Netizen: 9: Tariff

Malaysian PM warns Southeast Asia that trade war is not a ‘passing storm’ Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim warned Wednesday that global trade is being weaponized as Southeast Asia’s foreign ministers held annual talks ahead of the looming threat of U.S. trade tariffs. ......... Concerns about U.S. tariffs have jolted the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a 10-member bloc that includes some of the world’s most trade-dependent economies. ....... Six ASEAN members are among the 14 countries that could see duties on their exports to the U.S. skyrocket on Aug. 1. ......... Launching the group's foreign ministers’ meeting, Anwar said the world is now witnessing an era where “power unsettles principle” and “tools once used to generate growth are now wielded to pressure, isolate and contain.” ......... “Our cohesion must not end at declarations,” he said, calling for members to increase intra-ASEAN trade, invest in regional integration, and reduce strategic dependencies on external powers. “This is no passing storm," he said. "It is the new weather of our time.” ............. On Tuesday, he announced new tariffs with rates of between 25%-40% on 14 countries, which will go into effect Aug. 1 unless new deals are struck. He also threatened to increase tariffs if any countries retaliate. ........ Many ASEAN members have launched bilateral talks with the U.S., but officials have said they plan to hold an ASEAN-U.S. summit later this year to seek a common position. ....... So far, only Vietnam has secured a deal, bringing down its tariffs from 46% to 20%. ........ The list threatens 36% tariffs for Thailand and Cambodia, 32% for Indonesia, 25% for Malaysia, and 40% for Laos and war-torn Myanmar. ........ Trade Minister Zafrul Aziz said Malaysia will continue tariff talks with the U.S. but won't compromise on issues impacting national interest and sovereignty. He referred to U.S. requests on policy and laws in areas such as government procurement, halal certification, medical standards and digital tax, without giving details. .......... “It has to be fair ... if the deal does not benefit Malaysia, we should not have a deal,” he said. ......... The gathering in Malaysia will be immediately followed by a series of critical meetings with ASEAN’s major trade partners, including the U.S., China, Japan, Russia, India, and the European Union, scheduled for Thursday and Friday. .......... U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who last week cancelled trips to Japan and South Korea, will arrive Thursday for the talks on his first visit to Asia. Others visiting foreign ministers include China’s Wang Yi and Sergei Lavrov of Russia........ Analysts said these talks will test ASEAN’s ability to assert its voice amid escalating geopolitical tensions. ........ “Trump’s administration, while still offering the strongest military deterrence and market access, expects ASEAN to stop exploiting this security umbrella while cozying up economically to China,” he said. .......

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Trump is daring MAGA to oppose him right now And MAGA supporters often take their cues from Trump, readjusting their principles on the fly........... “Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?” Trump said, adding: “People are still talking about this guy? This creep?” ......... On Monday, Trump announced that he was reversing a brief pause on weapons shipments to Ukraine. The pause had initially caused many key MAGA figures to celebrate, believing Trump had finally cut off Ukraine. (A March poll found Republicans opposed continuing to send Ukraine weapons and financial aid by a nearly 2-to-1 margin.) ................... Trump has also again signaled that he wants to exempt many undocumented longtime farm workers from deportations, despite his promises of mass deportations. The issue has divided his administration between those who believe in true mass deportation and those who worry about the economic effects of draining a key source of labor. .......... The story is somewhat similar with Trump’s recent strikes on Iran, which flew in the face of much of the MAGA movement’s emphasis on “America First” and non-interventionist foreign policy. Many key movement figures initially balked at the idea, and some like Tucker Carlson have continued to do so.......... The episode reinforced something we have seen throughout the Trump era. His supporters care a lot less about the details of policies and actions than the fact that Trump spearheaded them. If he does something, it becomes a good idea, because they have largely unflinching faith in him.

The dollar has dropped steadily, defying Trump tariffs The relative value of the greenback has fallen 5.8% over the past three months and more than 11% since the start of 2025........ Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testified in January that he expected that tariffs wouldn't be fully passed onto consumers because of the dollar's strengthening. .......... Art Durnev, a finance professor at the University of Richmond, emphasized that the dynamic of higher tariffs resulting in a higher dollar hasn’t played out as expected. ......... Durnev attributes the drop in the dollar to investor fears that all of the major trade and budget changes made by the Trump administration will lead to an economic downturn. .......... but then Trump signed another order delaying his Liberation Day tariffs until Aug. 1, further adding to the confusion surrounding trade policy. ......... “It could reflect fear and uncertainty about the U.S. economy … it could possibly reflect a view that greater fiscal deficits from the [One Big Beautiful Bill Act] would actually lead to greater trade deficits, and thus require a further decline in the dollar to equilibrate” ......... the dollar is down more than 13% against the euro since the start of the year. That means, inflation aside, traveling to Europe would be much more expensive for American tourists this summer than it was six months ago. ........ experts emphasize that the dollar still reigns supreme as the dominant global currency.

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Trump's baffling tariffs moves are undermining U.S. role as world's superpower President Donald Trump is, once again, ramping up his trade war. On Monday, he sent letters threatening new, higher tariff rates of between 25% to 40% on imports from 14 countries, including key U.S. allies Japan and South Korea. ......... Over at

Goldman Sachs, “We do not generally expect these proposed rates to take effect on Aug. 1.”

The folks at ING summed it up succinctly, “The tariff rollercoaster ride continues.” ........... According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Trump’s executive order is already working. “When he said that there’s a chance that countries could boomerang back to their April 2 reciprocal tariff levels, we’ve had a lot of people change their tune in terms of negotiations,” Bessent told CNBC on Monday. “My mailbox was full last night with a lot of new offers, a lot of new proposals. So, it’s going to be a busy couple of days.” ......... Despite stating that the administration has a lot of new offers and proposals, Bessent gave no details about who those offers and proposals are from. ......... let’s go back to the administration’s promise on tariffs back in April. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told Fox Business the administration would “run 90 deals in 90 days.” It’s a catchy sound bite and easily amplifiable tagline but, what have we gotten so far? Just three so-called trade deals — more like frameworks or “concepts” of deals — that have failed to enhance trade relations and trade deficits. ............ On the very same day, it was shocking to hear Bessent, the other guy running trade negotiations, tell CNN that during this 90-day period, “many” countries were not even in contact with the United States about trade deals. ............ Just think about that: We are the world’s superpower, and despite Trump's constant threats, many countries didn’t even contact us about a possible deal. Take a minute to consider the process for how this whole operation is being led, executed and communicated, and then you may start to understand how 100-plus countries might not have any idea what to say to the United States.

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