Date: 2025-07-02 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00028319
TRUMP
OUT OF CONTROL WRECKING BALL
CommonDreams: 'Welp, There Goes the Economy':
Trump Tariffs Trigger Global Alarm
OUT OF CONTROL WRECKING BALL
CommonDreams: 'Welp, There Goes the Economy':
Trump Tariffs Trigger Global Alarm
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks about tariffs in the
White House Rose Garden in Washington, D.C. on April 2, 2025.
(Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Original article: https://www.commondreams.org/news/trumps-trade-war
Peter Burgess COMMENTARY
In many ways today's event in the Rose Garden at the White House was anti-climactic. Worse ... for both Trump and the people trying to make sense of what is going on ... almost everything that was 'up in the air' before the Rose Garden event is still 'up in the air' after the event!
The one big thing that remains the same from before to after Trump's presentation is the level of uncertainty in the global economy is at record high levels and every serious business is preparing for the worse.
Unfortunately that is going to translate into a massive slowing down of investment worldwide as well as commerce worldwide.
There is still a surpringly high level of economic optimism ... the DOW remains above 42,000, a level that assumes a continuing level of corporate profitability that is very high compared to any time in history.
My perspective on the economy reflects my age. Most of the people with power and influence are in the age group 45 to 65. I am 85, some 30 years older than the middle of this power group. My understanding of the state of the American and global economy is informed by my whole adult life and the contant of my education prior to that. Most of the people with power and influence at the present time have little or no knowledge of the social and economic issues of the four decades immediately post WWII ... that is from 1945 to 1985.
In 1973 I wrote that what was happening in that year was 'the biggest economic event in all of history!' I stand by that observation ... but few people today will know what the event was!
President Trump is not very bright ... and the people around him are even worse. This is a big problem not only for America and Americans but for the whole world. In theory there are checks and balances in the national rules so that deranged individuals cannot grab the power of the American State ... but it is not at all clear if such rules are going to be strong enough. In this regard, I am pessimistic.
I am struck by the fact that Trump seems to have little factual knowledge about anything ... and especially a lot ot the big issues that have been a challenge during his ... and my ... lifetimes.
I did a log of international development consultancy work during the 1970s, 80s and 90s, a peiod when considerable progress was made in addressing world hunger, poverty and related issues. Sadly in the past 25 years there has been considerable backsliding ... and with Trump things could get a lot worse and very quickly.
My active working life is long gone ... but I am very disappointed that there is so little support for organizations like USAID in the general poplation of the United States. Trump knows that when he attacks an organization like USAID, it will be a popular move among American voters ... but in terms of world view, quite the opposite. My opinion is simple ... Trump will do untold damage to the United States and the sooner he is stopped the better it will be for both the United States and the World!
These are dangerous times! Be warned!
Peter Burgess
'He's taking a sledgehammer to the economy and pursuing unpopular, reckless trade policies that will do nothing to benefit workers and only serve to increase costs for consumers,' warned one expert.
Written by Jessica Corbett
Apr 02, 2025
After U.S. President Donald Trump announced long-anticipated sweeping tariffs at the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday, economists, labor leaders, American lawmakers, and other critics reiterated that the move will negatively impact people worldwide.
The president revealed that on April 5, he will impose a 10% tariff on all imported goods and additional penalties for dozens of countries, including major trading partners—ignoring warnings that, as Jeffrey Sachs wrote in a Common Dreams opinion piece, his 'tariffs will fail to close the trade and budget deficits, raise prices, and make America and the world poorer.'
Trump's related executive order states that he finds 'that underlying conditions, including a lack of reciprocity in our bilateral trade relationships, disparate tariff rates and nontariff barriers, and U.S. trading partners' economic policies that suppress domestic wages and consumption, as indicated by large and persistent annual U.S. goods trade deficits, constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and economy of the United States.'
The order adds that the 'threat has its source in whole or substantial part outside the United States in the domestic economic policies of key trading partners and structural imbalances in the global trading system,' and declares a national emergency.
NBC Newsreported Wednesday that 'global markets reacted sharply and swiftly... with investors fleeing U.S. stock indexes and companies that rely on global supply chains seeing their stocks plummet.' The outlet noted that Dan Ives, an analyst at the investment firm Wedbush Securities, wrote, 'President Trump just finished his tariff speech at the White House and we would characterize this slate of tariffs as 'worse than the worst case scenario' the street was fearing.'
