Trump rejects Australia's bid for tariff exemptions
Australia will not be granted an exemption from the Trump administration's 25 per cent tariffs on aluminium and steel imports, the White House says.
I sure hope the U.S. has all the raw iron, coal, uranium, potash and lumber they need to become an island onto themselves. What They don't? Weird.
Trump intends to keep buying it from these countries for the same price. He’ll just charge the American people an extra 50% to access it, instead of charging billionaires and mega corporations taxes.
The U.S. is one of the few countries that actually does have sufficient raw resources to be an island unto itself. It would be sub-optimal to be sure, but doable.
I'm so glad Australia has been such a good vassal ally to the states, because the states sure do pay it back. I mean, they wouldn't set up military bases on our land unless they really loved us.
I read this article by Yanis Varoufakis that provides well reasoned explanation and criticism of Trump's plan: https://unherd.com/2025/02/why-trumps-tariffs-are-a-masterplan/
Somehow, the possibility that a plan exists is reassuring.
