Trump spun the tariff wheel of fortune for the second time today. This time, it landed on “soon”.
Tariffs Coming Soon
The Wall Street Journal reports Trump Says Auto, Pharma Tariffs Coming Soon, but Doesn’t Mention April 2
President Trump said tariffs on industrial sectors such as automobiles and pharmaceuticals would be forthcoming but declined to say whether they would be announced April 2, the day he previously slated to unveil the industrial levies.
The U.S. will announce automotive tariffs “very shortly,” and will unveil pharmaceutical tariffs “at some point,” Trump said Monday during a cabinet meeting, without offering further details.
The administration a day earlier had indicated sectoral tariffs likely wouldn’t be announced on April 2, though the White House would still impose reciprocal levies that day seeking to equalize U.S. tariffs with the ones charged by other nations. The administration is also expected to take other trade barriers, such as value-added taxes, into account when implementing its reciprocal tariffs.
Trump had also teased tariffs on semiconductors and agricultural products that day.
The reciprocal duties are expected to hit targeted countries with higher tariffs on April 2, but a White House spokesman said officials were still weighing which other tariffs to unveil, and when.
The Biden administration had granted Chevron a license to resume operations in Venezuela in 2022, after the first Trump administration had barred the company from the Latin American country during a “maximum pressure” campaign to oust Venezuela’s leader, strongman Nicolás Maduro.
The Treasury Department said Chevron’s general license didn’t allow the company to pay any taxes or royalties to Venezuela or export oil to anywhere other than the U.S.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for additional details. Chevron declined to comment.
Among the countries that import Venezuelan crude are China, India, Spain and Malaysia.
Trump Announces 25 Percent Tariffs on Countries that Buy Venezuela Oil
Earlier today I noted Trump Announces 25 Percent Tariffs on Countries that Buy Venezuela Oil
I eagerly await Trump’s major announcement for Venezuela to be the 53rd state.
So, instead of the US getting oil from Canada, we may get it from Venezuela.
And instead of Canada shipping oil to the US, it will ship oil to China, India, Spain and Malaysia.
This makes perfect sense to Trump, but to no one who can think.
These supply change reconfigurations will cost time and money. But they will be necessary because Canada can no longer consider the US a reliable trading partner.
Meanwhile, Trump sucks up to Maduro, just like Biden did.
Making Sense of Maximum Pressure
Maximum pressure now applies to Canada, not Venezuela. This makes perfect sense.
Q: Why?
A: Because it’s Trump doing it, silly, not Biden.
Trump Claims “We Have All the Oil We Need”
On February 2, I asked Trump Claims “We Have All the Oil We Need” True or False?
By volume, we are reasonably close. But by grades of oil US refiners need, we aren’t. Here are the details.
Should the US Import Oil from Venezuela Instead of Canada?
On March 22, I asked Should the US Import Oil from Venezuela Instead of Canada?
The answer to this question is seemingly obvious, but ….
But “Trump Considers Extending Chevron License to Pump Oil in Venezuela”
I sarcastically commented “This makes perfect sense because Venezuela is a much better neighbor than Canada.”
Addendum – Bonus Third Spin of the Wheel
WSJ: President Trump said that he might soften reciprocal tariffs he plans to impose on U.S. trading partners next month, and that some nations might be exempt.
“I may give a lot of countries breaks,” Trump told reporters Monday in the Oval Office. He said the reciprocal tariffs could stop short of his pledge to equalize U.S. duties with rates other nations charge.
“I’m embarrassed to charge them what they’ve charged us,” Trump said.
Damn, this conflicts with his previous comments on using tariffs to fund the deficits and not giving breaks.
However, it is perfectly consistent with his statements on flexibility as discussed in Trump Postpones “Liberation Day” to Focus on the “Dirty 15”
Key Word Flexibility
Proving beyond a shadow of a doubt how flexible he is, no one knows month-to-month, week-to-week, day-to-day, or even hour-to-hour what Trump will do.
Tariffs on Canada, Mexico, Autos, Oil, and China have all been on-and-off, and scaled up and down depending primarily on what mood Trump is in.
Trump is even flexible on being flexible as this important quote shows. “Sometimes there’s flexibility, there’ll be flexibility.”
We have gone from tariff tiers to tariffs for all 200 countries the US trades with, flexible of course, maybe.
Drats! Complete Liberation Postponed
I was ready with firecrackers and blowhorns. I even have a Canadian flag to burn as part of my great liberation personal ceremony plan.
But it’s important to be flexible, even on flexibility itself, so that no one can count on anything, ever.
Trust is so overrated.