Trump framed this step in his trade war as 'liberation day' and claimed that the duties are 'reciprocal,' but economists pushed back. Justin Wolfers at the University of Michigan said: 'Trump announces his tariffs, which are (somehow?) related to the trade barriers other countries are imposing on the U.S. But... THE NUMBERS HE'S PRESENTING BEAR NO RELATION TO REALITY. It would be absurd to call these reciprocal tariffs. They're grievances.'
Groundwork Collaborative executive director Lindsay Owens said in a statement that 'Americans have one simple request of President Trump: lower prices. Instead of answering the call, he's taking a sledgehammer to the economy and pursuing unpopular, reckless trade policies that will do nothing to benefit workers and only serve to increase costs for consumers.'
'But Trump doesn't care about what happens to working families, as long as his billionaire donors and advisers are happy,' she continued. 'Republicans are already chomping at the bit to use any potential tariff revenue to fund their next massive billionaire tax break.'
Kobie Christian, a spokesperson for the national campaign Unrig Our Economy, similarly concluded that 'there is no other way to say it—this is an out-of-touch policy designed by a billionaire and for billionaires.'
'Virtually no one will benefit from these Republican-backed tariffs—except for the ultrawealthy who will get yet another tax break, paid for by working families,' Christian added. 'Small business owners will be forced to raise their prices to keep their businesses afloat, and Americans will have to pay even more for everyday goods. These tariffs could even push the economy into a recession. American workers need lower costs, not more tariffs and billionaire handouts.'
American Economic Liberties Project's Rethink Trade director, Lori Wallach, declared that 'the businesses that profiteered from our old broken trade system should pay for the necessary transition to more balanced trade, not American workers and consumers. President Trump must take immediate action to stop corporations from using the pretext of these tariffs to price gouge the very Americans already slammed by decades of bad trade policy and corporate greed.'
Wallach was among those who pointed out that tariffs can be a vital tool. She explained that 'Trump's announcement goes much broader, but tariffs against mercantilist countries like China, Germany, Korea, Taiwan, and Japan to counter systemic trade abuses can help restore America's capacity to produce more of the critical products needed for American families to be healthy and safe and for our country to be more resilient and secure.'
'But to deliver more American production and good jobs, the goal must be to balance trade, not equalize tariff rates, and tariffs must be consistent,' she stressed. 'Tariffs must be accompanied by other industrial policies like tax credits to build demand for U.S.-made goods, incentives for investment in new production capacity and bans on stock buybacks, and easier union formation so gains go to wages, not just profits.'
Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, the nation's largest federation of unions, also said that 'the strategic use of tariffs can be an effective tool to support our industries and protect jobs at home. But they must be accompanied by policies that invest in our manufacturing base and a strong commitment to promoting workers' fundamental right to organize trade unions and bargain collectively.'
'Unfortunately, the Trump administration's attacks on trade union workers' rights at home, gutting of the government agency that works to discourage the outsourcing of American jobs, and efforts to erode critical investments in U.S. manufacturing take us backward,' she asserted. 'We will continue to fight for trade policy that prioritizes the interests of working people without causing unnecessary economic pain for America's working families.'
Some congressional Democrats shared similar criticism. Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell said that 'when used strategically, tariffs are a critical tool to bring back jobs and support American workers and industries,' but 'I'm concerned about the chaotic and immediate implementation of these wide-reaching tariffs.'
U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) wrote on social media that 'Trump's dumb tariffs are going to drive up costs for real working people. Like the dad who is trying to save money by fixing his car at home. Those parts from AutoZone are made somewhere else and the prices will go up!'
As the White House circulated a multipage sheet of targeted countries, Gomez and Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) were among those who noticed that Russia—which is waging a yearslong war on Ukraine—is absent from the list.
Meanwhile, as critics including Aaron Reichlin-Melnick at the American Immigration Council highlighted, the list included the Australian territory of the Heard Island and McDonald Islands—even though the islands are 'completely uninhabited.'
'Population zero. I guess we're going to tariff the seagulls?' quipped Reichlin-Melnick. 'It kind of feels like a White House intern went through Wikipedia's list of countries and just generated this list off of that with no further research.'
Organizer Max Berger wrote on Bluesky Wednesday, 'I like how no one knows whether the president of the United States is going to tank the global economy because he's a fucking idiot—or if he's just doing a bit.'
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next.
It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk.
Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back.
As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support.
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Jessica Corbett
Jessica Corbett is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams.Full Bio >
afl-cioamerican economic liberties projectexecutive ordergroundwork collaborativetariffstradeunrig our economydonald trump
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