Original Publish Date » April 11 , 2025
Last Updated » 1 week

The US in decline

Quote » “It’s a Muppet movie down there,” Scott Reid, on this morning‘s ‘Curse of Politics” podcast.

Paul Krugman » How to destroy 80 years of credibility in less than 3 months

Trump cutbacks force scientists to seek jobs in Europe » 13 European countries, including France, Germany and Spain, urged the EU Commission to move fast to attract academic talent. (Reuters)

US dollar hit 10-year low on Thursday (Reuters)

US consumer sentiment plummets to second-lowest level on records going back to 1952 (CNN)

Trump’s World Wide Trade War

In pausing the tariffs for 90 days, Trump effectively acknowledged that there was some degree of economic and political pain that was simply intolerable for him to bear. (Politico)

  • That runs counter to the “madman theory” of negotiations he eagerly wants to employ, but obviously Trump doesn’t have the gonads to stick with it. Knowing now that he isn’t prepared to actually blow up the American economy and global markets, if you’re another major country, why give in to his demands at the negotiating table?
  • China isn’t calling (CNN)

EU to Trump on tariffs: We’ll retaliate when we’re ready, not when you tweet

  • Just after the EU locked in its response on Wednesday to Trump’s month-old steel and aluminum tariffs, the Trump retreated somewhat, announcing a 90-day truce on the “reciprocal” tariffs he imposed on “Liberation Day” a week earlier.
  • Trump had hit the 27-nation EU bloc with a 20% duty on all goods. Under pressure as financial markets melted down, he halved the levy to 10%, something he had been calling a baseline for the past week. (Politico)

China Raises Tariffs on US Goods to 125% in Retaliation

  • China retaliated against Donald Trump’s latest tariffs by hiking duties on all US goods, while calling the administration’s actions a “joke” and saying it no longer considers them worth matching. Beijing will raise tariffs on all US goods from 84% to 125% starting April 12, the Ministry of Finance said on Friday, after the White House clarified that levies on Chinese goods rose to 145% this year. Recession now more likely. (Bloomberg / Reuters)

Also

US fires Greenland US military base commander for ‘undermining’ JD Vance (BBC / Financial Times / Le Monde / The Daily Beast / Axios / BI)

Marco Rubio orders employees to report on one another for ‘anti-Christian bias’

  • The Trump administration has ordered State Department employees to report on any instances of coworkers displaying “anti-Christian bias” as part of its effort to implement a sweeping new executive order on supporting employees of Christian faith working in the federal government. (Politico)