We do not yet know whether Putin will agree with what Trump is proposing in Ukraine. This is just a one-sided gloating, just like tariffs are to punish China and every Tom, Dick and Harry. It is just a self-proclamation to uplift his own falling ego. The whole world, including three-year old kids, know who are going to pay for those tariffs and it is not China or any other country.
The greatest blessing of all must be that BRICS and the Global South market can afford those countries facing tariffs by the USA to do trade with the Global South itself for their exports, not just the USA and the EU. To put it more bluntly, even the EU is distancing itself from the USA, with two European states wanting to join BRICS - Serbia and Turkey. Turkey had tried for years to be accepted into the EU, but had been pushed aside, just like India. But Turkey is in NATO (which I consider to be European) and Putin must be wary of Turkey having split loyalties like India.
Why would Putin even want to accept the USA in Ukraine, or even NATO expanding into Ukraine, when all along he knew there was a nefarious agenda behind the move. It would defeat the purpose of having the war and all the sacrifices. What is going to happen once Trump is no longer the President? The USA could easily go back on its words, tear up any agreement just like after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Just listen to what Trump is boasting about not caring even if he breaks the rules to take what he wants. Oh, the rules are for others to follow, not the USA by the way.
Trump just wants desperately to punish China by hook or by crook but is falling into a trap he dug for himself. Trump has to extend his tariffs to every country that have Chinese investments and punishing them the same manner as punishing China. Every country could mean the whole world, since Chinese investments are worldwide, not just in rich countries of the West. That is making friends and allies extremely wary of the USA and pushing them closer towards China I would say. It is making the USA more isolated. But that is what Trump wants after all. Trump can lure all the manufacturing back to the USA, but can he realistically think the USA can produce anything cheaper than China to sell to the rest of the world? Stupidity has no cure really.
Anonymous
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With manufacturing of consumer goods in the USA not yet taking off, Trump thinks his 100% tariff threat against BRICS countries is going to work to disintegrate the bloc. He is just as delusional as ever and is falling into a trap set by China.
China cutting off exports to the USA in critical materials is already one area that the USA cannot afford to face. This is going to affect manufacturing, such as setting up battery production facilities as an example, under which graphite is controlled by China, and almost totally controlled by BRICS countries. Sure, Trump can think about 100% tariffs on graphite as well, but at what cost to its manufacturing ambitions. And any attempt to gather supplies from alternative sources is going to take years to come to fruition.
Cutting off Titanium export by China is another critical item that will cripple USA manufacturing such as weapons production, fighter jet engine production, civilian plane production, EVs and semi-conductor usage. Boeing is being crippled by the substituting of cheaper aluminum for titanium by the Indian suppliers to Boeing. The damage it has done to Boeing is already showing.
And we are not yet talking about China cutting off its exports of consumer products to the USA when the USA has not yet found any alternative suppliers in quantitative and qualitative proportions as substitutes for its domestic consumption. What this means is that USA retailers like Walmart and Amazon will face empty warehouses and retail outlets. This is something that the USA Government is going to face its citizens going forward if the trade war really escalates to unimaginable proportions.
What is Trump going to achieve by imposing 100% tariffs on just the above two items? It will ramp up the cost of production, which will mean more expensive batteries and very expensive weapons that will cripple the USA military and its Military Industrial Complex.
And what does it do to other BRICS countries? They can always divert exports to other BRICS countries and the Global South to avoid paying the tariffs. Who is going to suffer with the 100% tariffs? USA manufacturing and USA consumers will bear the brunt of the increased tariffs. Are they going to take it lying down? Time will tell.
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