{"id":306660,"date":"2025-04-12T06:00:54","date_gmt":"2025-04-12T06:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=306660"},"modified":"2025-04-14T07:00:56","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T07:00:56","slug":"trump-concocted-the-tariffs-hoax-to-decouple-with-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=306660","title":{"rendered":"Trump Concocted the ‘Tariffs Hoax’ to ‘Decouple’ with China"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mike Whitney \u2013 The Unz Review April 10, 2025<\/strong><\/h1>\n

The Trump tariff extravaganza was never about trade deficits, reindustrialization, or bringing jobs back to America. It was always about China<\/strong>. Now that Trump has either eased or lifted the tariffs on 90 other countries, we can see what\u2019s actually going on. Trump is using the \u2018tariffs smokescreen\u2019 to implement his decoupling policy, a strategy that is designed to isolate, encircle and eventually crush the People\u2019s Republic of China. That\u2019s the motive that drives the policy. The tariffs were just a means to an end. This is from CNN<\/em>:<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump announced a complete three-month pause on all the \u201creciprocal\u201d tariffs that went into effect at midnight, with the exception of China,<\/strong> a stunning reversal from a president who had insisted historically high tariffs were here to stay.<\/p>\n

But enormous tariffs will remain on China, the world\u2019s second-largest economy. In fact, Trump said they will be increased to 125% <\/strong>from 104% after China announced additional retaliatory tariffs against the United States earlier Wednesday. All other countries that were subjected to reciprocal tariff rates Wednesday will see rates go back down to the universal 10% rate, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on the lack of respect<\/strong> that China has shown to the World\u2019s Markets, I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately,\u201d Trump said in his social media post. \u201cAt some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable,\u201d he wrote. Trump announces 90-day pause on \u2018reciprocal\u2019 tariffs with exception of China<\/a>, CNN<\/em><\/p>\n

China\u2019s \u201clack of respect\u201d? So, Trump is setting US trade policy based on bruised feelings??<\/p>\n

That\u2019s just not a credible explanation. Something else is going on here.<\/p>\n

China is being targeted because China\u2019s meteoric rise and explosive growth has made it a threat to America\u2019s global hegemony.<\/strong> That is why China has entered Washington\u2019s crosshairs. By imposing prohibitive 125% tariffs on Chinese exports, Trump is indicating that the era of integrated markets in a globalized system is over. <\/strong>The world is being redivided into warring blocs by wealthy Capitalists in the West who cannot compete with China\u2019s government-led model that controls the nation\u2019s critical industries and recycles massive profits back into vital infrastructure, education, R&D and technology. <\/strong>The West\u2019s highly financialized model\u2014that increasingly depends on skimming the cream off toxic securities and stock buybacks\u2014cannot remake itself into a manufacturing powerhouse willing to compete with China on a level playing field. Instead, it must use its waning influence to jolt the system with some unexpected fireworks display (the tariffs) that sends shockwaves through the system and panic across the markets. These contrived spectacles, that border on economic terrorism, are all part of Uncle Sam\u2019s repertoire that are used to subdue the opposition and maintain Washington\u2019s tenuous grip on power.<\/p>\n

But do they work?<\/p>\n

Trump seems to think so. Here\u2019s Trump with his billionaire friends discussing \u2018the killing\u2019 they made when he eased the tariffs and markets soared.<\/p>\n

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NEW:<\/p>\n

\uf1fa\uf1f2 Donald Trump was caught on video explaining that his billionaire friends made billions yesterday with tariffs and stock market manipulation. pic.twitter.com\/ku1J7Ke1pa<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Megatron (@Megatron_ron) April 10, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n