President Trump bent slightly his severe steel and aluminum tariffs to temporarily exclude Canada and Mexico but left other allied nations still exposed to their brunt. The President’s protectionist tariffs provoked a storm of protests from congressional Republicans, and many conservatives came out in united public opposition to Trumpism for the first time since the […]
Trump tariffs freeze investments, split Republicans, hurt allies, boost China
President Trump announced 25% steel tariffs and 10% aluminum tariffs in the name of military security. The tariff announcement will freeze US investments, split Republicans, hurt US allies (especially Canada), and boost the influence of China as an economic, diplomatic, and military power. The Trump tariffs, however, have near unanimous Democratic Party support. A U.S. […]
US, European, Japanese markets down sharply after tariff announcement
President Trump in an impromptu press meeting at lunchtime yesterday announced that he was imposing 25% tariffs on all imports of steel and 10% tariffs on aluminum. The US stock market promptly fell over 2%. In conjunction with two days of previous market drops this erased all the stock market gains of 2018. This Friday morning […]
Norway, Trudeau, Italian elections, Netanyahu’s plight, trade decisions on hold
We cover today the Italian elections, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu under fire, the suspenseful US trade situation, and for levity, Norway’s Olympic triumphs and Prime Minister Trudeau’s hitherto unsuspected talents at make-believe. What’s with those Norwegians? We liked this Politico piece on why the Norwegians cleaned up so many medals in the Winter Olympics. On a […]
School schootings, SpaceX reactions, trade war threat
Three important developments clamor for discussion since our previous issue: the policy recommendations, foolish and sound, in the wake of the Parkland, FL school shootings; the delayed reactions to the successful flight of the SpaceX Falcon rocket; and the trade war threat of the Commerce Department’s recommendation for steel and aluminum tariffs and import quotas. […]
