White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hold press gaggle outside the White House. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gives details on the China tariff increase and the 90- day tariff pause on other countries.

As outlined in the press remarks, 75 countries have contacted the White House to renegotiate their access to the U.S. consumer market.  Secretary Bessent noted, each of these new trade agreements needs to be handled independently and “President Trump wants to be personally involved in each one. That’s why there is a 90-day pause.”

Bessent revisited his prior comments and warning to global trade partners about not retaliating to last week’s announcement.  The hostile response from China was the triggering mechanism for the tariff increase. WATCH:

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The first part of this announcement is clear, Chinese tariffs are now raised to 125% effective immediately.  The latter part of this announcement is less clear; however, it appears that all other trading nations have their reciprocal tariffs lowered to 10% for a period of 90-days.

“Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets, I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately. At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable.

Conversely, and based on the fact that more than 75 Countries have called Representatives of the United States, including the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and the USTR, to negotiate a solution to the subjects being discussed relative to Trade, Trade Barriers, Tariffs, Currency Manipulation, and Non Monetary Tariffs, and that these Countries have not, at my strong suggestion, retaliated in any way, shape, or form against the United States, I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”  [SOURCE]

♦ Steel and Aluminum tariffs of 25% remain for all.

♦ Auto tariffs of 25% remain for all.

♦ Reciprocal tariffs 10% for all, 125% for China.

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“Shark Tank” star and investor Kevin O’Leary says President Trump’s tariffs on China aren’t high enough and calls for a 400% tariff on the country. “It’s time to squeeze Chinese heads into the wall.”

O’Leary wants President Trump to go full wolverine. Awesome.  WATCH:

Full Segment Below:

My thoughts: Replace the Tech Bro regiment with union Democrats.  We were always destined to lose Silicon Valley, lets control the timeline of departure. The self-interest dynamic has now shifted. Ship the Tech Bros to China, then invite Vladimir Putin to a State Dinner.

We are at a very important inflection point. If we are going to face The Big Ugly with China, we cannot afford divided loyalties. We cannot afford conflicted interests.

Pull in the knuckle-draggers, the pipefitters, the hardcore unions and even the sketchy elements of the criminal underground who at least love America more than all else.  The core weapons we now need are brutal power, economic nationalism and industrial patriotism.

We are now at the moment when we need Whiskey to replace Soy. It’s time to get mean, brutally, harshly mean. Delicate sensibilities must be dispatched like a feather in a hurricane.

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Full dragon, no panda mask.  Beijing begins using war terminology to discuss the trade conflict with the United States.

Through a series of cumulative trade tariffs, President Trump has now placed Chinese imports into the USA in a position of 104% tariffs.

104%!

In response Beijing has devalued their currency and dumped treasuries, but no amount of subsidy, devaluation or use of their sovereign wealth fund is going to compensate for 104% taxes on Chinese products.  Very soon all purchase orders from the USA for Chinese manufactured products will stop.

The Beijing dragon is looking at the future through a zero-sum position.  Now, they vow to fight to the death.

BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) — With firm will and abundant means, China will resolutely take countermeasures and fight till the end if the United States insists on further escalating economic and trade restrictive measures, China’s Ministry of Commerce said Wednesday.

“I want to emphasize that there is no winner in a trade war, and China does not want a trade war, but the Chinese government will by no means sit by when the legitimate rights and interests of its people are being hurt and deprived,” said an official with the ministry.

The official made the remarks when responding to media questions regarding a white paper released Wednesday by the State Council Information Office on China’s position on some issues concerning China-U.S. economic and trade relations.

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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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After previously saying her number one concern about President Trump’s tariff program was Beijing dumping all their excess products into the EU at a discount, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announces she is coordinating the tariff response with China.

Apparently, the EU recognizes the ideological alignment of support from Canada just isn’t going to be enough to pressure President Trump and retain leverage into the U.S. market.  This is quite a remarkable admission from von der Leyen all things considered.  [STATEMENT]

President von der Leyen held today a phone call with Premier Li Qiang to discuss the state of EU-China relations, as 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties.

The two leaders held a constructive discussion during which they took stock of bilateral and global issues.

