# Retaliatory tariffs **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [January 24, 2025, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retaliatory-tariffs/1013322 "2025-01-24T04:48:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 31
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retaliatory-tariffs/1013322/601 "2025-04-10T04:15:38Z")
Alternet reports that even Gasparino at Fox noted that his sources told him that. > **['The gun was at his head': Here’s why Trump really 'capitulated' to market...](https://www.alternet.org/trump-capitulated/)** > > More details are becoming available about what may have caused President Donald Trump to back down from imposing broad new tariffs on most of the world.Following several days of financial markets sliding in response to Trump's "Liberation Day"... > Gasparino said that the administration ultimately pulled back because of threats that Japan — which he said runs " major money management firms that are involved in the bond market" — was contemplating dumping some of its [estimated $1.26 trillion](https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/japan-rules-out-using-us-treasury-holdings-counter-trump-tariffs-2025-04-09/) in U.S. Treasury securities. Gasparino said Japan “forced [the administration’s] hands” with the move, and said that he was told Japan now believed the United States bond market “was not a great place to do business.” > > “He had no choice,” Gasparino added. “The gun was at his head. It was very bad.” ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retaliatory-tariffs/1013322/602 "2025-04-10T04:22:57Z")
Also worth repeating that stock and bond markets tend to move in opposite directions. When both are crashing, something very bad is happening in terms of loss of investor confidence across the board, and when major bondholders like Japan threaten to start dumping, well, that’s a financial disaster in the making. The simpler explanation in fewer words is that the Orange Dumbass has absolutely no idea what he’s doing. When a monkey suddenly has control of a bulldozer, the monkey is going to be getting a lot of surprises – one after another. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retaliatory-tariffs/1013322/603 "2025-04-10T07:25:07Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > which has to be the biggest case of market manipulation/insider trading in history. “The Yuuuugest! No one’s ever seen anything like it!” ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retaliatory-tariffs/1013322/604 "2025-04-10T08:46:20Z")
_Gypsy Rose Donald - The “Now You See It, Now You Don’t” Tariff Queen!_ (Can’t be bothered to work up a corresponding image, but feel free…) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retaliatory-tariffs/1013322/605 "2025-04-10T11:57:31Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Tariff Queen! \He is the Tariff Queen Old and slow, with that orange sheen Tariff queen Getting owned by President Xi, oh yeah His weird dancing aside, He’s the dumbest man of our time Manipulating stock indices The fucking Tariff Queen ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retaliatory-tariffs/1013322/606 "2025-04-10T12:47:15Z")
RickJay is Randy Rainbow (and I claim my £5)! ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retaliatory-tariffs/1013322/607 "2025-04-10T13:54:58Z")
I only heard about Japan starting to sell their US treasuries after hearing about the climbdown. As the largest holder of US bonds, that’s a really big deal, and basically means the front two wheels of the bus were hanging over the cliff when someone finally pulled trump from the steering wheel. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retaliatory-tariffs/1013322/608 "2025-04-10T13:57:37Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Gasparino said that the administration ultimately pulled back because of threats that Japan — which he said runs " major money management firms that are involved in the bond market" — was contemplating dumping some of its [estimated $1.26 trillion](https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/japan-rules-out-using-us-treasury-holdings-counter-trump-tariffs-2025-04-09/) in U.S. Treasury securities. Gasparino said Japan “forced [the administration’s] hands” with the move, and said that he was told Japan now believed the United States bond market “was not a great place to do business.” > > “He had no choice,” Gasparino added. “The gun was at his head. It was very bad.” Another victory for Globalism! Seriously, this is fantastic - the system of international trade defending itself. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retaliatory-tariffs/1013322/609 "2025-04-10T14:32:16Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Another victory for Globalism! If you watch the video there until the end, the guy still tried to spin it as a “win” for Trump, because now he has other countries looking to make a “deal” with Trump. Sure, destroy trillions of dollars of value in a week, as part of a plan to make “Deals”, and inadvertently destroy the bond market as well. Then, try to negotiate with 75 different countries who all just watched you blink when Japan demonstrated that Trump simply never understood the possible consequences of his tariff policies. Yeah, sounds like a win to me! ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retaliatory-tariffs/1013322/610 "2025-04-10T14:50:54Z")
