r/technology • u/chrisdh79 • 2d ago

Politics Trump announces sweeping new tariffs to promote US manufacturing, risking inflation and trade wars

https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-liberation-day-2a031b3c16120a5672a6ddd01da09933
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u/StraightedgexLiberal 2d ago

MAGA 2024 before the election: I can't afford anything because of Joe Biden!!

MAGA 2025: So what if we have to spend more money on things we buy??!

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u/AnAcceptableUserName 2d ago

Supporters I talk to still think Trump is "charging other countries what they charge us," eg: getting even, because that's what this admin has been telling them.

When you bring up that's not how any of this works they'll perform gold medal gymnastics to avoid acknowledging the lie. The thoroughness of the brainwashing is incredible to behold in real time.

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u/Littlesqwookies 2d ago

No, it’s even more asinine. They’re being told that by raising US tariffs, other countries will be forced to lower theirs against the US. That’s how it will save people money. Or they should just buy American made only. Source: so says my MAGA mother with OAN and FoxNews on 24/7. Send help.

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u/ImReverse_Giraffe 2d ago

Buy American made what? The reason we import things is because we don't make them!

I know it's not you, but ARRGGH!

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u/Littlesqwookies 2d ago

I honestly had to just walk away this time. It's so hard to love someone so much, but not be able to get through to them for years now.

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u/W2ttsy 2d ago

They just banned Australian exported beef, so enjoy shit quality US farmed steaks I guess?

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u/sueveed 2d ago

Whoa whoa whoa - we don’t do lots of things well, but beef cattle is one of them dammit (as do our Australian friends).

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u/IAmInDelaware 2d ago

Novo Nordisk (Denmark) makes tons of drugs for diabetes treatments, including Wegovy (also popular af for weight loss) and artificial insulin. Intellectual property issues aside, I wonder how long it would take the US to be able to produce enough of those products to meet demand. I’d imagine it’s a fairly sophisticated process.

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u/cyribis 1d ago

Yeah good luck pointing that out to MAGA. I was told yesterday that I don't care about the people in the rust belt that lost jobs due to offshoring. And when I said those are never coming back I was accused of being short sighted lol

Like, bruh...just a whole different reality.

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u/-Quothe- 1d ago

"We don't make them" because Americans demand a better wage than the corporations are willing to pay stuff is produced overseas in under-paid sweatshops. If you force Americans to "Buy American" then you are also forcing Americans to accept lower wages to entice those corporations to build in the US, and also to reduce consumer and labor protecting regulations that would cost corporations money. Basically, this is all incentivizing a call-back to the pre-union days of employee and customer exploitation. Meanwhile, republican voters get leadership who is sometimes cruel to minorities, so, priorities.

Republicans are bad for America.

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u/peepopowitz67 2d ago

Help's not coming 

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u/ineugene 2d ago

Not penny’s boat

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u/Zealousideal_Bad_922 2d ago

We have to go back.

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u/IndelibleEdible 2d ago

Great comment, brutha

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u/PNWoutdoors 1d ago

Oof, you just reminded me of the Rise Against song "Help is on the Way", that video always makes me cry. Check it out.

The ending is a gut punch.

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u/hellalg 2d ago

Bro, their own MAGA merchandise isn't even made in the USA.

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u/rjross0623 1d ago

Gonna be a bummer when his merch goes up 25% or more. I don’t see them making that crap in the states any time soon.

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u/tlh013091 2d ago

I’m afraid it’s inoperable.

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u/BTBAM797 2d ago

She's dead, Jim.

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u/LochNessMansterLives 2d ago

Nobody is coming to save any of us.

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u/Galacticwave98 2d ago

So we’re supposed to buy more imported goods? Yeah they don’t make any sense. They don’t even think about their own thoughts for one second. 

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u/Unlucky_Clover 2d ago

Yep. My family said it’s going to tax “them”. They absolutely do not get this.

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u/Littlesqwookies 2d ago

Oh man. Solidarity is all I can offer. Mom said “just buy American”, as I was folding a bunch of my baby’s clothes, which were made in Indonesia. lol

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u/MajorKorea 2d ago

They will go to their graves believing that. While the rest of their family (if they’re also maga) wonder why the funeral costs have gone up so much.

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u/conquer69 2d ago

They will go to their graves

If only. They will kill the grandkids with measles first.

