Lone Candle
Champion of Truth
“In 2023, the most recent year for which full data are available, the average U.S. tariff on British goods was 3.3 percent.
That means this “deal” charges American consumers a 10 percent baseline tax on goods that were previously taxed at 3.3 percent. That’s not a win for free trade or lower prices.”
https://reason.com/2025/05/09/the-u-k-trade-deal-screws-american-consumers/
“Some people, including a former Trump administration official speaking to Politico, speculate that China’s threatened rare earth cut-off was more damaging to automakers and the defense industry than anyone’s letting on, and that China actually can log this one as a W; “China’s export restrictions to the United States worked. It created enough pain to compel the U.S. government to plead with the Chinese government to reverse course,” the official told Politico.”
https://reason.com/2025/05/13/no-divorce-from-china/
“the deal is a tidy illustration of how President Donald Trump has conducted his global trade war. With China, Trump hiked tariffs to astronomical levels while promising those taxes (which are paid by Americans) would unleash prosperity and create jobs. Then, the White House celebrated the agreement that reduced those tariffs as “the art of the deal.” They are literally doing the meme.
But the “deal” means that imports from China will be subjected to significantly higher tariffs than when Trump took office. Those tariffs will continue to be a serious economic burden for American businesses and consumers, and the threat of even higher tariffs remains—because the “deal” only pauses those tariffs for 90 days, and because Trump’s mercurial nature means no one can really be sure what is coming next.”
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“the remaining 30 percent tariff, which is stacked on top of preexisting tariffs from Trump’s first term, “will still make for an expensive back to school and holiday season for most Americans,” Lamar said in a statement. “If freight rates spike due to the tariff-induced shipping disruptions—which will take months to unwind—we could see costs and prices creep up even further.””
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“both America and China are still worse off than they were a few months ago. Trump has used constitutionally dubious economic powers to raise and then lower tariffs, creating huge costs and even greater uncertainty.
Rather than praising the president for backing down from an insane position, as the White House believes Americans should do, the proper response to Trump’s latest tariff maneuvers is the same as it has always been: Congress must take away his tariff powers.”
https://reason.com/2025/05/14/trumps-deal-with-china-leaves-american-consumers-and-exporters-facing-higher-tariffs-than-before/
Cool.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgGVttwEi1I
“A growing number of the nation’s top tech firms have hired remote information technology workers, only to discover that the employees were actually North Korean cyber operatives.
Their goal? Cashing in on top tech salaries to funnel millions of dollars back to Pyongyang for its weapons program.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/12/north-korea-remote-workers-us-tech-companies-00340208
“Donald Trump’s team cuts tariffs to 30 percent, while China slashes its levies to 10 percent. Now they have 90 days to do a deal.”
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“The de-escalation does not affect tariffs ranging up to 25 percent that Trump imposed on more than $300 billion worth of Chinese goods during his first term, leaving a wide range of goods with effective tariff rates of either 37.5 percent or 55 percent.”
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“It also does not roll back the 25 percent “sectoral” tariffs that Trump has imposed on autos, steel and aluminum, U.S. officials said. Some other tariff increases that President Joe Biden imposed, such as on electric vehicles, also are not affected.”
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“In a separate interview on CNBC, Bessent said the two sides may use the “Phase 1” trade deal that Trump negotiated during his first term as the “starting point” for negotiations. That pact called on China to buy an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese goods in 2020 and 2021, but Beijing fell well short of the goal.”
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“The remaining 30 percent tariff on Chinese goods from Trump’s second term reflects a 10 percent “reciprocal” baseline tariff that Trump imposed on all countries on April 2 and a 20 percent tariff that he imposed earlier this year to pressure China to do more to stop the flow of precursor chemicals that are used to make fentanyl.”
https://www.politico.eu/article/us-china-cut-tariffs-dramatically-donald-trump-trade-war/
“A majority of people surveyed had an overall negative perception of the U.S., marking a steep decline from last year. America’s reputation took a particularly massive hit in EU countries — perhaps unsurprisingly, as U.S. President Donald Trump has called the bloc “horrible,” “pathetic” and “formed to screw the United States.””
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“Meanwhile, China kept improving its global standing, overtaking the U.S. for the first time and recording mostly positive perceptions in all regions except Europe.”
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“Trump’s reputation is in line with that of his country. The survey showed he’s less popular worldwide than his Russian and Chinese counterparts, Putin and Xi Jinping.”
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“Israel emerged as the country with the worst global reputation of those included in the poll, especially in the Middle East and South Asia. Israel is unpopular even in European countries that have historically been its allies, such as Germany, signaling growing discomfort with its government’s conduct in Gaza and the West Bank.”
https://www.politico.eu/article/usa-popularity-collapse-worldwide-trump-return/
“An Israeli-American soldier held hostage for more than 19 months in the Gaza Strip was released Monday by Hamas in a goodwill gesture toward the Trump administration that could lay the groundwork for a new ceasefire with Israel.”
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“Israel says it still plans to escalate its offensive”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/hamas-says-release-american-israeli-073629378.html
The United States military is going to lose its technological edge because it doesn’t invest enough in science.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRfh331wTCs
US to begin admitting white South African refugees
https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-begin-admitting-white-south-234335569.html