Look who's blaming the victims again!

 These guys slapped ginormous tariffs on China and now complain China is straining relations.

They also blamed Ukraine for starting the war with Russia.

The chutzpah.

Speaker Johnson says China is straining U.S. relations with Nvidia chip ban

 

Treasury Secretary Bessent tells a whopper

 

Bessent: Tariff Income And Fiscal Improvement Have Made The U.S. Bond Market The Best Performing In The Developed World

 

These jokers have added $1.2 trillion to the national debt in TWO months.

 

The 10-year US Treasury has returned 1.013% nominal in the last twelve months, -1.419% real. 

The Supremes have the opportunity to do the funniest thing

 

Trump asks Supreme Court to quickly hear appeal to save his tariffs

Bonds tank and gold soars to start September in huge embarrassment to Banana Republican Donald Trump, who wouldn't pay his own bills let alone the country's

... Tariffs are set to bring in $172.1 billion in 2025, according to the Tax Foundation, which would be a nice financial boost to a country with a ballooning budget deficit.

“If this ruling is upheld, refunds of existing tariffs are on the table which could cause a surge in Treasury issuance and yields,” wrote Ed Mills of Raymond James in a note. ...

More. 

 

Real Clear Politics rewrites headlines to make Trump look better

 

 

 

Appeals Court Rules Against Some Tariffs But Leaves Them in Place takes you to  Most Trump tariffs are not legal, US appeals court rules lol.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/most-trump-tariffs-are-not-legal-us-appeals-court-rules/ar-AA1LvGU7

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/most-trump-tariffs-are-not-legal-us-appeals-court-rules-2025-08-30/ 

 

 

 

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit isn't buying Trump's emergency argument for his tariffs because he's taxing everything from nearly every country

 

 Most Trump tariffs ruled illegal by appeals court, dealing major blow to trade policy

A federal appeals court ruled Friday that most of President Donald Trump’s global tariffs are illegal, striking a massive blow to the core of his aggressive trade policy.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held in a 7-4 ruling that the law Trump invoked when he granted his most expansive tariffs — including his “reciprocal” tariffs — does not actually grant him the power to impose those levies.

“The core Congressional power to impose taxes such as tariffs is vested exclusively in the legislative branch by the Constitution,” the court said. “Tariffs are a core Congressional power.”

The appellate court paused its ruling from taking effect until Oct. 14, in order to give the Trump administration time to ask the Supreme Court to reverse the decision. ... 

In Friday’s ruling, the court found that the challenged tariffs exceeded Trump’s authority under IEEPA.

“Both the Trafficking Tariffs and the Reciprocal Tariffs are unbounded in scope, amount, and duration,” the majority ruled. 

“These tariffs apply to nearly all articles imported into the United States (and, in the case of the Reciprocal Tariffs, apply to almost all countries), impose high rates which are ever-changing and exceed those set out in the [U.S. tariff system], and are not limited in duration.” ...

 

Trump adds $1 trillion to the national debt in record time and S&P Global underscores its own irrelevance by maintaining the U.S. AA+ credit rating

 Trump tariff revenue expected to offset tax bill impact, S&P says in U.S. credit rating hold

... "We could lower the rating over the next two to three years if already high deficits increase ..." lol.

 These people are afraid of Trump.

They don't want to be singled out for Trump's daily Two Minutes Hate.

They don't want to be the next Jerome Powell, or Lisa Cook, or Volodymyr Zelensky.

Meanwhile year to date the Trump deficit is running $112 billion ahead of Biden's last deficit. DOGE so-called spending cuts and Trump Tariffs have done nothing to reduce it.

 

 

 

Two weeks Trump was already at it again on Friday before meeting with Putin on Saturday

... Trump said on Friday he did not immediately need to consider retaliatory tariffs on countries such as China for buying Russian oil - which is subject to a range of Western sanctions - but might have to "in two or three weeks." ...

 

More. 

TACO, just because it's Monday lol

 

Trump extends China tariff deadline by 90 days

Republican Ralph Norman (SC-5), who wants to be South Carolina's next governor, says higher prices due to Trump's tariffs are for the good of the country

 You be happy paying more. 

 ... Notably, Norman was one of the few House lawmakers not to endorse Trump in 2024, backing former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley instead.

In his late July announcement of his upcoming gubernatorial bid, however, he praised Trump, predicting “what he did [in Iran] is going to put him in the annals of the greatest presidents we have ever had.” ...

More. 

There are already five Republicans running for governor in South Carolina. 

Trump is still an amateur lol

 

Gold futures trade off highs as White House to issue clarification on bullion tariffs

 

Oopsie.

 

 

Mad King Ludwig tariffs gold bars, making liquidity more expensive for big banks

  Gold futures hit record high after report of US tariffs on gold bars

Gold futures climbed to a record high on Friday after a report that the United States had imposed tariffs on imports of 1-kg gold bars, while spot gold stayed on track for a second straight weekly gain on tariff turmoil and U.S. interest rate-cut hopes. ...  

U.S. gold futures for December delivery were up 0.9% at $3,484.10, after hitting an all-time high of $3,534.10.

The price spread between New York futures and spot prices widened by more than $100 after the Financial Times reported on Thursday that the United States had imposed tariffs on imports of 1-kg gold bars, citing a letter from Customs and Border Protection.

The letter, dated July 31, said 1-kg and 100-ounce gold bars should be classified under a customs code subject to higher tariffs, a move that could impact Switzerland, the world’s largest gold refining hub.

The tariffs on gold bars “will create a dislocation or rather some issues in terms of settlement by big banks” and this was reflected in liquidity prices this morning, with prices jumping everywhere, said Brian Lan, managing director at GoldSilver Central, Singapore. ...