I see MAGA cultists proclaiming how amazing it was that the market was up X% yesterday, like it wasn’t just springing back after Trump’s policies were reduced. Like bragging about how much you’ve climbed when you get back on your knees after someone removed their boot from your neck. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retaliatory-tariffs/1013322/611 "2025-04-10T14:51:12Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Then, try to negotiate with 75 different countries who all just watched you blink when Japan demonstrated that Trump simply never understood the possible consequences of his tariff policies. China demonstrated the same. In fact, in general it’s been demonstrated that Trump really doesn’t understanding **anything** except stoking his own self-gratification. His lack of self-awareness is beyond belief. He’s literally mentally ill. This is exactly the kind of psychopath the Founders sought to prevent ever coming anywhere near the presidency, so they put in all the safeguards they could think of, and all of them failed. No, the story below isn’t satire: > I like to take a nice shower to take care of my beautiful hair,” Trump said as he signed the executive order > **[Trump signs executive order on water pressure to ‘restore shower freedom’](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/09/trump-water-pressure-executive-order)** > > White House says order will ‘make America’s showers great again’ and ‘end the Obama-Biden war on water pressure’ ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retaliatory-tariffs/1013322/612 "2025-04-10T14:52:04Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > > [@GIGObuster](#): > > > > “He had no choice,” Gasparino added. “The gun was at his head. It was very bad.” > > Another victory for Globalism! > > Seriously, this is fantastic - the system of international trade defending itself. I feel that this is just what I should believe. The alternative is close to a conspiracy theory – that he was always planning to send tariff rates up and down to give [opportunities for friends and family](https://arthursnell.substack.com/cp/161015937) to profit from stock market gyrations. Financial journalists are no doubt looking into the claim in my last link; the truth will come out in coming months. Of course, it could be both. The Japanese angle set the details and timing, but Trump was always planning to overshoot and then back down to show he has power over the stock market. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retaliatory-tariffs/1013322/613 "2025-04-10T14:56:35Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > The alternative is close to a conspiracy theory – that he was always planning to send tariff rates up and down to give [opportunities for friends and family](https://arthursnell.substack.com/cp/161015937) to profit from stock market gyrations. I don’t believe for a second that Trump planned this from the beginning. His “Bestest president EVAR!” ego trip is based almost entirely on how the stock market is doing. He tanked the COVID response largely because he knew admitting there was a problem would tank the economy, and he desperately wanted to avoid that. No way does he deliberately trash the economy so soon after taking office. What I do believe, though, is that after he decided to flip-flop on the tariffs, he gave his cronies a heads-up so they could profit off the swing. He’d already screwed up, so might as well make a little money off it. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retaliatory-tariffs/1013322/614 "2025-04-10T14:57:20Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > The alternative is close to a conspiracy theory – that he was always planning to send tariff rates up and down to give [opportunities for friends and family](https://arthursnell.substack.com/cp/161015937) to profit from stock market gyrations. Financial journalists are no doubt looking into the claim in my last link; the truth will come out in coming months. It’s possible, but I think the simplest explanation is true here. Trump is an idiot; he genuinely thinks that a trade deficit means we are being cheated; he’s been talking about this _since the 80s_. It’s not a new idea. I don’t think he was planning this ahead of time because that would require more forethought than he has really demonstrated. That said, he _absolutely_ seems to have given quite a few people a heads up about this ahead of time, allowing them to buy the dip right before he announced the pause and the market bounced like a dead cat. I don’t know if the “good time to buy” tweet was part of that or not - to me it almost reads like at that time he was still desperately trying to preserve the market without removing the tariffs. But I think there’s evidence he gave insiders a more explicit heads up. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retaliatory-tariffs/1013322/615 "2025-04-10T14:58:33Z")
Markets down 3% or so this morning. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retaliatory-tariffs/1013322/616 "2025-04-10T15:04:37Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > That said, he _absolutely_ seems to have given quite a few people a heads up about this ahead of time, allowing them to buy the dip right before he announced the pause and the market bounced like a dead cat. Some graphs in reddit strongly suggest so: > **[https://preview.redd.it/tinfoil-hat-alert-looks-like-insiders-got-a-20m-head-sta...](https://preview.redd.it/tinfoil-hat-alert-looks-like-insiders-got-a-20m-head-start-v0-pg8pcxd90vte1.jpeg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=433c3615779826b597bf4f2d26d658405bf47997)** Unfortunately the SEC ~~is run~~ has been kidnapped by DOGE, so I expect no nasty, unfair investigation. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retaliatory-tariffs/1013322/617 "2025-04-10T16:19:33Z")
And the stock market is falling like a rock. The Trumpists will say it’s all part of his master plan. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retaliatory-tariffs/1013322/618 "2025-04-10T16:20:10Z")
I wonder if they switch between “the stock market doesn’t really matter, who cares if you lose money” “omg look how Trump made the stockmarket skyrocket!!!” “the stock market doesn’t really matter” on a daily basis ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retaliatory-tariffs/1013322/619 "2025-04-10T16:22:42Z")
Trump is playing 4-D chess: - Depreciate - Default - Decline - Downturn ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retaliatory-tariffs/1013322/620 "2025-04-10T16:28:26Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > I see MAGA cultists proclaiming how amazing it was that the market was up X% yesterday Yep, saw this on FB: > The market had it’s greatest day ever and the anti USA liberals are mad about it. That says a lot about them. To which I responded: > Yep, the market yesterday ALMOST recovered its losses from the previous 3 days. Certainly something to celebrate, yes? And it’s down over 1000 points today. But you go ahead and bitch about the liberals being mad about the market. Unsurprisingly, he has been silent since my post. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retaliatory-tariffs/1013322.md?page=30) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retaliatory-tariffs/1013322.md?page=32)