The baseline tariffs remain, specifically as they pertain to China.  However, in a move to diminish public backlash President Trump has now exempted the majority of consumer electronics from the 125% reciprocal tariff levy.

The types of electronic and computer systems exempted, as announced by U.S Customs & Border Protection, Cargo Systems Messaging Service [DATA HERE], is extensive.  The machines used to make semiconductors will also be exempt.

All of the following products are now exempt from the larger global tariffs, including the tariffs in place against China:

•Computers (laptops, desktops, servers) •Workstations •Computer systems •Keyboards •Mice •Hard drives •Memory modules (RAM) •Power supplies •Computer motherboards •Graphic cards •Semiconductor manufacturing equipment: •Photolithography machines •Etching and doping machines •Wafer handling robots •Cleanroom systems used in chip fabrication Used by companies like TSMC, Intel, and Samsung in chip production. •Smartphones •Mobile phones with data transmission capabilities •Devices like iPhones, Android phones, and similar mobile communication devices •Wireless routers •Network switches •Modems (cable, DSL, etc.) •VoIP equipment •Communication hubs •Internet gateway devices •USB flash drives •SSDs (solid-state drives) •Memory cards (like SD, microSD) •Other flash storage devices used in everything from laptops to cameras and game consoles. •Individual solar cells, unassembled •Photovoltaic cells assembled into modules or panels, with or without bypass diodes •Custom or specialty solar panels •Microprocessors (CPUs, SoCs) •Memory chips (RAM, Flash, etc.) •Logic ICs, analog ICs, mixed-signal ICs •Specialized application chips (ASICs, GPUs, AI chips) •Widely used in all electronics: smartphones, laptops, vehicles, appliances, industrial controls •All types of LEDs [SOURCE]

The exemption announced April 11th is retroactive back to April 5th.  According to the announcement, companies who imported during the window of tariffs may request a refund due to changes in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).

This is a major appeasement move to both the Communist Party of China (Beijing) and corporate tech titans like Apple.

There is no other honest framework to view this, other than President Trump retreated fearing backlash from corporate donors, Silicon Valley allies and the broader system of adverse politics.  The administration will try to spin this, but it is a really bad look.

Elon Musk won the argument, defeating Peter Navarro, Howard Lutnick, Scott Bessent and Stephen Miller.  I was wrong.  Obviously, Elon Musk has the most power and influence in the administration.

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Comedian and avowed leftist who adored Barack Obama, Bill Maher, used his HBO show to describe what it was like to meet with President Trump for dinner at the White House.

There is quite a bit of salty language in this segment that aired on HBO. Proceed accordingly. WATCH:

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Regarding the recently released Russiagate files. Again, emphasizing that process matters, let me explain how and why we are being purposefully misled, even with Trump ‘allies’ in control of various govt agencies (silos).

Using the reference of the James Wolfe storyline, let me outline how process matters and how you can tell when the process is being used to coverup corrupt activity in Washington DC.

Former Senate Intelligence Community Security Chief, James Wolfe, leaked the Carter Page FISA application to journalist Ali Watkins. We know from the DOJ indictment of James Wolfe [SEE HERE], a very specific set of evidence and key dates that was assembled against him.

James Wolfe was nailed for lying to FBI investigators about his leaks to Ali Watkins on December 15, 2017.  That is the date of the second interview with Wolfe.  During the third interview a few days later, Wolfe was shown the evidence against him, and he admitted his lies.  However, his indictment was not unsealed until June 7, 2018.

Key Dates: Busted for guilt December 15, 2017.  Indicted June 7, 2018.

♦ The evidence against Wolfe included text messages between Senate Intel Vice-Chairman Mark Warner, and the lawyer for Oleg Deripaska, an attorney named Adam Waldman. The text messages were made public on Feb 8, 2018, [SOURCE] four months before Wolfe was indicted.