 

Look at that flight to US Treasury safety

 

Trump unleashes sweeping new tariffs in a blow to global trade

 

U.S. added just 73,000 jobs in July and numbers for prior months were revised much lower

 

 

 

Trump's $170 billion tax hike on the American consumer

 The seasonally-adjusted annual rate of Trump's tariffs leaped from $96 billion in 1Q to $266 billion in 2Q.

The federal government farts through $20 billion every day, so this annualized tariff revenue goes Poof in less than two weeks, matching just 3.6% of federal outlays.

The numbskulls in the US Senate like Josh Hawley want to redistribute these tax revenues in the form of rebate checks to the taxpayers.

Wouldn't it have been easier and more efficient and more fair not to have taxed us in the first place?

Note that Donald Trump's Bureau of Economic Analysis, run by Howard Lutnick, still must call this what it is, taxes on imports lol, despite what his Treasury Secretary was still saying in June:

Bessent claims tariffs aren’t taxes.

 

 

 

GOP U.S. Senate: Feckless lickspittles without two brain cells to rub together propose rebates of surpluses WE DO NOT HAVE

 

The goods trade deficit in May was $96 billion, in June $85 billion.

The only thing that's changed is consumers are now being taxed on those trade deficits. The numbskulls of the GOP U. S. Senate are proposing rebates of these taxes to the people paying them.

It's all completely ludicrous.

It would have been easier simply not to have imposed the taxes in the first place.

If there's a way to lower the standard of living of American consumers, Mad King Ludwig is sure to find it.  

 

Senate introduces bill for tariff rebate checks after Trump suggestion 

 

... The Treasury Department reported an unexpected surplus for June, with a boost from tariff revenue. Customs duties totaled roughly $27 billion for the month, compared to $23 billion in May. The duties reflect a 301% gain from June 2024. ... 

 

 

 

Kevin Hassett is full of it as usual

 

Trump tariffs don’t cause inflation because of ‘patriotism’ buying: WH advisor Hassett

 

That makes no sense.

 

Buying costlier U.S.-made goods over foreign goods would naturally boost inflation, quite apart from new tariff differences in price. 

 

Meanwhile the core pce inflation rate in May 2025 year-over-year was 3.88% higher than it was in April, the 65% majority of which is services but still includes goods.

 

That's what the 0.1 point rise from 2.577% to 2.677% means.

 

The May 2025 rate is actually slightly higher than in May 2024, which means we've made no progress in the last year. 

 

 

 

Mad King Ludwig to impose 50% tariff on Brazil but not on Israel lol

I mean, some countries are more equal than others amirite? 

 Trump To Impose 50% Brazil Tariff, Citing Bolsonaro "Witch Hunt"

Trump brands Netanyahu's corruption trial a 'witch hunt,' calls for it to be canceled

 

Trump administration fails to intimidate Canada, goes Galt and ends trade talks

 

Trump ends all U.S. trade talks with Canada over digital services tax

 

 

 

 

 

 

... The first payments from Canada’s digital services tax, which was enacted last year and applies retroactively to 2022, are set to be collected Monday. The tax would hit both domestic and foreign tech companies, including U.S. giants such as Amazon, Google and Meta.

Canadian officials said this month that they would not pause the digital services tax, despite ferocious opposition from the United States.

“Obviously, we think it’s patently unfair to do it retroactively,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said later Friday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime.”

Bessent said the Trump administration was hoping that Carney’s government would “put a brake on” the tax “as a sign of goodwill.” ...

 

Trump's idea of good will is 50% tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, 25% tariffs on autos, an overall 10% tariff on most everything else, and a 25% "fentanyl" tariff.

 

 

1Q2025 real GDP revised down 0.3 to -0.5 in third and final estimate on an increase in imports front-loaded into 1Q to avoid Trump's tariffs

 Real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased at an annual rate of 0.5 percent in the first quarter of 2025 (January, February, and March), according to the third estimate released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the fourth quarter of 2024, real GDP increased 2.4 percent.

 

The decrease in real GDP in the first quarter primarily reflected an increase in imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, and a decrease in government spending. These movements were partly offset by increases in investment and consumer spending.

 

Real GDP was revised down 0.3 percentage point from the second estimate, primarily reflecting downward revisions to consumer spending and exports that were partly offset by a downward revision to imports. ...

More.

Sounds like Howard Lutnick gobbledygook at the end there. Paragraph two speaks of an increase in imports. Paragraph three of a downward revision to imports. 

Which is it lol? 

Nominal 1Q2025 GDP clocks in at $29.962 trillion in the third estimate. SPX was at 5612 on Mar 31, yielding a crazy high stock market valuation of 187.  

TACO Trump is negative for long term investment, 1Q2025 exports were the worst on record for their positive contribution to GDP

Does anybody ever talk about exports anymore? You know, from domestic production? 

... In recent years, a cautious optimism had returned, as supply chain shocks from the pandemic pushed some companies to bring production back to the US. 

But frequent changes and uncertainty around where Trump's tariff policy is headed has 'got people spooked,' Andrew Anagnost, CEO of Autodesk, told the outlet.

The company sells software used by manufacturers to design factories and improve processes. 

'The current operating mode is just the death to long-term investment,' he said. 

While construction projects that were already underway are still going ahead, he added, confusion about the future is stalling new work. ...

More. 

Exports are a " + " when calculating GDP. Imports are a " - " when calculating it.

Exports' contribution to GDP in 1Q2025 is THE WORST ON RECORD.

No wonder GDP was negative. Outside the pandemic soaring imports had their worst negative impact on GDP on record in 1Q2025.

It's a terrible time to be introducing new huge taxes on imports needed by domestic manufacturers, but that's what Trump is doing.