By Michael Woyton
The convicted felon took a break this weekend from cheating at golf to announce a trade deal with the European Union.
Trump had threatened the EU with a 30 percent tariff rate which was going to begin August 1, ABC News said.
Now the “deal” is that products from one of the largest trade partners with the United States will be slapped with a 15 percent tariff.
Subscribe to On Second Thought for free:
No matter what the liar-in-chief says, that means anything that comes from EU countries will cost 15 percent more.
Those items include pharmaceuticals, cars, machinery, wine and perfume, according to ABC News.
“Tariffs typically raise prices as importers pass along a share of the tax burden to consumers,” the new organization said, “though prices have largely averted major tariff-related hikes so far.”
“So far” is key here.
It’s hard to imagine that as the reality of the tariff deal become clearer that consumers won’t be paying most if not all of the price hike.
Included in the announced tariff deal was a promise that the EU would invest $600 billion in the U.S. economy over the coming years.
However, EU officials are beginning to walk that back.
“The European Union has admitted it doesn’t have the power to deliver on a promise to invest $600 billion in the United States economy, only hours after making the pledge at landmark trade talks in Scotland, Politico Europe said.
Two EU officials said the reason is that the cash would have to come entirely from private sector investment over which it has no authority.
That pie in the EU sky promise brings to mind the adjudicated rapist’s 2017 announcement that Foxconn would invest $10 billion in a manufacturing facility in Wisconsin.
Those plans, along with the promise of 13,000 new jobs, were abandoned by Foxconn in 2021.
It took President Joe Biden to resurrect a deal for the same site by Microsoft, which is building a $3.3 billion data center, with 2,300 unionized construction jobs and 2,000 permanent jobs in the area.
While a higher tariff was avoided, Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM, said the deal doesn’t enhance trade, it simply puts a tax on European goods coming to the U.S., CNN said.
“You’re going to pay more for your European imports,” he said. “That’s what this means.”
There are a few carveouts that eliminate tariffs on some goods, including plane parts, semiconductors, generic drugs, certain chemicals and certain agricultural products.
CNN also explained that the “deal” is another blow to Detroit automakers, in that the 15 percent auto tariff on EU cars undercuts the 25 percent tariff U.S. auto manufacturers pay if they build their cars in Mexico.
Art of the deal much?
The bottom line is that we the American consumers are caught in the middle because the grifter-in-chief’s absolute lack of ability to make deals that help the American consumers.
— — — — —
“Ghislaine Maxwell played an instrumental role in the horrific sexual abuse of multiple young teenage girls.”
That is the first sentence in the preliminary statement of the government’s June 2022 sentencing memorandum for Maxwell.
Just glancing at the table of contents tells you of what she has been credibly accused and convicted. Under the category of “Summary of Proof at Trial,” there are six different cases of sexual abuse.
The preliminary statement continues: “If anything stands out from the defendant’s sentencing submission, it is her complete failure to address her offense conduct and her utter lack of remorse.”
Maxwell is being considered for and — if we know Trump — will likely receive a pardon.
The January 6 hoodlums being pardoned were bad enough.
But this …
Trump will continue to lash out and say and do things that are meant to take the Epstein files heat off of him.
So far it’s not working too well.
Arrest Oprah and Beyonce?
Find and follow me on BlueSky through this link.
Lead art: Screen grab from CBS News via YouTube
On Second Thought 