The President underscored the vital importance of stability and predictability for the global economy. In response to the widespread disruption caused by the US tariffs, President von der Leyen stressed the responsibility of Europe and China, as two of world’s largest markets, to support a strong reformed trading system, free, fair and founded on a level playing field.

The President called for a negotiated resolution to the current situation, emphasising the need to avoid further escalation.

President von der Leyen emphasised China’s critical role in addressing possible trade diversion caused by tariffs, especially in sectors already affected by global overcapacity. The leaders discussed setting up a mechanism for tracking possible trade diversion and ensuring any developments are duly addressed. (more)

In the 2017 – 2019 version of the same dynamic, the EU was slow to realize the Trump impact to the Chinese economy would lead to less industrial purchases from Beijing.  This dynamic pushed the EU toward recession. In 2025 von der Leyen is trying to proactively mitigate that outcome.

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President Trump is swinging the BIG UGLY hammer against the panda and the Beijing dragon behind it.

President Trump (Via Truth Social) –  “Yesterday, China issued Retaliatory Tariffs of 34%, on top of their already record setting Tariffs, Non-Monetary Tariffs, Illegal Subsidization of companies, and massive long term Currency Manipulation, despite my warning that any country that Retaliates against the U.S. by issuing additional Tariffs, above and beyond their already existing long term Tariff abuse of our Nation, will be immediately met with new and substantially higher Tariffs, over and above those initially set.

Therefore, if China does not withdraw its 34% increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50%, effective April 9th. Additionally, all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated! Negotiations with other countries, which have also requested meetings, will begin taking place immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”  [LINK]

It must also be noted, this global reset and tariff system is visibly the fracture point between the Tech Bros and MAGA economic nationalists.  Elon Musk and Bill Ackman are now directly in opposition to President Trump and the global trade reset.

You know that ‘cleaving’ I was talking about? The issue of the Tech Bros -vs- MAGA?  Well, tariffs are the trigger.

Tech Bros do not know borders. Their industry and business sector are borderless. Tariffs are bold economic lines around a border.

• Musk vs Navarro
• Ackman vs Lutnick
• Sacks vs Hassett

Tariffs are where the interests of the Tech Bros financially diverge from MAGA. The globalists and multinational corps who know this, specifically the EU team, will exploit this fracture point. They will target U.S. Tech industry in their tariff avoidance strategy to create division.  This is what EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is talking about when she says “countermeasures”.  Watch for it.

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White House senior policy advisor for Manufacturing and Trade, Peter Navarro, appears on CNBC television for an almost 20-minute long debate of Wall Street vs Main Street.

Navarro represents MAGAnomic nationalism, the rest of the CNBC panel represent the interests of Wall Street and their friends and neighbors who manage hedge funds and connected financial instruments.  Navarro held his own.  WATCH:

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White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller appears on Fox News to discuss the importance of the tariff policy and reestablishing American industry via the global trade reset.

Miller outlines the U.S market reaction to President Donald Trump’s tariffs and China’s 34% countervailing tariff response on U.S. products.  As Miller notes, the tariff program is simply one part within the rebalancing of trade to protect American industry.  WATCH (prompted):

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On March 27th, CTH shared the following: “Wealthy nations will attempt to maintain exports against President Trump tariffs by subsidizing their industries. Corporations have deeper pockets, and the politicians are used to the bribes, we call it “lobbying.” Therefore, the government responds by subsidizing the corporations [ie. the WEF business model].

How does the politics of opposition surface?  …”Canada will subsidize their export industries, Germany will subsidize their auto industry, the EU will provide subsidies to their manufacturing powerhouses, and China will once again start subsidizing their manufacturing industry. Each of these nations will in turn, eventually, devalue their currency.

However, poorer nations will be faster to lower import tariffs on USA goods because they have lower lobbying (bribe) income from corporations to govt. That’s what we should expect to see.” [LINK]

With the tariffs now triggered, it begins exactly as anticipated:

[SOURCE]

The economics of the thing is now colliding with the politics and the ideology, of the thing.  Globalists are being confronted.  The proverbial West will cleave according to their financial self-interest.

The World Economic Forum (Build Back Better) model no longer views the USA as an ally.  The MAGAnomic “Big Ugly” is underway.  Countries will thrash and gnash their teeth; then surge in opposition, fail, then attempt to refoot and realign, then surge again and fail again.

And so it will go…

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