Oh dear. Where to start. 🤔 I understand Trudeau gave him a math lesson on tariffs and then said afterwards Trump was incapable of comprehending the math of it.
Someone has Trump’s ear on this hair brain of an idea. It’s like threatening a neighbour with a fence on land neither of you share. BRICS currency, so called, isn’t going to get off the ground. $ is a natural fit 4 most members to build fin balances even if they trade in some other currencies 2/6
Russia is keen, Brazil supportive. China obv. But it’s a non starter really as we saw recently again in Kazan at the BRICS summit. The q is why on earth Trump would want to say this? It casts the US in a poor light. 3/6
America would be better off w/o its exorbitant $ burden. Having the global currency that everyone wants/needs means capital inflows the c/part of which is the trade deficit Trump is mad about. Tariffs aren’t going to change the structure of global capital flows or th’fore trade imbals 4/6
And threatening BRICS with them is hardly likely to make them cower in deference. It makes the future admin look like it’s a Hulk Hogan in a children’s playground. Trump wd be better advised to set up a task force to look into how the $ could be replaced by a new global fx issued by the imf 5/6
But that’s not going to happen. And neither is a BRICS currency. I imagine someone is bending his ear about BRICS & Co as a platform used by Beijing to advance its financial, commercial and foreign policy agenda. I suspect the tariff threat is all talk and no trousers. Won’t go anywhere 6/6
George,
I agree with a lot of this but not the idea of tariffs going nowhere. Trump has spent his entire life crying about how the world is ripping off America and how only tariffs can assert its rightful apex position.
Tariffs might be his only core belief. He rather die than not do tariffs.
He's just doing his usual schtick of stoking up fear in his disciples with some new off-the-wall crazy scenario, and then proving how strong he is by stopping it from happening, as only he can ... ;)
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It wouldn’t surprise me if czar of children’s playgrounds becomes a position in this administration and Hulk Hogan is actually appointed.
I agree with a lot of this but not the idea of tariffs going nowhere. Trump has spent his entire life crying about how the world is ripping off America and how only tariffs can assert its rightful apex position.
Tariffs might be his only core belief. He rather die than not do tariffs.