Per Bloomberg news: trump plans to impose 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, and will apply to imports

[JohnSJ]

from all countries, and will also announce reciprocal tariffs in the coming days.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-09/trump-plans-to-announce-25-steel-aluminum-tariffs-on-monday?srnd=homepage-americas

In addition, Bloomberg TV is also reporting that yesterday trump indicated the US may not pay all its debt.

What is interesting is the premarket is up, and there are "analysts" making excuse for him that he either misspoke or doesn't mean what he said. Yeah, let's give the sociopath the benefit of the doubt.

They sure never did that with President Biden.

I wonder what that will do with auto prices?

Stupid Americans. Yeah things were so bad under President Biden. Idiots, they didn't realize a good thing when they had it.


Bloomberg editorial opinion:

"Trump’s Man of Steel Posturing Makes America Weaker
Trying to protect the steel and aluminum industries as a path to nation-building is a doomed project.

If you want to reduce international trade and foreign relations to chest-beating displays of dominance, sooner or later you’re going to end up fighting about steel.

Hard, unbending, corrosion-resistant and essential to producing macho artifacts like skyscrapers, cars and armaments, the metal is indelibly associated with images of strength. President Donald Trump echoed that imagery in a photoshopped image last year showing himself as Superman, nicknamed the Man of Steel, on his Truth Social account.

.........

Make no mistake, however: Trying to protect the steel and aluminum industries as a path to nation-building is a doomed project that will make America weaker, not stronger."

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2025-02-10/trump-s-aluminum-steel-tariffs-make-america-weaker?srnd=homepage-americas

[Tickle]

1. He's trying to use PA steel

and buy making steel go up, with tariffs, PA steel becomes not to expensive. He's doing what he said he would do. 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️😐🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

[JohnSJ]

3. You don't think prices on all steel and aluminum products will go up worldwide if he follows through on this? I will

be watching the automobile prices with great interest to see how their stock prices behave in the coming weeks.

[Think. Again.]

6. As if PA could just fill all of the country's steel demand.

[Think. Again.]

2. There's goes the American manufacturing and construction industries.

[Lovie777]

4. This is not good....................

more layoffs and firings.

[bucolic_frolic]

5. May not pay debt

For months YouTube videos, the right wing sensationalist kind, have touted world financial collapse by March or April.

There was a headline here yesterday quoting Trump saying Elon has found "irregularities" in US Treasuries - that would be the T-Bonds.

If true, and of any size. that would collapse Money Markets, Treasuries, world panic!

Is it a plan to lightfinger Treasuries and invest them in Crypto?

Is it the iceberg of a bigger theft in progress?

[JohnSJ]

8. He is saying there is "fraud going on", with our treasuries, which is bullshit, and implying we will renege on some of

that debt.

https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/trump-says-us-might-have-less-debt-than-thought-2025-02-09/

He thinks he is running his own company where he tried to get out of paying contractors and others for bills he owed them, and then would spend years in court when they tried to collect.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

7. I think market is in massive denial of tRump's abberations. But it is sideways for 3 months. . . nt

[JohnSJ]

9. Either that or they are making excuses for him because they supported this reckless dangerous person, and they think

they can alter the direction he is going.

[everyonematters]

10. This is a targeted tariff. The effects might not be as drastic as other more pervasive tariffs although,

25% is substantial. Biden did the same thing, but only on China.

[JohnSJ]

11. I believe that was on steel and aluminum products imported through Mexico from China, and actually started under

trump's first term. As I understand it this is going to be on top of that, and isn't only aimed at China.

I will be very surprised if we don't see significant increases in prices on goods made with metal if these additional addon tariffs are levied.

[everyonematters]

13. The immediate impact of any tariffs is an increase in prices. Any benefits are delayed.

How long will it take the aluminum and steel industries to ramp up production to affect jobs and wages.

[JohnSJ]

16. I am not sure if any benefits will be realized, because they probably will be offset by reciprocal tariffs on our

exported products to other countries, who will find other alternatives for those US exported products. It potentially will be a mess.

I look at this along with speculation on things like bitcoin and other questionable products, along with inflated prices, and this sure has echo's of what led to the great depression, aggravated by the Smoot-Hawley tariff act, that significantly reduced international trade to create the economic downturn.

Add to that his appointment of so many unqualified people in areas ranging from economics, security, to healthcare, and I think unless something puts the brakes on this, we headed for a major disaster.

[everyonematters]

17. The notion that the Smoot-Hawley tariff act largely contributed to the great depression is a myth.

At the time that it was enacted imports amounted to about 3% of GNP. We were already a closed off economy. Concerns about investments in things that have nothing to do with the production of goods and services like bitcoins are well taken.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

20. Wrong. And it is a higher risk now as exports are about 11% of GDP.

The Act prompted retaliatory tariffs by many other countries.[4] The Act and tariffs imposed by America's trading partners in retaliation were major factors of the reduction of American exports and imports by 67% during the Great Depression.[5] Economists and economic historians have agreed that the passage of the Smoot–Hawley Tariff worsened the effects of the Great Depression.[6]
[6]Whaples, Robert (March 1995). "Where Is There Consensus Among American Economic Historians? The Results of a Survey on Forty Propositions" (PDF). The Journal of Economic History. 55 (1). Cambridge University Press: 144. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.482.4975. doi:10.1017/S0022050700040602. JSTOR 2123771. S2CID 145691938.

If an economy contracts 3% from recession, but you add another 2% from export collapse, that's more like a Depression, right? (technical definitions aside)

A 67% contraction of exports out of 11% is a 7% contraction of the economy. On top of deportations and whatever else is running around at the time.

[everyonematters]

21. That's why if you raise tariffs they need to be targeted or incremental not a big jump.

Most economists work for corporations. The great depression happened because there was too much investment that didn't result in the production of goods or services. You have the same thing today with corporations buying back their own stocks instead of investing in production. Biden did targeted tariffs.

[Mike 03]

12. Some of our closest allies, who are already fighting the temptation to

fall into the embrace of China (or Russia) are deeply upset. I was thinking of Australia in particular, because that is a country that wants to be in alliances with us but is receiving overtures from China--overtures it has mostly rejected.

This is just the WORST foreign policy. We are potentially driving our own allies into the sphere of influence of our adversaries.

[JohnSJ]

14. Unless something changes I wouldn't be surprised if our allies formed their own trade coalition that excluded the

U.S.,

When you have a president who is openly hostile to our allies, one would think they would do everything to protect themselves.

I also think if things continue as they are that consumer spending is going to be drastically reduced, especially on non-essential items.

It will take a little time, but everything points to price increases across the board.

[DFW]

15. I wonder if he has plans to absorb Jamaica yet?

Why he might want to do that: Jamaica has huge deposits of bauxite, a principle aluminum ore. Trump would love for that to be “USA-produced.”

Why he might not want to do that: Jamaica is populated principally by black people. Trump won’t want to naturalize more than two million more of them, hardly any of which would be voting for prople he likes.

[Johnny2X2X]

18. He 's actively trying to destroy the Biden economy

This is insane, it was less than a decade ago that Republicans were the ones against tariffs.

This raises costs for so many goods and products. It raises housing prices, raises car prices. It's a disaster.

The boost the steal industry needed was Biden making sure US steel was used in government projects. I am sure Trump will do away with that soon too.

[Johonny]

19. targeted tariffs at least smarter than blanket tariffs

But we should expect targeted tariffs in return.

The problem with Trump is that this is his plan this week. What is his plan next week? These ideas of his last one news cycle and then it is on to something else. There is no master plan. Only game show tactics.