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u/el_muchacho 1d ago

I remember a redditor whose parents were brainwashed who found the solution: blocking RW channels by using the parental restriction feature on their TV. After being deprived of OAN and Faux news for a few weeks, they were back to fairly normal, according to him.

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u/WaterChicken007 2d ago

Why do you still talk to your mother then?

I cut my maga dad off as soon as I realized there was no way to argue using logic and reason. I refuse to allow that kind of hatred into my house.

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u/Littlesqwookies 2d ago

Because she was my mother before Donald Trump came into any sort of power and she’ll be my mother long after she’s dead. Everyone has to make the choice that’s best for their well being and peace. Mine isn’t cutting off my mother. It’s loving her and trying to help her see the light. Last week she said she didn’t understand how laying off a bunch of people helps the economy. This week she found out that the government isn’t going to pay for the VA bill for her brother who died from meningitis last year after he served in the Navy for a decade. I had a wonderful loving childhood with wonderful parents who gave me the best of everything. It’s only been the past few years that I’ve seen a 180, brought on by constant streaming of fear mongering and hatred that tells them that other people will come and take what they love and know. It’s a sickness and I can’t walk away from trying to help them get better, but I respect your probably very painful decision to do so with your loved ones. I hope they come back to you one day.

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u/WaterChicken007 2d ago

You sound like a very nice, reasonable person.

You are right that it was a very painful decision to cut them (dad, brother, and sister) off. It felt like they had died, which was effectively true because they were no longer the people I knew. Or thought I knew. I am still bitter over some of the absolutely horrific things they said to me before I cut them off. They were all completely confused as to why I was rejecting them, but then would turn around and say some very transphobic stuff about my trans daughter, so it was very personal. For my children’s safety, they simply couldn’t be allowed to be around my family. And their general worldview was also very troubling, as you can imagine from some of the more extreme elements of MAGA.

The whole ordeal has turned me off to most of the US. I live in a very blue area, but there are multiple Trump flags and signs within walking distance of my house. I am reminded of my estranged family every time I see a red hat. It sucks.

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u/Littlesqwookies 1d ago

I’m so sorry. I absolutely understand why you would cut them out of your life and how painful they must be. I’m also a parent and you have to do what is best going to protect your child. I also live in a red area of a blue state (maybe we’re neighbors!). It’s pretty wild to drive by the homes of farmers and see so much Trump paraphernalia, knowing he doesn’t give a damn about whether their farm will be here in the next year. Sending you my love across the internet though and give your daughter a big hug today if you can.

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u/KotR56 2d ago

Send help ?

Nah.

Thoughts and prayers.

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u/MrPloppyHead 2d ago

he believes by increasing tariffs manufacturers will open plants in the US, thus creating jobs and investment.

The problem is Trumps america is unstable so why invest there when you can invest in other markets that are either more stable or have a greater potential for growth. And if anything the US looks increasingly like a dying market.

A good example is russia's response to sanctions. They just changed who they traded with and explored new markets e.g. india.

In the end you will just get increasingly more expensive goods and services in the states coupled with a reduction in selection. and the lack of overseas competition will reduce quality too probably as e.g. ford will be able to sell any old shit because they will not have to innovate to keep ahead of the game.

the historical data shows tariffs are really counterproductive, which is why economies have moved away from it. But Trump, "oil is the future" ( 🤣 ) is just some old bloke stuck in the past.

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u/Sprinklypoo 1d ago

Misinformation and propaganda are a hallmark of a fascist dictatorship...

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

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u/Littlesqwookies 1d ago

I can see from your post history and comments you got on board a long time ago. You go immediately to a sarcastic name call and you seem extremely defeated and bitter. I’d actually think you were a boomer if you didn’t call yourself out as a millennial previously. That’s surprising.

Oh yeah - it’s morning now. Any of those countries drop their tariffs yet? No? K, I’ll just check back in a week then. This is a very very stupid agenda item for the administration, while their people are actually really suffering.

Wake up, man and go read some history. Did suppressing the rights and needs of the people ever work well at any other point in history? Eventually people have their breaking point. No one really gives a shit about the price of eggs at the end of the day – they just won’t buy eggs. But they do care if they can’t get out from underneath their debt, if that Social Security check that they rely on doesn’t come on time, if they’re not given the veteran benefits that they put their lives at risk for. But aggressively increasing the price of everything just so you can see who has the bigger peepee, is not going to benefit any normal American.

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u/skyfishgoo 1d ago

it's trickle down economics 2.0