Althouse: "Remember, Japan is, for the first time ever, OPENING ITS MA[R]KET TO THE USA, even to cars, SUV’s, Trucks, -and everything else, even agriculture and RICE..."

July 23, 2025

"Remember, Japan is, for the first time ever, OPENING ITS MA[R]KET TO THE USA, even to cars, SUV’s, Trucks, -and everything else, even agriculture and RICE..."

"... which was always a complete NO, NO. The Open Market Japan may be as big a profit factor as the Tariffs themselves, but was only gotten because of the Tariff Power. They also agreed to buy BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF MILITARY AND OTHER EQUIPMENT, and give us 90% of 550 BILLION DOLLARS - AND MORE!!! MAGA!!!"/"Indonesia has also agreed, for the first time ever, to COMPLETELY OPEN ITS MARKET TO THE USA. That’s BIG!!! Our businesses will make a fortune. Likewise Japan!"/"I will always give up Tariff points if I can get major countries to OPEN THEIR MARKETS TO THE USA. Another great power of Tariffs. Without them, it would be impossible to get countries to OPEN UP!!! ALWAYS, ZERO TARIFFS TO AMERICA!!!"/"I WILL ONLY LOWER TARIFFS IF A COUNTRY AGREES TO OPEN ITS MARKET. IF NOT, MUCH HIGHER TARIFFS! Japan’s Markets are now OPEN (for first time ever!). USA BUSINESSES WILL BOOM!"

Writes Trump on Truth Social this morning, here, here, here, and here.

114 comments:

Paddy O said...: You should do videos of you reading Trump... Truths? Socials?... out loud.; 7/23/25, 9:09 AM
Leland said...: Oh no, my retirement fund…. Just increased in value.; 7/23/25, 9:10 AM
rehajm said...: What say you newly minted economists?...Hello? Hello?; 7/23/25, 9:11 AM
Peachy said...: The CNN democratic-Soviets are saying the economy is about to crash. or did crash - or will crash. Doom!
LOL.; 7/23/25, 9:12 AM
Yancey Ward said...: Bich assured us this can't happen.; 7/23/25, 9:12 AM
RideSpaceMountain said...: Rice is hot right now, but if experience is any guide, the Japanese will be generally underwhelmed by the quality of American agricultural products. Those people take their food - especially produce - very seriously.; 7/23/25, 9:13 AM
rehajm said...: Just last night the Dumb and Dumber Jeff Daniels video was making the media rounds where he was hoping...hoping tariffs would damage Trump supporters financially ohpleaseohpleaseohplease....he should prolly off himself...; 7/23/25, 9:14 AM
hombre said...: But, but EPSTEIN!; 7/23/25, 9:21 AM
tommyesq said...: Trump and Gilbar really share a social media formatting style, don't they?; 7/23/25, 9:29 AM
Ronald J. Ward said...: Trump claims Japan has "opened its market for the first time ever." False. Japan has imported U.S. goods—including rice—for years. Same with Indonesia. There’s no evidence (or logic) behind the claim that Japan gave the U.S. 90% of $550B. And while U.S. tariffs are relatively low, it’s simply untrue that America gets “zero tariffs.”

This sounds like a recycled and wildly exaggerated 2019 headline now being repackaged as a bombshell—when in reality, it’s just another nothingburger designed to distract and dominate the narrative cycle.; 7/23/25, 9:36 AM
Achilles said...: I particularly appreciate the fact that Bessent and others in this administration have noticed that the "Economists" and "Experts" are all stupid and wrong all of hte time.

The Fed is full of PhD's that haven't been outside academia or some government office. They have no idea how the economy actually works because they have never participated in it.

Actual business people like Trump who have built actual things are far more intelligent and talented than any University professor or academic or politician.

In most fields like economics and business the most mediocre and talentless people get PhDs. If they were intelligent and talented they would go build something and make money.; 7/23/25, 9:37 AM
Achilles said...: Ronald J. Ward said...
Trump claims Japan has "opened its market for the first time ever." False. Japan has imported U.S. goods—including rice—for years. Same with Indonesia. There’s no evidence (or logic) behind the claim that Japan gave the U.S. 90% of $550B. And while U.S. tariffs are relatively low, it’s simply untrue that America gets “zero tariffs.”

This sounds like a recycled and wildly exaggerated 2019 headline now being repackaged as a bombshell—when in reality, it’s just another nothingburger designed to distract and dominate the narrative cycle.

Welp, looks like they will just resort to lying again using stupid quibbling semantics.