♦ The evidence against Wolfe included text messages between Wolfe and journalist Ali Watkins.  Ms Watkins was notified of her phone records being seized by FBI investigators on February 13, 2018, [SOURCE] again four months before Wolfe was indicted.

Why was this evidence, all of which would have been useful at trial, purposefully released by the Mueller investigation who was in charge of everything related to Russiagate at the time.

Shortly after James Wolfe was indicted, the Title-1 FISA application he leaked was then released to the public under the auspices of a FOIA request.  Wolfe indicted June 7, 2018, the FISA application released publicly July 21, 2018 [SOURCE].

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The absolute #1 tell highlighting this as a nonsense exercise, a delay tactic on behalf of the swamp, is the venue for Tulsi Gabbard’s “new task force” announcement, Sean Hannity.

In order to pass DC approvals for confirmation, Gabbard had to join the ‘FISA is awesome’ club.  Now, she aligns her DNI silo with the foolishness of the Sean Hannity ‘tick-tock’ club.  Sorry, but we’ve seen this performance so many times it is now blood boiling to watch them try and repeat it.

DNI Gabbard claims she is creating a new “transparency task force” to analyze information for potential declassification and public release.  However, the task force will now have to “dig” until they have every document discovered, before they can release it, because releasing information as it is discovered is against the operational mission of the people who control the silo process.  But she swears, if you wait for it, it will come. “Trust the plan.”

Oh, it’s so complicated.

Oh, it’s so big and hard to do.

Oh, the evidence is so hard to find.

This is the same nonsense story from Bill Barr, John Durham, Michael Horowitz and the other previous members of the Sean Hannity ‘tick-tock club,’ including John Solomon (controlled releases) and other “conservatively aligned” tradecraft media.  Barr is now Bondi, Wray is now Kash, Durham is now Bongino, the audience is the same.  It’s nonsense.

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The rapid change in Ursula von der Leyen now starts to make sense.  According to a press release [SEE HERE] from European Big Pharma, they recently had a meeting with the EU Komisar and threatened to leave Europe if the trade system is not renegotiated quickly.

President Trump is on the cusp of announcing a big change in tariffs against foreign pharmaceutical companies in an effort to get the manufacturing of medicines brought back to the USA.  Details are soon to surface.

In a proactive move, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), went to the European Commission (EC) yesterday to hold talks with von der Leyen, calling for radical change and holding the threat of an exodus to the U.S. over the EC president’s head.

PRESS RELEASE – Today, CEOs of the research-based pharmaceutical industry issued a stark warning to President von der Leyen that unless Europe delivers rapid, radical policy change then pharmaceutical research, development and manufacturing is increasingly likely to be directed towards the US.

A survey of EFPIA member companies conducted last week – to which 18 international large and medium-sized innovative companies responded – identified as much as 85% of capital expenditure investments (approximately €50.6 billion) and as much as 50% of R&D expenditure (approximately €52.6 billion) potentially at risk. This is out of a current combined total of €164.8 billion in investments planned for the period 2025-2029 in the EU-27 territory. Over the next three months, companies that responded estimate that a total of €16.5 billion i.e. 10% of the total investment plans is at risk.

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When President Trump announced the 90-day pause in combination with the increase in tariffs against China, there was a background element missed by many.

At the moment President Trump triggered the public announcement, U.S. Trade Representative Jamison Greer was testifying to congress.

President Trump is not a jerk.  Donald Trump would not put a top executive Greer in that optically vulnerable position if USTR Greer was the tip of the spear, it’s just bad business form.

The timing and background indicate something more substantial.  For what we are calling ‘the BIG UGLY’ Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is the point, Greer is a functionary.  It’s a shift from the Term-1 approach, because the global trade reset is magnitudes bigger and more substantive.

This approach would also explain why Robert Lighthizer was not reenlisted in Term-2.  If Lighthizer was in Greer’s chair in front of congress at the moment of the public announcement, he would have been furious and rightly so.  Lighthizer and Wilbur Ross were the tip of the spear in term-1, Lighthizer facing the region of Asia and Ross facing Europe; but the same strategy is not present in term-2.

