richardag said:

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BusterAg said:

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will25u said:

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BREAKING: The US publishes reciprocal tariff exclusions for computers, smartphones, and chip-making equipment.

Just like that, big tech is back.

— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) April 12, 2025

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iPhone going from $1,100 each to $2,475 each could cost the GOP the mid-terms.

This is Trump being pragmatic.

Next step is to encourage any other country to start manufacturing smartphones, and encouraging Apple / Samsung not to buy from China, and to bring as much of that manufacturing as feasible to the US.

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Most iPhones are made in China, however, for some time(re: too late in my mind)iPhones have been made in India.
Apple's Contract Manufacturers and Component Suppliers in India
quote from the article

• Apple set a new record by exporting iPhones worth INR 1.08 trillion (US$12.8 billion) from India in 2024, marking a 42 percent year-on-year growth, according to media reports…,,,

This should allow a more rapid movement away from China and manufacturing latest lPhone versions as well.

I was heavily invested in APPL for years, I sold when nearing retirement primarily due the Trump and Rocket man comments but also because Tim Cook put all production in China. He was picked by Steve Jobs to be his replacement because Cook was a "supply chain guru" which was, in my mind the worst decision Jobs ever made.
The Chinese stole Apple's intellectual property at will and no company should ever put all their production into one supplier, especially China.

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I'm cool with doing business with India at the expense of China.

JohnClark929 said:

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JohnClark929 said:

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Just in case you can't see the obvious. He is bluffing and everyone knows he is bluffing.

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After his capitulation Wednesday and today's exclusion list with no deals for American workers, looks like all of this was a nothing burger that only caused USD to fall and interest rates to rise. More capitulation will take place. World's worst poker player.

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Tariffs on the exceptions is still at 20%. Which is 20% higher than it was a few days ago.

Washington Post: maybe your reporters should try reading before posting. These products are subject to the tariff under the original IEEPA on China of 20 percent. https://t.co/MI4oDEb8S3

— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) April 12, 2025

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett: "Right now, 130 countries — 130 countries — have responded and we're negotiating with them." pic.twitter.com/kR2p6OLG2e

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 13, 2025

Just trying to get my head around the scale of the coordination required for dealing with 130 countries. I'll concede that probably 100 of them will be fed a sandwich they can take or leave, but the remainder will likely have countless variables that need to get crossed or at least digested to inform the terms on the other remainders. I've done tri party negotiations with a 4th party lender and the legal bills probably aggregated to 10k/hr or more. Just thinking about the war room and white boards and postits that took. If this works, whoever is QB'ing the logistics of this is going to be an historically significant figure.

rononeill said:

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Just trying to get my head around the scale of the coordination required for dealing with 130 countries. I'll concede that probably 100 of them will be fed a sandwich they can take or leave, but the remainder will likely have countless variables that need to get crossed or at least digested to inform the terms on the other remainders. I've done tri party negotiations with a 4th party lender and the legal bills probably aggregated to 10k/hr or more. Just thinking about the war room and white boards and postits that took. If this works, whoever is QB'ing the logistics of this is going to be an historically significant figure.

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I don't envy the people in charge of US negotiations. As you point out, the complexity is enough to be maddening. But when you've got a top boss like Trump who will change his mind on a whim, it has to be beyond frustrating. Hard enough to achieve a defined target. Nearly impossible when the goal posts keep moving.

BREAKING: Commerce Secretary Lutnick says electrotonic products will have "special tariffs" coming soon.

He also says pharmaceutical tariffs are coming in the next month or two.

“This is not a permanent sort of exemption," he says on the exemptions announced this weekend.

— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) April 13, 2025

Deputy Chief of Staff @StephenM: "When @POTUS issued his reciprocal tariffs, our government at the time specifically said that chips and semiconductors... were going to be dealt with through a separate Commerce authority known as a 232. That was ALWAYS the plan because those… pic.twitter.com/79zDt9gydJ

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 13, 2025

BREAKING: China has officially halted shipments of several rare earth minerals to the US.

— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) April 13, 2025

Trump is a political talent on a level we may never see again, but he cannot handle success. He surrounds himself with idiot yes men like Navarro and Lutnick. People who know better, like Bessent, spend too much time kissing his ass and not enough time explaining to him how trade works.

To accomplish what Trump says he wants will take more than four years. He didn't want to wait, and here we are.

🚨 BREAKING - TRUMP ON TARIFFS…
- Nobody is getting “off the hook,” especially China
- Semiconductors, computers, etc simply in a different tariff “bucket”

“There was no Tariff “exception” announced on Friday. These products are subject to the existing 20% Fentanyl Tariffs, and… pic.twitter.com/Cx5H9P5z10

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 13, 2025

So smartphones, etc from China are subject to 20% tariffs, while all of the components to make smartphones are subject to 145% tariffs. Do I have that right?

Subcomponents would only be 145 if they're being imported here for final assembly

And if not?

It would be whatever the tariff rate is for the country assembling the final product. If Korea, 10%. If China, 145%

rononeill said:

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Just trying to get my head around the scale of the coordination required for dealing with 130 countries. I'll concede that probably 100 of them will be fed a sandwich they can take or leave, but the remainder will likely have countless variables that need to get crossed or at least digested to inform the terms on the other remainders. I've done tri party negotiations with a 4th party lender and the legal bills probably aggregated to 10k/hr or more. Just thinking about the war room and white boards and postits that took. If this works, whoever is QB'ing the logistics of this is going to be an historically significant figure.

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It's not possible, and they are not actively negotiating with 130 countries.

I'm sure many countries have indicated they would like to negotiate a deal with the us, but no discussions of any depth or seriousness have happened.

This is all going very well

So who is going to blink first?