It is all they have. They are not just stupid and wrong, they are dishonest about it too.; 7/23/25, 9:39 AM
donald said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/23/25, 9:41 AM
mezzrow said...: I read Trump's "truths" as CIRCUS ADVERTISING FROM 1877!! EXOTIC ANIMALS!! THE MYSTERIOUS EGRESS!!

We remember Barnum because he was a success. So far, so good for Trump.; 7/23/25, 9:44 AM
Aggie said...: Is this the first indication of Japan's birth rate failure coming to the fore - the slow detonation of the population bomb? I wonder if they're starting to pave the way to imports because they realize they no longer have the people to make it at home.

Right now population is flat for the past few years around 123 million. But fertility rate is 1.26 per woman. It's expected to be under 120 million by 2030, and around 87 million by 2070.

Watching for the unthinkable: Japan starts controlled immigration in 5 years, becoming gradually less selective, the more desperate they get. I wonder why the government isn't incentivizing birth?; 7/23/25, 9:52 AM
Martin said...: Aggie: "slow detonation of the population bomb"
It turns out the population bomb is an implosion device.; 7/23/25, 10:04 AM
Skeptical Voter said...: Leland at 0910--you've got company. Numbers are looking good for some. My Never Trumper friends tell me the world is about to crash; the reports from my stock accounts say otherwise.; 7/23/25, 10:07 AM
john mosby said...: Aggie: "I wonder why the [Japanese] government isn't incentivizing birth?"

Robots.

They know if they stay the course a few more years, robots can do whatever they need young people to do. And the country can remain ethnically Japanese.

Heck, maybe return to the feudal system where a Daimyo leads a core of loyal human retainers who in turn lead robot peasants.

And don't get me started on Gundam....

RR
JSM; 7/23/25, 10:12 AM
Big Mike said...: The Japanese are a very xenophobic people. That the markets are open doesnz’t mean the people will buy.; 7/23/25, 10:13 AM
john mosby said...: I am serious about the robots, but even more seriously: Remember about 30 years ago when a Japanese politician wrote a booklet called "The Japan That Can Say No?"

I am certain Trump read it. And for 30 years he has been thinking, "why can't we be the America That Can Say No?"

And now we are.

RR
JSM; 7/23/25, 10:14 AM
RideSpaceMountain said...: Aggie said, "I wonder why the government isn't incentivizing birth?"

They are, same as Korea. And just like Korea, it's not working as well as they'd hoped for the same reason it isn't elsewhere: the fertility crisis isn't simply about economic incentives.; 7/23/25, 10:15 AM
rehajm said...: … and as per usual I give credit to Ann and the others here who, early on recognized Trump’s use of tariffs was a political strategy, not an economic one.; 7/23/25, 10:15 AM
Tina Trent said...: Ride Space Mountain: there is a big movement to produce superior and expensive rice in South Carolina. Oddly, Georgia was the largest rice producer some 115 years ago. The state legislators agreed to isolate crops for sale: peaches went to Georgia and rice to South Carolina. With the repeated failure of our peach crops and damage to our pecan crops, I think this may change in the near future. South Carolina is actually prime peach-growing land, and we are prime speciality rice growing land.

Government. What can't it do to screw up the natural order of events?; 7/23/25, 10:16 AM
RideSpaceMountain said...: To JSM's point, the fertility crisis is also about economic disincentives. Globally, people of prime child-bearing age are seeing strong headwinds of all sorts, technological included along with economic.

That can't be solved with a simple child tax-credit, regardless of how large.; 7/23/25, 10:18 AM
Kakistocracy said...: A deal a day keeps the Jeffrey at bay.🤣

“The US president said Japan would “open” its markets to American cars and rice”

Wow big win for Trump two areas where Japan is totally lacking a high quality domestic alternatives

Japanese car sales in US in 2024 = 3.28 million vehicles.
US car sales in Japan in 2024 = 230,000 vehicles.

They’ll have to eat a lot of rice.; 7/23/25, 10:20 AM
rehajm said...: Ironically, here in South Carolina it is difficult to find a peach at the Publix, but there are plenty of pop-up stands for SC peaches. There’s a good one what sets up in the strip club parking lot down by the GA state line. I’ve been working to enter the term ‘stripper peaches’ into common parlance…; 7/23/25, 10:21 AM
RideSpaceMountain said...: @Tina Trent, the largest rice growing states in the US are Arkansas and Missouri ("bootheel" primarily). However, the long-grain varieties primarily favored by US producers are A) considered generally low-to-mid tier quality internationally by those nations that value rice quality highly and B) as such are generally only used in food-processing or sold on secondary markets to lower bidders (India, Indonesia, SE Asia, Phillipines, etc.)

