow up, causing a lot of changes in the way things are done. China becomes the manufacturer of clean energy and uses their new status as having the reserve currency to stamp out all fossil fuels.

Of course there is logic, but not the logic most politicians want to admit. This is simply:

“Nice global economy. It would be a shame if something happened to it. Maybe we can come to an understanding, and this whole tariff thing goes away. You do want free trade, don’t you?”