So, how's everything going? As well as expected? Or is it time to admit Trump's clown show is complete amateur hour? China is embarrassing him in "negotiations."

Wet fart of the deal

Things seem to be going as well as could be hoped.

Trump’s Tariff Triumph: 130 Nations Enthusiastic To Negotiate Fair Trade Deals With The US

President Donald Trump’s tariff strategy is paying off, as 130 countries are now scrambling to negotiate trade deals with the United States, according to National Economic Council Director… pic.twitter.com/830GFtbesK

— MAGA Resource (@MAGAResource) April 14, 2025

Fix around 80-100 nations trade deals/sanctions/tariffs and China's leverage will only drop further, no matter how many videos of Mao bloviating about their resolve they post.

Sorry Gavin, your boys are losing, again.

Interested in your criticisms of Lutnick.

China censoring their own who are alarmed at how their businesses are crashing.

BREAKING: The European Union is reversing its stance and is now open to negotiating a new trade deal with the United States, per POTUS.

— Patrick Webb (@RealPatrickWebb) April 14, 2025

will25u said:

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BREAKING: The European Union is reversing its stance and is now open to negotiating a new trade deal with the United States, per POTUS.

— Patrick Webb (@RealPatrickWebb) April 14, 2025

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Not surprising since a few member states were peeling off to start negotiating their own deals, separate from the EU.

blacksox said:

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So, how's everything going? As well as expected? Or is it time to admit Trump's clown show is complete amateur hour? China is embarrassing him in "negotiations."

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Seems like things are moving in a good direction below with the EU among others. I'll give it some time.

Tony Franklins Other Shoe said:

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blacksox said:

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So, how's everything going? As well as expected? Or is it time to admit Trump's clown show is complete amateur hour? China is embarrassing him in "negotiations."

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Seems like things are moving in a good direction below with the EU among others. I'll give it some time.

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Now I remember why have that guy on ignore. Someone who voted for Biden and Kamala calling anything a clown show or amateur hour is peak liberal hypocrisy.

blacksox said:

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So, how's everything going? As well as expected? Or is it time to admit Trump's clown show is complete amateur hour? China is embarrassing him in "negotiations."

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The only clown show and amateur hour are when Dems are in the WH.

blacksox said:

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So, how's everything going? As well as expected? Or is it time to admit Trump's clown show is complete amateur hour? China is emb?arrassing him in "negotiations."

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whats it like living in fantasy land?

How long do we think it will take to negotiate 130 trade deals? Should we drag them out to get the best deal possible? Or should we give everyone what they want so it moves quickly?

I'm beginning to think that starting a trade war with the whole world at once was not the brightest idea. Seems like the folks in charge of trade "did their own research" as they say.

akm91 said:

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blacksox said:

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So, how's everything going? As well as expected? Or is it time to admit Trump's clown show is complete amateur hour? China is embarrassing him in "negotiations."

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The only clown show and amateur hour are when Dems are in the WH.

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He's doing what needs to be done to crush the EU / Davos / Old money oligarch psychos......

It's definitely not going to be pretty (especially when big EU banks implode) nor be complete overnight.

It's a re-ordering of the global financial system that's been in place for hundreds of years.....

Give it a few more months, maybe even five years, to judge the results.

esteban said:

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How long do we think it will take to negotiate 130 trade deals? Should we drag them out to get the best deal possible? Or should we give everyone what they want so it moves quickly?

I'm beginning to think that starting a trade war with the whole world at once was not the brightest idea. Seems like the folks in charge of trade "did their own research" as they say.

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Considering your voting habits, no one considers your economic concerns to be genuine. We have a businessman for president again, not a potato. Thankfully.

esteban said:

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How long do we think it will take to negotiate 130 trade deals? Should we drag them out to get the best deal possible? Or should we give everyone what they want so it moves quickly?

I'm beginning to think that starting a trade war with the whole world at once was not the brightest idea. Seems like the folks in charge of trade "did their own research" as they say.

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Do you really think Scott Bessent is a moron?

We didn't "start a trade war" but we are trying to end one that's been one-sided for far too long. The reason we have to tariff the "whole world" including places that aren't even inhabited by humans (but could be) is to eliminate any potential loop-hole the CCP will try to exploit to avoid those tariffs.

China will fold because when you are in an escalating trade war between two countries and one is at a severe trade deficit with the other, the vulnerable one is the country with a huge surplus. It's why you're seeing videos of all their shipments at docks not being processed or going anywhere.

If you want to counter with Smoot-Hawley that situation was reversed where we were the country in great surplus and Europe was in trade deficit. Once the trade war escalated, we could no longer export our goods and we got the Great Depression. That's what China is staring at right now.

esteban said:

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How long do we think it will take to negotiate 130 trade deals? Should we drag them out to get the best deal possible? Or should we give everyone what they want so it moves quickly?

I'm beginning to think that starting a trade war with the whole world at once was not the brightest idea. Seems like the folks in charge of trade "did their own research" as they say.

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Looking at past trade deals, they can take several months and some over a year. But there are different motivations and driving factors behind specific, targeted, deal.

For my business, the biggest impact is China, Taiwan, South Korea, India, Canada, Mexico, and a few countries in the EU. I'm expecting my supply chain to be ****ed for about 2 quarters, and that is having backup plans already shaped out and some hedge buys done from last fall.

I hope by October this is mostly resolved with everyone except for China.

I don't think you have to wait that long. Docks in China are already overflowing with containers with no ships there for loading. How long can China keep spending tons to subsidize those industries when their goods are sitting in containers on docks in Shanghei, etc.?

Supply chains depend on shipping. Time is money in the shipping business (as in most) so the pain is being felt in China much more in the near term, than ours.