I day-trade commodities and have been a commodities trader for almost 15 years, fyi.; 7/23/25, 10:22 AM
Dave Begley said...: This is a giant win for the American economy and more wins are coming.; 7/23/25, 10:24 AM
Dave Begley said...: Big Mike, "The Japanese are a very xenophobic people. That the markets are open doesnz’t mean the people will buy."

But some will.; 7/23/25, 10:25 AM
RideSpaceMountain said...: IOW, American rice quality needs to improve dramatically to demand top dollar in the Chinese, Korean, and Japanese markets, and even then there will be some stigma to overcome in much the same way the French still poo-poo CA-produced wine despite it taking top honors over some French producers for years.

Especially in Japan, there's a lot of national pride tied to some foodstuffs.; 7/23/25, 10:25 AM
Kakistocracy said...: US cars and trucks in Japan? Go and look at the road network. They are too big and Japanese consumers are used to reliable machinery.

Still, at least US importers and consumers get to pay an extra 15% on their default purchases of Japanese cars and consumer goods.

It’s so bizarre watching MAGA supporters supporting a self imposed tax hike.; 7/23/25, 10:32 AM
rehajm said...: What’s a US car vs a Japanese car? Hyundai just opened their plant not far from me. Who claims those? btw, I think it’s the largest building I’ve ever seen. Driving past at interstate speeds it seemed like the facility was next to us for like five minutes…; 7/23/25, 10:33 AM
Paddy O said...: California rice is a huge global market, selling a lot to Asia. For some reason, and maybe my memory was wrong, there was even an agreement after WW2 for selling California rice to Japan.

I used to live in northern Sacramento not too far from vast rice fields (which can be seen off the 5 going from Sacramento to Davis). The flooding of the Sacramento and American rivers make it good locations.

According to USA Rice, California is the second largest rice producer in the nation.; 7/23/25, 10:39 AM
Peachy said...: Kak shows up with the ... BUT BUT BUT - 2003 fake Epstein letter!
Kak - you promised total decline in every direction. sucks to be you.; 7/23/25, 10:45 AM
Kakistocracy said...: Japanese Minister of Finance figures for 2024 record exact figures of 1,379,268 vehicles made in Japan and exported to US. The remaining 1.9 million are either manufactured in the US or in a non-US plant.; 7/23/25, 10:45 AM
Aggie said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/23/25, 10:46 AM
rhhardin said...: Japanese are told that Western rice is low quality. They remark on its not being at all true when they visit the US.; 7/23/25, 10:46 AM
Freder Frederson said...: So what, we are up to four preliminary deals, none of which has actually been signed yet, and completely lacking in detail.

What happened to 90 deals in 90 days (which btw was up on July 9)?

You people are incredibly gullible and easily manipulated.; 7/23/25, 10:48 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Charles Krauthammer is said to have coined the term "The Bush Doctrine".

Wikipedia: The Bush Doctrine refers to multiple interrelated foreign policy principles of the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush. These principles include unilateralism, preemptive war, and regime change.

In economic terms, aren't we seeing the development of a "Trump Economic Doctrine"?

Is it too soon, to call it? We can't turn to Krauthammer.

#Keep asking questions.; 7/23/25, 10:52 AM
tcrosse said...: It was Charles Krauthammer who coined the term Bush Derangement Syndrome, which was TDS avant la lettre.; 7/23/25, 10:55 AM
Political Junkie said...: kak - FO, and get a job.; 7/23/25, 11:00 AM
RideSpaceMountain said...: rhhardin said, "Japanese are told that Western rice is low quality. They remark on its not being at all true when they visit the US."

Hopefully the longer that trend continues the higher the price bidders will be willing to pay in the Asian commodities markets. There's a lot of bad info internationally about American products, much of it produced on purpose.; 7/23/25, 11:01 AM
Peachy said...: Leftists are horrified by American workers have access to good jobs.
The left are obsessed with making sure they stay in power by importing an illegal slave class.; 7/23/25, 11:06 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Whatever it is that Trump is doing, it seems to be working, despite the overwhelming prognostications that it wouldn't work.; 7/23/25, 11:11 AM
Kakistocracy said...: Trump is a real estate deal maker and doesn't seem to understand international trade. Clearly tariff revenue will increase for the US govt. and it will result in prices of impacted goods going up and or corporate profits being squeezed. Used to be uniform tariffs were applied across same goods regardless of where they come from. Trump is applying different % to countries, so Japanese cars will have a different tariff rate to German cars. Trump is determining the competitiveness of goods from different countries rather than their own competitiveness in manufacturing certain goods. Trump is introducing his own mental flaws and biases into the global trading system. Hard to believe that one man is deciding how the global trading system will work.

