Murdoch Paper Skewers ‘Tariff Man' Trump's New Flip-Flop
Leading with the mocking title 'Tariff Man' Is Back for More 'Liberation,' the Rupert Murdoch-owned publication went all in on the president's decision to announce new 25 percent levies on trade partners South Korea and Japan, to add to existing duties on certain imports from those countries.
This comes after Trump walked back on his original 'Liberation Day' tariffs from early April after they caused economic turmoil. He paused the super-charged levies to give his administration the chance to complete 90 deals in 90 days, a period that expires this week.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has only managed to strike a deal with the U.K. and Vietnam, with a broad framework for a deal agreed with China, too.
With that lack of success in mind, Trump sent letters to the leaders of more than a dozen nations on Monday, imposing an Aug. 1 deadline for renewed deals. If deals aren't struck, there could be tariff hell to pay, he suggested.
The WSJ said that, in the letters, he 'huffs and puffs again about bilateral trade deficits, which he mistakenly thinks are a sign of foreign exploitation.'
Japan is America's fifth biggest supplier of imports, while South Korea is also in the top 10. Trump has said that if either of the countries respond with tariffs of their own, he'll hit back even harder.
'Whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added onto the 25 percent that we charge,' he said.
Trump appears to be going for the scorched-earth strategy once again, even though it didn't work the first time. 'What a way to treat two close American allies and fellow democracies in China's backyard,' the WSJ reacted.
But why does he do it? Because negotiations through strength, or bullish threats, is all he knows, the publication adds.
'He's imposing tariffs because he likes them as an economic policy. The U.S. average effective tariff rate when Mr. Trump took office was 2.4%, according to the Yale Budget Lab. As of last month Mr. Trump had cranked that up to 15.6%. How much higher does he want to go?' the board writes.
And the effect could be disastrous, it adds, saying that some 'trade might grind to a halt' as a result of the tariffs. Specialized sectors that source machinery and software from these countries can't readily find replacements, it says. This could cause chaos in those industries.
More generally, given the volume of trade, the economic backlash could be vast, WSJ adds. Some 8.6 percent of all imports in the U.S. came from Japan and South Korea last year.
The board added that the taxes would also limit the productive economy in the U.S.
'Mr. Trump's tariffs on present course would take $300 billion in border taxes from the productive economy this year, and he seems bent on going higher. That's an anti-growth tax increase, and an arbitrary one besides,' it said.
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New York Times
32 minutes ago
- New York Times
Donald Trump, the Club World Cup final, and how security protect VIPs at major sporting events
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Advertisement 'With a sitting president of the United States, everything is different,' adds an industry source with experience hosting political figures, royalty and major celebrities for a world-leading stadium owner and event company, kept anonymous to protect relationships. 'No one else will come with such a huge Secret Service and national military presence.' When providing personal security to a prominent public figure at a major event such as a Club World Cup final, preparation begins well in advance of matchday. 'We appoint a security advance party, which will proceed before the event and conduct a detailed reconnaissance of the venue, liaising with venue staff and security to assess the existing security measures,' says Jordan McGrath, co-founder of VIS Protection, a private security firm with experience of working with top-end Forbes World Billionaires List members. 'You'll speak to venue staff about your plan and how they can help you and your team with entry and exits. With big crowds around, you must have contingency plans for vehicles ready outside and emergency vehicle access. It's a big operation, particularly for big sporting events.' Ideally, private security firms, or the Secret Service in Trump's case, would be notified months in advance of the proposed public appearance, so their preparations for the event can be as thorough as possible. 'Mass gatherings present a complex and dynamic threat environment,' says Steven Rice, who worked for 27 years at the U.S. Department of State. He was deputy assistant director for intelligence and threat analysis, and also had extensive postings in China and the Middle East. 'Planning and site familiarity are key to controlling the environment — designating primary and alternate arrival/departure locations, potential attack sites, safe rooms, and evacuation plans. 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In Trump's case, the Secret Service would then be in communication with emergency services, stadium personnel and private security agencies at the event to conduct the most comprehensive checks possible given the time constraints. As MetLife Stadium is one of the nation's flagship sporting arenas (it hosted an NFL Super Bowl in 2014 and will stage the World Cup final next July), it will already have detailed practices in place that consider transportation, the stadium's layout, and Trump's position when he watches the match. 'Having had experience of working with the Secret Service, they like to have control themselves,' says Nigel Thomas, a former British Special Air Service (SAS) soldier and founder of Blue Mountain Group, a security training and advisory firm. 'They like to keep information very tight. They carry out their own risk assessment. 'They have a huge team in cyber-security and physical security. They will search the stadium with sniffer dogs for anything from drugs to explosives. They would want searches done on the security teams and a background check, so they don't leave any stone unturned.' Advertisement Once the Secret Service has established the route and motorcade for Trump's journey to the stadium, the next requirement is to find a suitable place for him to sit, which is not always straightforward. Some private-security agencies would endeavour to secure the suites on either side of the one that their VIP will be using to act as buffers, but this is a FIFA event, so the governing body has more control. It is anticipated that Trump will sit with Infantino, senior officials from PSG and Chelsea, and Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of Qatar, whom the president met in Doha in May. FIFA typically reserves a significant portion of premium suites and VIP lounges for its partners and sponsors, which means that some areas of the stadium may be set aside and not offered to regular-season suite holders. This is typical practice for major sporting events, such as the World Cup, the Olympics or leagues' all-star games, where the competition falls outside a stadium or arena's typical event offerings. Once Trump and his immediate entourage arrive on Sunday, staff at MetLife may halt traffic around the entrance being used to ensure his motorcade can enter safely. They will then go into the stadium itself with their armed private security. Most stadiums and arenas in the United States use metal detectors, but given the heightened security risk on this occasion with a president in attendance, the Secret Service may arrive before the event and replace the existing apparatus with their own around the stadium, according to our industry source. 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'Announced appearances give adversaries time to plan, conduct surveillance, and exploit vulnerabilities. Public figures attract crowds, complicating protective movement and increasing the chance of disruptions. Announced visits narrow planning options and heighten the threat environment. Layered defences, robust intelligence monitoring, and visible deterrence are critical.' Then, once the VIP is in their seat, the task switches to providing the most seamless experience possible, even if the security staff are on high alert. 'While they're in, you're still thinking, 'If this vehicle breaks down, what's my backup? If that road is closed, what's my alternative?',' says Thomas. 'You're ensuring the drivers are prepared, fed, and watered. That's going on without the VIP knowing.' Most of the time, the VIP experiences the event without any major hiccups and, as far as they are aware, everything goes smoothly. But what happens if something does go wrong? 'These security teams provide people from backgrounds where they have experienced so many challenges, whether from working as police or military officers,' Thomas says. 'When you do the threat and risk assessment, you cover anything that could go wrong: if they were at a mass gathering, what if the stage collapsed? We will have a standard operating procedure for that, for example. You need to be prepared for it, and that takes communication with stadium security and emergency services. 'If there were to be a catastrophic event involving the whole stadium, everyone would need to know our procedures for keeping the VIP safe while a mass of people are trying to escape. It's a huge operation, and things do go wrong, so it takes experience.' (Top photos: Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton)
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