Trump tariffs inflicted again on EU and Apple

Anna Chen – 23 May 2025, Trump tariffs

Our Orange Overlord goes slap-happy again with tariffs now that the markets enjoyed a temporary bear bounce and his mates need it dropped again to reload at the next bottom.

So 50% tariffs on the EU, who he’s just had a chummy G7 meeting with, co-conspiring against China for purported trade practice violations he doesn’t like. I.E. anything China does well that helps it excel. 

Here’s one in the eye for you for being so spineless, Macron, Ursula, the new German guy and all. Kissing the ring does nothing. He doesn’t respect you, you know.

As I keep saying, Europe would be better off getting that BRICS freight train running the length of the Eurasia landmass all the way to Barking like it was in 2017 when peace and stability were breaking out across the globe. About the time China was the Ukraine’s biggest investor and its Black Sea coast was to be a major lucrative hub for BRICS. When Blackrock and Biden said we’re having that!

And 25% on iPhones not made in the US? As my mama explained to me with stick-figure drawings when I was a toddler, this is how you get boom and bust. 

So it’s just as well Apple didn’t spend billions and years transferring their iPhone manufacturing to India now the capricious one has changed what passes for his mind again. Poor Modi, jilted once more.

The Don made Apple an offer they couldn’t refuse. “I had a little problem with Tim Cook. I said to Tim … we’ve treated you really good, we’ve put up with all the plants that you’ve built in Chyna for years, now you got to build for us. We’re not interested in you building in India, India can take care of themselves … we want you to build here.”

Will the Trump tariffs work? Will thousands and thousands of Americans be employed in US factories making high tech devices for Chinese or Indian wages? Or will they be paid high dollars like the labour aristocracy status promised to them by the billionaires with their insatiable appetite for more profits because lots is never enough? In which case iPhones will cost upwards of $6K, few will afford it and you can wave bye-bye to the economy.

BTW, they need the S&P down further to April lows for a good stuffing to match Charles Schwab’s $2.4 billion bet, so expect more wreckage to get us there.

… Mark Rutte acts as CEO for the Nato corporation. Peace is a dirty word. Keep that Ukraine proxy war against Russia going. No, we won’t allow former USSR territory to act as a neutral buffer zone. If we want to take our military right up to their doorstep, we’ll do so. Thousands dying of starvation in Gaza. We’re still arming Israel. But looking forward to the biggie with China.

The Trump Heist: the fall of the American Empire