El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has been a key strategic ally for the Trump administration in support of the deportation and repatriation of hundreds of criminal aliens and gang members from the region.

Beginning in 2012, supported by President Obama, thousands of criminal gang members from south and central America flooded into the USA.  In 2017, President Trump began to secure the border; however, in 2021 Joe Biden made the entry of alien gang members even easier.  In 2025, President Trump is utilizing President Bukele and his maximum detention centers in El Salvador to reverse the flow and remove the gangs.

President Bukele has initiated major criminal justice reform in the nation of El Salvador, liberating millions of people who were terrorized by the criminal element. Today President Trump thanked Bukele for his partnership in the White House and held an open press assembly.  WATCH:

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White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett appears on Fox Business to discuss President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda, semiconductor imports, the administration working on new trade deals and the impact of the global trade reset on China.

Happy warrior Kevin Hassett notes numerous countries are ready to sign new deals with the USA and there will likely be some group announcements very soon.  WATCH:

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Hassett also answered questions outside the White House to the media pool.

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Three months ago, I was in Vietnam reviewing just how expansive the positioning of Chinese investment was in the concurrent communist nation.  The short version is Beijing’s footprint in Vietnam was already huge.

As an outcome of the 2018 tariffs against China, which coincided with a President Trump visit to southeast Asia, multiple companies shifted manufacturing operations from China to Vietnam.

Beijing saw the move and slowly increased their own strategic footprint.

In the subsequent years as COVID-19 took attention from all other matters, and with Trump removed from the equation in 2020, China increased the scale of their investment and the outcomes in 2025 are very visible.

China even built this massive Disney type village in Phu Quõc (it’s nearly empty).

The people who live in Vietnam do not have money, they are a very poor nation.  The baseline poverty level, in combination with their communist regime politics, essentially eliminates their consumer power to purchase western goods and makes trade agreements between the U.S and Vietnam somewhat moot.  However, as a proxy manufacturing nation Vietnam is a valuable resource for China.

Essentially what can be seen in Vietnam is how Beijing spends money there for influence.  The U.S footprint is negligible in comparison to the visible influence of China.

Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping is in Vietnam right now making trade deals with the allied communist government.  At this point with so much Beijing influence money already in place, China can request very strategic terms.

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In addition to Howard Lutnick, Peter Navarro and Kevin Hassett explaining the nuances of Section 232 tariff exemptions, White House Senior Policy Advisor, Stephen Miller, appears on Fox News to deliver the same message.

Steel, Aluminum, Automobiles, Pharmaceuticals and components for semiconductor manufacturing all fall under the Section 232 “National Security” tariff umbrella. Meaning, the products within each of those sectors of manufacturing are handled ¹differently from all other tariffs as executed.  WATCH:

[¹NOTE: This approach could present a problem in future lawsuits, because the administration is now beginning to define what is classified as a ‘national security’ product. Lawfare operatives will likely say in court that all other tariff sectors (not 232) are controlled by congress, not the President; at least that will be their predictable argument. The administration will counter by arguing all other sector tariffs are directed in response to the Fentanyl crisis, which is again described as a “national security” threat.]

President Trump released the following statement on Truth Social:

NOBODY is getting “off the hook” for the unfair Trade Balances, and Non-Monetary Tariff Barriers, that other Countries have used against us, especially not China which, by far, treats us the worst! There was no Tariff “exception” announced on Friday.

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You can watch Jake Tapper’s brow grow increasingly furrowed in real time as White House Economic Council Director, Kevin Hassett, smiles through the narratives and talks clearly about what is happening with President Trump’s tariff agenda.

This is a REALLY good interview.  Kevin “quokka” Hassett just keeps outlining clear examples of what regional tariffs are happening and why there are distinctions.  The interviewer Jake Tapper keeps trying to throw confusion at Hassett, who smiles and explains the reason why Tapper’s framework is silly. WATCH:

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Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick appears on ABC This Week, to explain and clarify the purpose of the recently announced tariff exceptions.

According to the explanation, there are two “sector specific” tariffs in Semiconductors and Pharmaceuticals that will be announced in the next few months.  The recently announced “exemptions” are products that will be included in the sector specific tariffs that are also identified as “non-negotiable” tariffs.

Semiconductor items, automobiles, steel and aluminum as well as pharmaceutical products will fall under categories or ‘sectors’ of products that will be non-negotiable in all trade agreements for the tariff levy applied.  Any nation who enters negotiations for new Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) will not be permitted to negotiate trade on semiconductor products, automobiles, steel, aluminum and medications.  WATCH:

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President Trump holds a cabinet meeting and invites the press to attend and ask questions.

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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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Within the Executive Order modifying the April 2nd global reciprocal tariffs [SEE HERE] section #4, we note a massive increase in the duty fees for mailed products from China formerly shipped under ‘de minimis’ rules.

REMINDER: The de minimis loophole comes from back in the 1930s. The idea back then was, say you went on a vacation to Paris, you shouldn’t have to file customs paperwork or pay taxes if you decided to ship some little Eiffel Tower statues to your friends back home.

Congress in 2015 then raised the de minimis threshold from $200 to $800. However, the e-commerce world exploded, and Chinese companies began using the de minimis loophole to ship cheap goods (ex. Temu and Shein) into the USA direct to consumers without paying any customs duty.

On April 2nd, as part of the global trade reset and tariff structure, President Trump revoked authorization for Chinese goods to transfer to the USA using the de minimis rule. The de minimis exemption was cancelled for all products coming out of China. The rule change only targeted China and Chinese shippers. No one else. [XO HERE]

Yesterday, as part of the modification to Executive Order #14257, President Trump has increased the baseline tariff for product mailed from China [de minimis tariff] from 30 90 percent to 120%.

Mailed products from China now face a 120% tariff.  Additionally, minimum tariff amounts increased from $75 to $100 effective May 1st, and from $150 to $2oo effective June 1st.  [See Section #4]

Example: If you order a $20 shirt from China effective June 1st, you will pay $220.  $20 for the shirt, and $200 minimum tariff.

There is no way Chinese E-Commerce can survive this level of tariff/duty fees.

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Komrade Ursula von der Leyen represents the European Commission command and control authority, regardless of whether the individual members within the containment zone agree with the HQ in Brussels.

Komisar von der Leyen informs the union members that she has decided to pause the retaliation tariffs against the USA, based on the 90-day pause announced by President Trump.  However, in actuality there’s not much difference even within the pause as the German/EU autos are still tariffed (25%) and the steel and Aluminum tariffs’ (25%) still apply.

The only gain from yesterday’s modification in the global tariff regime for the EU was a switch from 20% EU tariff to a baseline 10% tariff during the pause.

The total EU relief is 10% for 90-days; but that was enough for Komrade Ursula to mount her high-horse and claim magnanimity status.

According to von der Leyen, “if negotiations are not satisfactory, our countermeasures will kick in.”[SOURCE]

“I welcome President Trump’s announcement to pause reciprocal tariffs. It’s an important step towards stabilizing the global economy.

Clear, predictable conditions are essential for trade and supply chains to function.

Tariffs are taxes that only hurt businesses and consumers. That’s why I’ve consistently advocated for a zero-for-zero tariff agreement between the European Union and the United States.

The European Union remains committed to constructive negotiations with the United States, with the goal of achieving frictionless and mutually beneficial trade.

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