....quite possibly Trump's tariff 'war' is part of a larger grand plan for a global monetary and trade reset designed to eventually devalue the dollar, inflate away the US debt and improve the competitiveness of US exports.
.....it could decimate the 'poor' people with little assets who stand to suffer most from higher inflation, and benefit those who prepare themselves owning hard assets. It is not that Trump does not know that his tariff will increase domestic inflation, he and his team probably wants it.
Trump Moves to Impose Reciprocal Tariffs as Soon as April
Rates will consider non-tariff barriers, including EU’s VAT
President reiterated plan to tax auto, chip and drug imports
February 14, 2025 at 5:52 AM GMT+11
Updated on
February 14, 2025 at 7:06 AM GMT+11
President Donald Trump ordered his administration to consider imposing reciprocal tariffs on numerous trading partners, raising the prospect of a wider campaign against a global system he complains is tilted against the US.
The president on Thursday signed a measure directing the US Trade Representative and Commerce secretary to propose new levies on a country-by-country basis in an effort to rebalance trade relations — a sweeping process that could take weeks or months to complete. Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee to lead the Commerce Department, told reporters all studies should be complete by April 1 and that Trump could act immediately afterward.
Fresh import taxes would be customized for each country, meant to offset not just their own levies on US goods but also non-tariff barriers the nations impose in the form of unfair subsidies, regulations, value-added taxes, exchange rates, lax intellectual property protections, and other factors that act to limit US trade, according to a copy of the memo distributed by the White House.
“I’ve decided, for purposes of fairness, that I will charge a reciprocal tariff, meaning whatever countries charge the United States of America,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “In almost all cases, they’re charging us vastly more than we charge them but those days are over.”
Trump told reporters that he would enact import taxes on cars, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals “over and above” the reciprocal tariffs at a later date.
Trump cited barriers in the European Union, including a VAT, as an example of what the US is looking to respond to. Trump has also singled out Japan and South Korea as nations that he believes are taking advantage of the US, and thus could be targeted in his latest push, according to a White House official who briefed reporters before the announcement.
Reciprocal tariffs would amount to Trump’s broadest action to address US trade deficits and what he characterizes as unfair treatment of American exports around the globe. Trump has already imposed 10% tariffs on Chinese goods and plans to slap 25% duties on all US steel and aluminum imports next month.