The global trading system is much bigger than the US and will continue to grow. The major dysfunction will be in the US markets

Trump is a wrecking ball; 7/23/25, 11:11 AM
Lazarus said...: Somebody needs to take away Don's "Caps Lock" key.
*
As I understand it, US tariffs on imports from Japan were low or non-existent after WWII in order to get the Japanese economy on its feet again and prevent a communist takeover.; 7/23/25, 11:18 AM
Yancey Ward said...: Bich's bleatings are comedy gold. I don't think I have ever seen an internet commenter as consistently wrong about everything every single day as our Bich/Kaka. If you had just taken $10 two years ago and consistently bet against every single ecomomic forecast Bich has given us every single day, you could have made a millioin dollars easily. It is almost the equivalent of being able to see the future.; 7/23/25, 11:19 AM
Kakistocracy said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/23/25, 11:27 AM
Kakistocracy said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/23/25, 11:28 AM
Kakistocracy said...: Toyota is up +8% on the news of a 15% tariff.

Why?

It's simple.

Ford, GM, Tesla, and all the other American manufacturers are going to be paying 50% more for their steel, 50% more for their copper, 25% more for their Canadian production, 25% more for their Mexican production, and 55% on their Chinese production.

Toyota only has to pay 15% more and they're done with all the shenanigans.

Ford has to pay much more than that. A lot more in fact.

We've given a Japanese car company an advantage over American car companies.

All in hope of bringing auto jobs back to America.

One Dimensional Chess.; 7/23/25, 11:29 AM
Rusty said...: You can always tell who has public sector jobs.; 7/23/25, 11:32 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: BTW... I'm seeing a lot of CAPITALISATION in that post.

Does that qualify as Trump raging?; 7/23/25, 11:33 AM
Aggie said...: "Toyota is up +8% on the news of a 15% tariff...."

The only thing about this issue that is 'one dimensional', is the quality of your thinking on the subject. Toyota exports vehicles from the USA to over 40 countries worldwide, you idiot. Last year they exported over 100,000 vehicles.; 7/23/25, 11:39 AM
Peachy said...: Aggie 11:39 - thank you.; 7/23/25, 11:41 AM
john mosby said...: Don't let the nationality of the companies distract you. As many here are pointing out, there's really no such thing as an American, Japanese, Italian, British, etc, car company anymore because of their interlocking supply chains.

Trump doesn't give a monkeys about what language a car company's name comes from, or about what the company's profits are (he's still fighting the battle to reshore US companies' profits, parallel to this tariff thing). He cares about whether American workers are getting the money paid for the car.

And even if the car's price is higher, if American customers are paying that money to American workers, we get a virtuous cycle that makes everyone richer.

Almost like MMT, but with real money.

RR
JSM; 7/23/25, 11:58 AM
gadfly said...: Japanese imports have declined by more than 25% over the past year because of Trump's new tariffs. So American jobs had to have declined in the automotive an electronics sector without increased sales of U.S. made products. The American consumer is not stupid when faced with higher prices no matter where the product is made.; 7/23/25, 11:58 AM
john mosby said...: Gadfly, the virtuous cycle isn't going to be instantaneous. The revolution takes a while, just like on the left.

RR
JSM; 7/23/25, 12:01 PM
Peachy said...: botfly - hoping for failure- and missing Crook Joe.; 7/23/25, 12:04 PM
Peachy said...: I guess we are going to skip past the COVID destruction years - as they factor into the current market - which is still attempting to recover.; 7/23/25, 12:06 PM
Leland said...: Just to emphasize Aggie’s point: https://pressroom.toyota.com/operations/; 7/23/25, 12:20 PM
gadfly said...: John Mosby: This deal means that Japanese cars will pay 15 percent tariffs, while U.S. car producers will still be paying 50 percent on imported steel. Not exactly a strategy to boost manufacturing. What was Trump thinking? As usual ecomomics are way over his head. Our manufacturing costs are climbing as well.

