No tariff exceptions? Trump keeps changing the rules so no one can play. | Opinion
U.S. business leaders haven't the foggiest idea what to expect next from Trump's throw-spaghetti-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks approach to tariffs. It's utter confusion.
President Donald Trump and his team of economic weirdos showed again this weekend that they’re market-rattling tariff plan is likely being written in real time by a flock of underperforming chickens pecking at laptop keys.
After originally saying the president’s already-confusing and wide-ranging tariffs would have no exclusions or exemptions, several administrations officials spent the weekend saying there would be exemptions for certain electronic imports like smartphones and computers. That was a relief for the tech industry, but it was short-lived. By April 13, Trump himself posted on social media that there was, in fact, no tariff exceptions, further muddying the ink-black waters.
“These products are subject to the existing 20% Fentanyl Tariffs, and they are just moving to a different Tariff ‘bucket,’ ” Trump wrote, sounding like a conspiracy theorist armed with a random-economic-word generator.
Trump and his team clearly have no clue what they're doing with tariffs
The administration tried like heck, I guess, to clarify things more, leading CNBC to report this:
“U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, in an attempt to clarify why the exemptions were made, said Sunday that they are ‘not really an exception,’ even though the executive order Trump signed concerning the exemptions is titled in part ‘Clarification of Exceptions.’ ”
Get it? The EXEMPTIONS are not really EXCEPTIONS despite the EXEMPTIONS being part of an executive order clarifying EXCEPTIONS.
It’s the kind of clarity you expect from a president who lays out economic policies like a man with a head full of bees.
Businesses need clarity and consistency – that's not coming soon
Greer kept trying and utterly failing to make things clear, telling CBS News: “What happened is, this type of supply chain moved from the tariff regime for the global tariff, the reciprocal tariff, and it moved to the national security tariff regime.”
Well, I’m sure that will help business leaders in America who haven’t the foggiest idea what to expect next from Trump’s throw-spaghetti-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks approach to tariffs.
To say there’s a point to this disruption of the global trade order is a callous insult to the word “point.” The only goals appear to be “sowing chaos for funsies” and “harming U.S. companies that need to know what the hell is going on.”
Hard to play the game when Trump keeps changing the rules
As Josh Schafer at Yahoo Finance wrote: “The rules of the game keep changing. For now, they're pushing the tariff rate higher. Later, they could push it lower. But to some extent, that's neither here nor there. The point is it's impossible to play a game if you don't know when the rules might change or goalposts might be moved.”
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts told CNN: “Investors will not invest in the United States when Donald Trump is playing red light, green light with tariffs.”
Warren’s right. Trump has embarked on a mission with no clear goal, no clear strategy and absolutely zero consistency. He seems to think he can bend the global trade order to his will simply by shouting “TARIFFS!” in whatever direction he happens to be facing.
Tariff-man Trump is a mad king with a court full of tail-kissers
This is mad-king behavior with real world economic consequences, and it seems those backing up the mad king are equally clueless as to what comes next.
If you run a business, how can you possibly plan ahead? How can you know what your next move will be when the government can’t decide what it’s doing or even communicate a coherent message?
Trump and Co.’s bizarre bungling would be funny if it wasn’t poised to cost people their jobs, their livelihood or their retirement.
Repercussions from this tariff lunacy are coming. And the Trump administration won’t have enough chickens pecking at laptop keys to write us out of the mess.
Follow Paste BN columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @rexhuppke.bsky.social and on Facebook at facebook.com/RexIsAJerk