XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.atheism, alt.politics.trump   
   XPost: rec.arts.tv, can.politics   
   From: x@y.com   
      
   Trumps broad tariffs go into effect just as US economic pain is   
   surfacing   
      
   The White House said that starting just after midnight that goods from   
   more than 60 countries and the European Union would face tariff rates of   
   10% or higher.   
      
   Aug. 7, 2025   
      
      
   By Josh Boak The Associated Press   
      
   WASHINGTON (AP)  President Donald Trump began imposing higher import   
   taxes on dozens of countries Thursday just as the economic fallout of   
   his monthslong tariff threats has begun to cause visible damage to the   
   U. S. economy.   
      
   Just after midnight, goods from more than 60 countries and the European   
   Union became subject to tariff rates of 10% or higher. Products from the   
   EU, Japan and South Korea are taxed at 15%, while imports from Taiwan,   
   Vietnam and Bangladesh are taxed at 20%. Trump also expects the EU,   
   Japan and South Korea to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the   
   United States.   
      
   I think the growth is going to be unprecedented, Trump said Wednesday.   
   He said the U. S. was taking in hundreds of billions of dollars in   
   tariffs, but did not provide a specific figure for revenues because we   
   dont even know what the final number is regarding the rates.   
      
      
   Despite the uncertainty, the White House is confident that the onset of   
   his tariffs will provide clarity about the path for the worlds largest   
   economy. Now that companies understand the direction the U. S. is   
   headed, the Republican administration believes it can ramp up new   
   investments and jump-start hiring in ways that can rebalance America as   
   a manufacturing power.   
      
   So far, however, there are signs of self-inflicted wounds to the U. S.   
   as companies and consumers brace for the impact of the new taxes.   
      
   Risk of economic erosion   
      
   Hiring began to stall, inflationary pressures crept upward and home   
   values in key markets started to decline after the initial tariff   
   rollout in April, said John Silvia, CEO of Dynamic Economic Strategy.   
      
   A less productive economy requires fewer workers, Silvia said. But there   
   is more, the higher tariff prices lower workers real wages. The economy   
   has become less productive, and firms cannot pay the same real wages as   
   before. Actions have consequences.   
      
   Many economists say the risk is that the American economy is steadily   
   eroded.   
      
   Its going to be fine sand in the gears and slow things down, said Brad   
   Jensen, a professor at Georgetown University.   
      
   Trump has promoted the tariffs as a way to reduce Americas persistent   
   trade deficit. But importers tried to avoid the taxes by bringing in   
   more goods before the tariffs took effect. As a result, the $582.7   
   billion trade imbalance for the first half of the year was 38% higher   
   than in 2024. Total construction spending has dropped 2.9% over the past   
   year.   
      
      
   The economic pain is not confined to the U. S.   
      
   Germany, which sends 10% of its exports to the U. S. market, saw   
   industrial production sag 1.9% in June as Trumps earlier rounds of   
   tariffs took hold. The new tariffs will clearly weigh on economic   
   growth, said Carsten Brzeski, global chief of macro for ING bank.   
      
   Dismay in India and Switzerland   
      
   The lead-up to Thursday fit the slapdash nature of Trumps tariffs, which   
   have been rolled out, walked back, delayed, increased, imposed by letter   
   and renegotiated.   
      
   Trump on Wednesday announced additional 25% tariffs to be imposed on   
   India because of its purchases of Russian oil, bringing its total import   
   taxes to 50%.   
      
   A leading group of Indian exporters said that will affect nearly 55% of   
   the countrys outbound shipments to America and force exporters to lose   
   long-standing clients.   
      
   Absorbing this sudden cost escalation is simply not viable. Margins are   
   already thin, S. C. Ralhan, president of the Federation of Indian Export   
   Organizations, said in a statement.   
      
   The Swiss executive branch, the Federal Council, was expected to meet   
   Thursday after President Karin Keller-Sutter and other Swiss officials   
   returned from a hastily arranged trip to Washington in a failed bid to   
   avert a 39% U. S. tariffs on Swiss goods.   
      
      
   Import taxes are still coming on pharmaceutical drugs, and Trump   
   announced 100% tariffs on computer chips. That could leave the U. S.   
   economy in a place of suspended animation as it awaits the impact.   
      
   Stock market remains solid   
      
   The presidents use of a 1977 law to declare an economic emergency to   
   impose the tariffs is under a legal challenge. Even people who worked   
   with Trump during his first term are skeptical, such as Paul Ryan, the   
   Wisconsin Republican who was House speaker.   
      
   Theres no sort of rationale for this other than the president wanting to   
   raise tariffs based upon his whims, his opinions, Ryan told CNBC on   
   Wednesday.   
      
   Trump is aware of the risk that courts could overturn his tariffs. In a   
   Truth Social tweet, he said, THE ONLY THING THAT CAN STOP AMERICAS   
   GREATNESS WOULD BE A RADICAL LEFT COURT THAT WANTS TO SEE OUR COUNTRY   
   FAIL!   
      
   The stock market has been solid during the tariff drama, with the S&P   
   500 index climbing more than 25% from its April low. The markets rebound   
   and the income tax cuts in Trumps tax and spending measure signed into   
   law on July 4 have given the White House confidence that economic growth   
   is bound to accelerate in the coming months.   
      
   Global financial markets took the new tariffs in stride, with Asian and   
   European shares and U. S. futures mostly higher.   
      
      
   But INGs Brzeski warned: While financial markets seem to have grown numb   
   to tariff announcements, lets not forget that their adverse effects on   
   economies will gradually unfold over time.   
      
   Trump foresees an economic boom. American voters and the rest of the   
   world wait, nervously.   
      
   Theres one person who can afford to be cavalier about the uncertainty   
   that hes creating, and thats Donald Trump, said Rachel West, a senior   
   fellow at The Century Foundation who worked in the Biden White House on   
   labor policy. The rest of Americans are already paying the price for   
   that uncertainty.   
      
   ___   
      
   Follow the APs coverage of President Donald Trump at https: //apnews.   
   com/hub/donald-trump.   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)