And as a result of his insistence that the Japanese must invest capital is unbelievable. So if the deal leads to more investment in the U.S., it must, necessarily, lead to a bigger trade deficit.

How would that work? Most likely, increased capital inflow from Japan will lead to a stronger dollar than we would have had otherwise, making all U.S. goods less competitive across the board.; 7/23/25, 12:24 PM
Bob Boyd said...: Maybe this will cheer Elon up. He's kinda been a buzzkill lately.; 7/23/25, 12:25 PM
Dogma and Pony Show said...: The comments ridiculing these deals definitely have me convinced: Clearly, the state of the American economy and industrial base under Biden-Harris was the very best it could possibly ever be. Nothing could improve upon it. Therefore, nothing Trump is doing or is trying to do now can possibly succeed. They were the masters, Biden and Harris. Everyone should have voted for Harris last year in order to lock in the status quo for at least four year or eight years, and perhaps forever.; 7/23/25, 12:26 PM
Bob Boyd said...: @ gadfly

"[In June GM] announced a huge investment in its domestic manufacturing plants over the course of the next two years, aiming to increase production at home of both EVs and ICE cars to more than two million vehicles per year.
GM will commit $4 billion to see this plan through, with the plants that will benefit the most from the investment (the company operates no less than 50 facilities) being the ones located in the states of Michigan, Kansas, and Tennessee.
The investment announced on June 10 by GM is separate from the $888 million promised to the Tonawanda Propulsion plant near Buffalo, New York, where the carmaking giant will be producing a next-generation V8 engine."

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/gm-to-make-2-million-vehicles-per-year-in-the-us-pledges-4-billion-to-make-it-happen-252774.html; 7/23/25, 12:33 PM
Bob Boyd said...: According to my sources the smart money is now long on American tentacle porn.; 7/23/25, 12:40 PM
Kai Akker said...: It's a new world! Unlimited American prosperity! My portfolio is up more than your portfolio!!!

Euphoria!!!

But the stock markets have been goosed upward for a long time. There is zero value left in American stocks by many measures that have set historic extremes. Warren Buffett has left the house.

Trump's mad forecasts are a dangerous indulgence. Many foreign markets look no better.

What old-Democrat Trump wants is not necessarily pro-capital. It is definitely pro-labor. Wall Street has had its turn and for a very, very long time.; 7/23/25, 12:41 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Is the R in MA[R]KET a Republican marker?; 7/23/25, 12:42 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Pretty sneaky Trump.; 7/23/25, 12:43 PM
Kakistocracy said...: "Japan will invest $550bn, at my direction, with the US keeping 90% of the profits". ~ Donald Trump

Who is investing? In what? Over what timeframe?

This is just fantasy and his supporters are so business or economically illiterate that they think countries are companies. It reminds me of the Brexit debates when people seemed to think "trade deals" were an agreement to buy goods as opposed to the rules that govern such transactions.; 7/23/25, 12:43 PM
n.n said...: Made in America... with capital benefits.; 7/23/25, 12:47 PM
Kakistocracy said...: Every US auto executive should be asked if they plan to build any cars specifically for Japanese export.; 7/23/25, 12:49 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: The Bush Doctrine asserted American military preeminence.

Does the Trump Doctrine assert the same thing, economically?; 7/23/25, 12:49 PM
Temujin said...: Wall Street loves the announcement. I love that Wall Street loves it. I suspect everyone here will be better for it.; 7/23/25, 12:50 PM
Bob Boyd said...: @ Kak

It should be obvious because they drive on the left side of the road in Japan.; 7/23/25, 12:52 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Nobody sees the ‘Trump is like Bush’ tag coming because the personality of the two men are quite different. We tend to default to personality, when comparing, rather than principle.; 7/23/25, 12:57 PM
n.n said...: Trump recognizes that market corruption progresses through Diverse mechanisms: labor and environmental arbitrage, for one. Hybrid markets, for another. Progressive prices evolve with affordability policies conceived in redistributive change schemes.; 7/23/25, 12:57 PM
Peachy said...: Kak demands:
"Every US auto executive should be asked if they plan to build any cars specifically for Japanese export. "

Perhaps democrats can grill and threaten... that's what your Soviet team does best.; 7/23/25, 12:59 PM
boatbuilder said...: Gadfly--How much will the U.S. car producers (notably including Toyota, Honda and Subaru) be paying for U.S. produced steel instead of foreign? Isn't that the point?; 7/23/25, 1:17 PM
Skeptical Voter said...: What's the line from Rooster Cogburn? "Bold talk for a fat man"? Look I think the trade deals are a good thing for the USA--the Donald is throwing his weight around and getting some good things done. That said I could use less hyperbole in the announcements.; 7/23/25, 1:19 PM
cfs said...: Trump and his team are good at making these deals. And the deals are great for American businesses. I saw an article yesterday regarding farmers who are ecstatic over their increased sales and income. More and more tariff deals are being made and they are good for our nation.

