1/ It's now only a few hours until Donald Trump makes his big tariff announcement, but nobody should think that there is any kind of plan behind it. It's all about Trump's desire for domination and long-held crank economic views.
2/ "He “likes the shock and awe,” a White House official said, and aims to capitalize on it. “Each country needs to panic and call. … Trump wants to hear you grovel and say you’ll cut a deal.”"
3/ As Paul Krugman says, "Since most of our trading partners aren’t in a groveling mood, trade war seems inevitable."
He's also right to say there's no secret agenda or 4D chess behind Trump's plan.
4/ "There can’t be any secret agenda behind the Trump tariffs, because there’s nobody around Trump with the knowledge or independence to devise such an agenda. This is all about Trump’s gut feelings."
5/ Before today's announcement comes, it's also worth reading what Krugman has written about the incoherent and contradictory economic ideas behind the Trump tariffs: paulkrugman.substack.com/p/stop-looking…
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