Billiejeens
Diamond Member
- Jun 27, 2019
- 45,030
- 31,576
- 3,545
It’s time for Wall Street to get a grip.
The Trump tariff policies are a calculated gamble that the threat of tariffs can fundamentally remake the global economy and retilt it in the direction of the United States — and away from China and other beggar-thy-neighbor countries.
But whether they work or not, Wall Street elites have convinced themselves that these tariffs are worse than the pandemic that stopped the entire economy, or the 2009 economic crisis that put 10 million people out of work.
And so far, nothing has happened. It’s all speculation about what could happen.
Wall Street regularly overreacts on both the upside and the downside. However, in judging the potential impact of the Trump tariffs, the first place to look is the basic math.
These tariffs, even if enacted, would be only a small part of the US economy — no more than about 1% of our economic activity.
And if they were enacted, that money would not go into corporate profits but into the US Treasury, about $300 billion a year.
The United States has an annual GDP of $28 trillion. We are the world’s largest importer, but that’s because we have the No. 1 economy in the world by far.
Relative to our size, imports are a much smaller percentage than most people think: We import about $3 trillion in goods from other countries each year, or only about 11% of our economy.
Mostly these imports are a combination of finished goods and parts we incorporate into other goods (such as the windshield wiper on the car).
Read More at -https://nypost.com/2025/04/08/opinion/get-a-grip-about-trumps-tariffs-this-is-only-1-of-the-economy/
BJ -
Nice Opinion Piece/breakdown of the issue (this morning)
by Mark Penn -
That’s why a lot of countries are lining up to make new trade deals and lower their tariffs.
China has the most to lose in a trade war. It exports about 20% of its economy, so exports are a much bigger deal for the Chinese than for us.
The Trump tariff policies are a calculated gamble that the threat of tariffs can fundamentally remake the global economy and retilt it in the direction of the United States — and away from China and other beggar-thy-neighbor countries.
But whether they work or not, Wall Street elites have convinced themselves that these tariffs are worse than the pandemic that stopped the entire economy, or the 2009 economic crisis that put 10 million people out of work.
And so far, nothing has happened. It’s all speculation about what could happen.
Wall Street regularly overreacts on both the upside and the downside. However, in judging the potential impact of the Trump tariffs, the first place to look is the basic math.
These tariffs, even if enacted, would be only a small part of the US economy — no more than about 1% of our economic activity.
And if they were enacted, that money would not go into corporate profits but into the US Treasury, about $300 billion a year.
The United States has an annual GDP of $28 trillion. We are the world’s largest importer, but that’s because we have the No. 1 economy in the world by far.
Relative to our size, imports are a much smaller percentage than most people think: We import about $3 trillion in goods from other countries each year, or only about 11% of our economy.
Mostly these imports are a combination of finished goods and parts we incorporate into other goods (such as the windshield wiper on the car).
Read More at -https://nypost.com/2025/04/08/opinion/get-a-grip-about-trumps-tariffs-this-is-only-1-of-the-economy/
BJ -
Nice Opinion Piece/breakdown of the issue (this morning)
by Mark Penn -
That’s why a lot of countries are lining up to make new trade deals and lower their tariffs.
China has the most to lose in a trade war. It exports about 20% of its economy, so exports are a much bigger deal for the Chinese than for us.