Yesterday the WSJ had a headline:
"Why Are Stocks Up? Nobody Knows'

To supposedly be a financial news and business site, the editors sure are clueless. Main street is optimistic and the "experts" are clueless. I've been making out like a bandit in my day trading account. Yesterday alone, it was up over 3%; and that's on top of the ~25% it's been up since the first of February.; 7/23/25, 1:27 PM
cfs said...: "Trump's plan to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. is working.

AstraZeneca announces $50 billion US manufacturing investment, matching its big pharma peers"

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/astrazeneca-announces-50-billion-us-manufacturing-investment-matching-its-big-pharma-peers-213001246.html; 7/23/25, 1:33 PM
Freder Frederson said...: Trump and his team are good at making these deals. And the deals are great for American businesses.

Based on Trump's own standards, he and his team suck at making these deals. What happened to "90 deals in 90 days"? And how many of these brilliant deals are actually signed, sealed and delivered.

Man, you believe some bullshit.; 7/23/25, 1:45 PM
Freder Frederson said...: How much will the U.S. car producers (notably including Toyota, Honda and Subaru) be paying for U.S. produced steel instead of foreign? Isn't that the point?

If steel from the rest of the world is subject to a 50% tariff, then domestic producers can easily raise the price of their steel by up to 49.9% (yes, it will probably be more like 40 or 45%, just so they don't appear so greedy) and still out-compete imports. And while domestic steel production may remind us of the days when America great, the actual number of workers employed in the production of steel pales in comparison to those industries that consume steel.; 7/23/25, 1:52 PM
Freder Frederson said...: What old-Democrat Trump wants is not necessarily pro-capital. It is definitely pro-labor.

Exactly what policies of Trump are pro-labor?; 7/23/25, 1:58 PM
Paul said...: Excellent!!! This is why I voted for Trump... he is doing just what he said he would do!!!! MAGA!!!; 7/23/25, 2:01 PM
Meade said...: Sir, it’s too much winning. Please, we can’t take it. It’s too much!; 7/23/25, 2:02 PM
Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...: It doesn’t really matter if the trade deals work or not. I’ve been assured by experts that Trump has already destroyed the economy. It just doesn’t know it’s dead yet.

Btw, how many trade deals did the dementia patient sign during his four years?; 7/23/25, 2:04 PM
Achilles said...: Freder Frederson said...
What old-Democrat Trump wants is not necessarily pro-capital. It is definitely pro-labor.

Exactly what policies of Trump are pro-labor?

Lower taxes on domestic production.

Less illegal immigration.

Tariffs on foreign made goods.

This is a formula even an idiot can recognize.; 7/23/25, 2:09 PM
Meade said...: “Exactly what policies of Trump are pro-labor?”

Here’s an idea — talk with some real live American private sector workers. Ask them. (Not while they’re on the job though. Real workers prefer gitten’r done over chitchatting with effete impudent snobs doing sociological studies.). Be cool, Calvin.; 7/23/25, 2:11 PM
Left Bank of the Charles said...: The market seems to like the deal, and I accept its judgement. If some of the commenters here are correct that the benefits of the deal to the U.S. are a bit of an illusion, I’m OK with Trump chickening out. That may be the secret sauce to his having a great Presidency. He should do a lot more of it.; 7/23/25, 2:13 PM
Achilles said...: Left Bank of the Charles said...
The market seems to like the deal, and I accept its judgement. If some of the commenters here are correct that the benefits of the deal to the U.S. are a bit of an illusion, I’m OK with Trump chickening out. That may be the secret sauce to his having a great Presidency. He should do a lot more of it.

Just because you are too stupid to understand what Trump is doing doesn’t make what he is doing wrong.

It just means you are too stupid to understand what he is doing.

You need to learn some very basic logic.; 7/23/25, 2:18 PM
narciso said...: new round of trolls, still not very good, they got to be bring their
C game, incapable of bringing their a game,; 7/23/25, 2:19 PM
narciso said...: do any of these so called professional economists know what they are talking about, it seems they find a hundred excuses tojustify emiseration and debt, and nary a word to promote prosperity,

that is not to say this program is perfect, but the road we have going on, leads to collapse; 7/23/25, 2:26 PM
Freder Frederson said...: Lower taxes on domestic production.

