by Peter Koenig, Global Research:
President Trump called 2 April 2025 “Liberation Day” because this is the day when he announced new sweeping tariffs across the board, meaning, indeed, on all countries across the world. He might as well have called it “Day of Reckoning.”
Did it signal the beginning of a global trade war?
Or, is it just a game by which self-centered President Trump wants to show-off again, as being the one who commands the game, the one who can bend the world to its knees. Or so, he believes. But at what cost? And for whom to pay the cost?
TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
It is a dangerous game, more a gamble than a game. It is the gamble of a typical deal-maker – the extreme is “lose it all,” that is the direction this is going or win it all. “Win it all” for Trump, i.e. the US, is no option. There are too many smarter players around the globe.
By now, at least 75 countries are begging Trump to “negotiate” bilateral tariff structures.
It is not so much a question of cost for the partner countries, but for the US themselves. Washington has much more to lose than the rest of the world. Trump’s aim seems clear: 1) bring back outsourced manufacturing to the US; and 2) attract foreign new investments for manufacturing in the US, with significant tax breaks for new investors.
The cost of either option is astronomical, and even if some countries / corporations are willing to take the risk of moving their manufacturing from a low-wage to a high-wage country – it doesn’t happen overnight. What happens in the meantime when new markets must be found?
Who needs US goods? They hardly produce anything. Most everything you buy in the US is “made in China.” Even Trump’s red MAGA hat is “made in China.” American consumers will suffer the most. A couple of days ago, Trump increased tariffs for Chinese imports from 84% to 125%.
He said, attempting to justify his move before the rest of the world, increased duties are intended to make China realize that “ripping off the USA and other countries is no longer sustainable or acceptable.” On his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote that this was “based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the world’s markets.”
Interesting though, how come everybody buys Chinese goods, not just because they are cheaper than US and other western goods, but also because Chinese quality in many cases is way superior. Chinese production is not subject to the US and western traditional corruption.
Just look at the hundreds of billions-worth of corruption scandals the European Union (EU) is involved in, especially the unelected President Ursula Von der Leyen, or shall we say Dr. Von der Leyen, as in June 2022, she received an honorary doctorate from the Israeli Ben-Gurion University. See video below and this.
