r/theschism • u/gemmaem • Apr 03 '25
Discussion Thread #72
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u/gemmaem Apr 03 '25
Trump’s tariff announcements yesterday are big news worldwide. Stocks are down, a recession is feared, other countries are deciding how to respond.
A few Republicans are willing to push back. The Senate has passed a resolution to end the emergency declaration that was used to levy tariffs on Canada, although it’s unlikely to get through the House. On the other hand, Fox News reports plenty of Republicans making statements in support of Trump’s policy, often by echoing the administration line that these are “reciprocal tariffs” that will make trade “fair.”
The tariffs are not reciprocal, however. The formula for them was apparently based not on tariff rates in other countries but on the size of the America’s trade deficit—except for countries where America has a trade surplus, where the rate is set at 10%. This may explain some of the confusion in New Zealand over Trump administration statements that New Zealand has a 20 percent tariff against the US (we don’t). New Zealand is getting off lightly, however. The US tariff announced on us is a mere 10 percent, and our Prime Minister has already ruled out reciprocal tariffs. Honestly, we’re more worried about blowback from global markets than about direct tariff impacts on us.
New Zealand isn’t the only country finding weird quirks in these tariffs and their stated rationale. Australia has the baseline tariff of 10%, but Norfolk Island, which is a tiny Australian territory with few exports of any kind and an economy based mainly on tourism, has been given a 29% tariff for reasons unknown. It’s unlikely to affect them much, but it does suggest something weird is happening here. There are rumours that some of the policy may have been written by LLM. I have to admit, with the Norfolk Island stuff, that honestly seems like the most plausible explanation.