Less illegal immigration.

Tariffs on foreign made goods.

Tariffs do not "lower" taxes on domestic production, they raise taxes on imported goods. Even if they did "lower" taxes, that is neither pro- or anti-labor.

Less illegal immigration may indeed help domestic labor, but unless you are advocating raising wages for the kind of jobs illegal immigrants take (and Trump is certainly no fan of organized labor or the minimum wage), then such a policy is hardly pro-labor.

Tariffs on foreign made goods increase prices, how is that pro-labor?; 7/23/25, 2:34 PM
My name goes here. said...: "Tariffs on foreign made goods increase prices, how is that pro-labor?"

If it costs $X to make a product, like aluminum, in China with NO pollution controls and it costs $X+Y to make it in the United States because we have laws about pollution and labor and not systematically killing Uyghurs then all Aluminum will be made in China. If a Tariff on imports from China makes the price of Aluminum be $X+T and that is more than $X+Y then Aluminum will be made in the United States.; 7/23/25, 2:54 PM
rehajm said...: Yah it’s fun to make fun, dismal science and all. I suspect most of you look at Summers or Krugman or the CEA and assume that’s what they all do but they are serving political motives. Some of you will quote Adam Smith or Ludwig and some of you read my links to John Cochrane so it isn’t all venom. At the very least some credit for Mankiw and Ec10, which is quite informative but politically banal…; 7/23/25, 2:55 PM
Iman said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/23/25, 3:00 PM
Iman said...: These lefties and their political “leaders”… they pursue power by using any means necessary because they need access to the U.S. Treasury to fund the policies and grift (NGOs) they need to exist. Much to the detriment of our nation. Truth be told, they don’t give a rat’s ass about our nation.; 7/23/25, 3:03 PM
narciso said...: well their economic models should work in real life no, now third rate diviners like Mark Zandi, they just need to be chased off the stage,; 7/23/25, 3:05 PM
Achilles said...: Freder Frederson said...
Lower taxes on domestic production.

Less illegal immigration.

Tariffs on foreign made goods.

Tariffs do not "lower" taxes on domestic production, they raise taxes on imported goods. Even if they did "lower" taxes, that is neither pro- or anti-labor.

You have to tax something. Trump is shifting the tax burden from domestic producers and their employees to goods produced in other countries.

This obviously benefits domestic labor.

Less illegal immigration may indeed help domestic labor, but unless you are advocating raising wages for the kind of jobs illegal immigrants take (and Trump is certainly no fan of organized labor or the minimum wage), then such a policy is hardly pro-labor.

Minimum wage increases always lead to lower wages. The minimum wage will always be zero. Employers must make a profit off employee labor.

If the minimum wage is higher than the amount of money an employer will make employing someone then that person will lose their job.

Some people do not have skills that make them valuable enough to be paid minimum wage. They need to work to build those skills. The minimum wage always hurts the lowest skilled workers.

Tariffs on foreign made goods increase prices, how is that pro-labor?

If you make this argument then you must accept that taxes on Americans and their corporations have the same effect.

At this point you are at step one above. You must tax something. All Trump is doing here is shifting the tax burden from domestic producers and their employees to goods made in other countries.

This creates the obvious benefit to adding more production in the USA. This increase the demand for labor in the USA. Coupled with reducing the supply of exploited foreign labor this will increase wages just like in Trump’s first term and now.

This is actually increasing wages.

Raising the minimum wage just creates unemployment.; 7/23/25, 3:13 PM
Jim at said...: Bich assured us this can't happen.

Being consistently wrong isn't a bug for that guy. It's a feature.; 7/23/25, 3:24 PM
rehajm said...: …like other stem disciplines just about when there’s certainty new data says there isn’t… but there’s not much argument about sd curves or what happens when nations try to print their way out. The IB chief econs help sell product and outside of an observational nugget or two there’s many words but not much said. That said they never said they were gurus…; 7/23/25, 3:29 PM
Kai Akker said...: ---Tariffs on foreign made goods increase prices, how is that pro-labor? [FrFr]

Equalizing the playing field will end the popular international arbitrage against American free markets. That's why many had already started building more US-based production facilities. Now more are joining that crowd. Who will be hired to fill these industrial plants?

Good chance for young baristas..... : ); 7/23/25, 3:30 PM
Douglas B. Levene said...: If you have ever been to Japan, you would know that a Toyota Camry is a full-sized car, one that’s not easy to drive around Japan’s narrow, twisty streets. The notion that Japanese are going to be lining up to buy F150s, Silverados and Rams, the three top selling U.S. made vehicles in the U.S., is ridiculous.; 7/23/25, 3:55 PM
john mosby said...: Trump should have said: "We will be BIG IN JAPAN!"

https://youtu.be/tl6u2NASUzU?si=wKtsD78lR-xNB4m4

RR
JSM; 7/23/25, 4:01 PM
bagoh20 said...: Nasdaq is up 37% since the day just a few months ago when Trump told us it was a good time to buy, and some here told us how bad Trump is at economics and trade. That's years of return in about 3 1/2 months, and apparently a sign of failure for some.; 7/23/25, 4:05 PM
Kakistocracy said...: Tesla Profit Falls, Hurt by Plunging EV Sales ~ WSJ

“Tesla’s second-quarter profits fell 23% as sales of its electric vehicles continued to slide.”

Auto operating margins for an auto company. Who would have thought.

This is getting ridiculous. Sale and margin keep falling, earnings propped up by credits that are not going to last forever and are an imbalance to the unit economics of Tesla.

If the US were truly about capitalism, then you’d allow BYD to sell in the US market and that would be the implosion of Tesla. That’s even allowing for the carbon credits.

The robotaxi experiment is such a slow burner and miles behind Waymo…; 7/23/25, 4:06 PM
john mosby said...: Kak: "“Tesla’s second-quarter profits fell 23% as sales of its electric vehicles continued to slide.”

Why yes, Musk knew that Trump policies would hurt one of his business, yet he supported Trump anyway.

Why? Because he loves his adopted country. And he saw Trump almost give his life. So he figured he can at least give up a few bucks.

RR
JSM; 7/23/25, 4:14 PM
bagoh20 said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/23/25, 4:57 PM
bagoh20 said...: Tesla is suffering from the fact that most of the people excited about getting an EV already got one. The rest of us are a much harder sell, and they really need to work on the aesthetics of the whole brand. The car designs are boring, and I think that Cyber Truck is ugly, and the people who don't already have one.; 7/23/25, 4:58 PM
Peachy said...: Minnesota is heavy invested in Tesla - so Tim Walz should be happy.; 7/23/25, 6:14 PM
Kakistocracy said...: It cannot be denied that Trump is having some success with this, at least in terms of raising some extra tax revenue, which, depending on trade price elasticities, may well be partly extracted from foreigners. And to the extent that the tariffs raise US prices, they may make some additional US production substituting for imports viable.

How long that will be sustained, and the effects on goodwill towards the US, are other matters, because much of Trump's leverage is based on inertia / friction. features of the economies of trade blocs which export to the US, and countries' foreign exchange reserves allocations, have been predicated on reasonable behavior from the US continuing indefinitely, which Trump is effectively holding as hostages. The countries affected probably consider the potential upheaval of facing down Trump to be too much trouble, so are conceding "deals". But their main motive for doing so is to make time to adjust, especially gradually extracting their hostages. And as that pull-back nears completion, they will drive harder bargains with the USA, and less inclined to be cooperative. In short, Trump is undermining America economically and geopolitically for the longer term.

Economic pain can be delayed by running record deficits amid full employment until.. it's someone else's problem.; 7/23/25, 6:18 PM
Freder Frederson said...: Anne:

"Equalizing the playing field will end the popular international arbitrage against American free markets. That's why many had already started building more US-based production facilities. Now more are joining that crowd. Who will be hired to fill these industrial plants?"

This comment is obviously a (very bad) spambot. I recommend you block it.; 7/23/25, 8:03 PM
effinayright said...: Douglas B. Levene said...
If you have ever been to Japan, you would know that a Toyota Camry is a full-sized car, one that’s not easy to drive around Japan’s narrow, twisty streets. The notion that Japanese are going to be lining up to buy F150s, Silverados and Rams, the three top selling U.S. made vehicles in the U.S., is ridiculous.
**************
Having lived in Japan, I agree entirely.

Also a major factor: Japan drives on the "other side" of the road, like the Brits .

Historically American auto makers have resisted changing their drive trains to deal with that, all the while bleating about being frozen out of the market.

Try seeing other cars when passing, or going through toll booths, while driving on the "wrong" side of the car, on the "wrong" side of the road.; 7/24/25, 12:26 PM