In the Term-2 trade reset, the entire globe is being targeted simultaneously.  Enter, the U.S. Treasury Secretary in a bigger, more substantive, and much more prominent role due to the scale of the trade reset.

This trade approach is much bigger, obviously. As the nuclear-level trade detonation takes place, Secretary Bessent is in control of both the financial market response and the core finances of the USA as it relates to the reverberations.

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This is an excellent example of what Attorney General Pam Bondi should be focused on instead of her appearances on Fox News.

The Federal Housing and Finance Agency has released a public statement highlighting an internal review and investigation of conduct within Fannie Mae that has resulted in the termination of over 100 employees for “unethical conduct” including the “facilitation of fraud.”

If the FHMA is finding intentional fraud within the housing loan offices, those federal employees should be arrested and legally prosecuted for their conduct.  It is not enough to just fire people, there has to be legal accountability.  These are the government regulators for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Washington, D.C. — Today, the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency (U.S. Federal Housing FHFA) and Fannie Mae issued the following statement:

“In President Trump’s housing market, there is no room for fraud, mortgage fraud, or any other deceitful act that can jeopardize the safety and soundness of the housing industry,” said William J. Pulte, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Fannie Mae. “Since my swearing-in, we fired over 100 employees from Fannie Mae who we caught engaging in unethical conduct, including facilitating fraud, against our great company.  Anyone who commits fraud against Fannie Mae does so against the American people.”

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Appearing 4/8/25 on CNBC, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent outlined some of the specifics within the negotiation strategy of President Trump as it pertains to the ongoing global trade reset.

Bessent notes at the request of President Trump, all administration officials were to pull back from commentary following the “liberation day” tariff announcement.  The objective was to give all nations’ time to absorb the impact while reducing the reverberation noise.

After a few days, President Trump then began to assess the inbound communication from various country leaders and their request for renegotiation.  The priority schedule permits the honest trade allies to come first in the que to the office of U.S. Trade Representative Jamison Greer, as approved by President Trump.

Japan and South Korean delegations and trade representatives will be the first trade teams engaged; not coincidently both of those ASEAN nations have pre-positioned manufacturing investment in the USA, the truest measure of a trade partnership.  The outcome of these first agreements will form the baseline for every nation thereafter.

Both Japan and South Korea have North American manufacturing systems in place; however, it is likely more investment in U.S jobs and products being created in mainland USA will remain a top priority.  Additionally, for these nations the largest element of their “reciprocity” will come from a commitment to reduce the trade deficit with better terms and bigger contracts for U.S. product imports.

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President Donald Trump attended the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) dinner in Washington DC.

The main topic of President Trump’s remarks is the global trade reset, which includes a cumulative 104% tariff on China, as Beijing attempts to devalue currency and retain economic status.  President Trump is in full wolverine mode on the issue of trade.  There is no other issue that commands this level of intensity and deliberate effort.

MAGAnomics, American Main Street and economic security as national security priority, is the core issue to define President Trump’s doctrine. He is bringing the thunder, which we have referenced as “The Big Ugly.”  WATCH:

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National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett appeared on Fox News to discuss the first week impact from President Trump’s global trade reset and implementation of reciprocal tariffs.

Director Kevin Hassett notes that so many countries are calling and requesting to renegotiate their trade agreements, the National Economic Council is having difficulty keeping up with appointment scheduling and establishing a prioritization list for President Trump to review.

That said, Hassett notes that Japan and South Korea will likely be the first two nations for U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and President Trump to engage with.  Apparently, Xi Jinping (China) and Ursula von der Leyen (EU) will ride their bicycles in slow circles at the bottom of the White House driveway while angrily staring at the windows.

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It looks like Kevin “Quokka” Hassett is having fun.

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