<<<This is not a debate.>>> Contributing Pundit Rich Corbett, in the right column, responds to Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay’s commentary from last week, “Trump Trashes Trust” and left-column contributors’ “About Those Tariffs” with his column supporting the White House tariff policy. Meanwhile, Macaulay finds himself in the left column, where he laments lack of Democratic Party leadership in resisting Trump. Submit your own COMMENTS to editors@thehustings.news.
US-China Tariffs Settle In – China raised its tariffs on US imports to 125% as the Trump White House clarified that its total tariff level on Chinese imports is 145%, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Beijing says that’s enough: “Even if the US continues to impose higher tariffs, it would be economically meaningless and would become a joke in the history of the world economy,” China’s tariff commission said in a statement.
There is much truth to that, if only because China is largely an export nation – the basic reason for the Trump White House’s aggressive tariff policy on the country to begin with – selling us computer semiconductors, “fast fashion” and something like 60% of everything sold at Walmart.
Bonds. Treasury bonds … Meanwhile, APM’s Marketplace Morning Edition reports that President Trump’s clawback on reciprocal tariffs Wednesday, which for an afternoon reversed Wall Street’s steep slide in share values, had as much to do with concern over bond values as for stock values. Usually, bond values rise when stock prices fall, but after Trump’s initial tariff announcement last week, both stocks and bonds took a dive, indicating investors were losing confidence in US Treasury bonds.
Uh oh, Canada … WSJ further reports that Canada’s new prime minister, Mark Carney, will counter “unjustified” US tariffs of 25% on steel, aluminum – make that “aluminium” – and autos and inflict “maximum pain.” The puck drops here.
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‘Big, Beautiful,’ Complicated – The House passed the blueprint, already approved by the Senate, for President Trump’s all-in-one “big, beautiful budget” bill Thursday on a knife’s-edge 216-214 vote, with Republican Reps. Victoria Spartz of Indiana and Thomas Massie of Kentucky joining all Democrats in opposition (per Politico). Now comes the hard part: Finding at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts while offsetting the 2017 Trump tax cuts and other White House priorities, without worrying Social Security and Medicare recipients.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, of South Dakota, acknowledged to reporters that his Republican colleagues are divided over how to achieve all the above, according to The Hill.
--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa