It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Friday, April 11, 2025
Our Huge Trade Deficit with China Does NOT Give Us the Upper Hand in Tax (Tariff) War
Photograph Source: Tia Dufour, White House – Public Domain
Many reporters and commentators have claimed the United States has the upper hand in a trade war with China because we have a large trade deficit with China. We import almost $440 billion a year in goods from China, while they import only a bit over $140 billion from us. That means we can impose tariffs on far more Chinese goods than they can on US-made goods.
While that claim is true, it loses sight of what tariffs are. Tariffs are a tax on goods we import. If we do the simple arithmetic on Trump’s 104 percent tariff on China’s goods, he is imposing a $460 billion annual tax on people in the United States. (It would be far less because imports from China will plummet, but we can use this as a first approximation.)
A tax increase of this size, more than 1.5 percent of GDP or $3,700 per household, would ordinarily have people screaming bloody murder. Republicans went crazy over tax increases by Clinton, Obama, and Biden that were far smaller.
It’s true that China cannot tax as many imports from the US, but it is not as though the taxes on our imports from China are costless to us. They will mean higher prices and a lower standard of living for people in the United States.
We just had an election in which inflation or “high prices” were the central issue. If anyone thinks that high prices from Trump tariffs are not a big problem for people here, then the media must have lied to us about the importance of high prices in the election.
It’s also worth mentioning one other potential weapon China has at its disposal. Companies in the United States make an enormous amount of money off their intellectual property (IP): the patent and copyright monopolies they have on prescription drugs and other products and the copyrights they hold on movies, music, and software.
We have often claimed that China does not adequately enforce our IP domestically. While there surely is some difference in their level of enforcement and ours, for the most part our companies do get money from China for their IP claims.
However, China could go full throttle in the opposite direction. It could make a point of ignoring US patents and copyrights. And it could do this not just for its domestic market but also for export, making cheap versions of Pfizer’s blockbuster drugs available to the whole world, along with free copies of Microsoft software and Disney movies. That would make the US, or at least US corporations, big losers in a trade war.
This originally appeared on Dean Baker’s Beat the Press blog.
Dean Baker is the senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, DC.
Trump’s Trade Tariffs and America’s Small Businesses
What do some small business owners think about the impacts of more Trump trade tariffs on their enterprises and the U.S. economy generally?
We turn to Frank Knapp Jr., head of the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce.
“These tariffs are the prelude to stagflation,” he said, “rising inflation and a weak economy, which can result in a deep recession. The tariffs, taxes on imported goods paid by American businesses and consumers, will bring in $6 trillion over 10 years, according to the Trump administration. That’s $6 trillion pulled out of consumers’ pockets, money that Americans won’t be able to spend on goods and services, which slows the economy.”
Consumption spending accounts for two-thirds of the U.S. economy. It is worth mentioning that the federal government, which has a $6.75 trillion annual budget now, collects tariffs. On a related note of tax policy, the president also wants to extend his 2017 tax cuts. That would remove an estimated $5 trillion from the federal treasury over 10 years.
What of the president’s claim that goods made in America will become more price-competitive for businesses and consumers stateside? Knapp doubts that outcome.
“All products will rise in price,” according to him, “even if they are 100% made in America, because when foreign products go up in price, the price on all competitor products will rise. It’s the way the market works. The consumers, small businesses, and the economy will all be losers.”
Walt Rowen owns Susquehanna Glass Company in Columbia, Pennylvania. “These unpredictable tariffs threaten the very existence of family businesses like mine,” he said. “I’m already concerned about Christmas, which I start planning months in advance. I’d normally hire 20 to 30 seasonal workers, but with potential price increases, I can’t even plan production.
“When costs suddenly spike and planning becomes impossible, we’re left with impossible choices. Small businesses need predictable, smart economic policies that will help us thrive, not policies that could end our family legacy.”
Gabe Hagen, owner of Brick Road Coffee in Tempe, Arizona, is upset with the Trump trade tariffs. “Earlier this year we began construction on our second location,” according to him, “but these tariffs have forced us to adjust the budget for the expansion. With coffee and tea grown exclusively overseas, we have no choice but to import and absorb these increased costs.
“Small businesses like Brick Road Coffee employ almost half of America’s workforce, yet we’re the ones who feel these tariff changes the most because we lack the buying power of large corporations.”
It is no secret that firms with more capital than competitors can lose money longer and outlast the competition. In this way, the big fish can and do eat up the smaller fish. This market dynamic is not rocket science, folks.
Gladys Harrison owns Big Mama’s Kitchen & Catering in Omaha, Nebraska. “My mother’s vision for the Big Mama’s Kitchen was to do more than just serve food,” she said. “Through our scholarship programs for local students and our commitment to hiring those seeking second chances, we’ve created something much bigger than a restaurant, but that could be in jeopardy.
“These tariffs will increase costs for our imported spices, and like 71% of small business owners, I’ll likely have to pass these price increases on to customers. We all are going to pay more for everything, which is going to affect all of us.”
Seth Sandronsky is a Sacramento journalist and member of the freelancers unit of the Pacific Media Workers Guild. Email sethsandronsky@gmail.com
‘Let All Hell Break Loose’: The Gaza Ceasefire and How We All Got Played
The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Gaza in late January 2025 was paraded by Western media as a diplomatic breakthrough that might finally curb the bloodshed – a potential turning point for peace in the region. But within weeks, the grim reality became undeniable: this was never about peace. It was a strategic pause – a bait and switch – where Israel regroups, the world looks away, and Palestinians brace for the next onslaught.
Ceasefires typically conjure images of humanitarian relief and de-escalation – respites from violence leading to lasting peace. For the US and Israel, they serve a darker purpose: strategic pauses that enable the consolidation of power, territorial expansion, and preparation for further violence, as detailed in this analysis.
Rather than a step toward resolution, the ceasefire served as little more than a PR maneuver, masking the ongoing cycle of destruction and displacement of the Palestinian people and the broader Arab region.
This cycle is enabled by both sides of the US political establishment, who continue to push the narrative that “every single thing that is happening in Gaza is happening because of Hamas,” as State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce recently said in response to the news that 15 Palestinian rescue workers and medics were executed by the Israelis “one by one.” Their bodies and clearly marked vehicles were then dumped in a mass grave.
The message is clear: Palestinian lives are disposable, and Washington exists to provide alibis for their extermination while using the American public to work and pay for it all.
The facade has collapsed. What we are witnessing is not a conflict spiraling out of control, but a calculated campaign laundered through the language of diplomacy – regardless of which party occupies the White House.
‘Gaslit Gaza Greenlight’
In October 2024, during the Biden administration, I outlined Israel’s blueprints for aggressive territorial expansion, stretching across Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and now Syria. In early 2025, while aboard Air Force One, Trump affirmed this reality, describing Gaza as “literally a demolition site” that needed to be “clean[ed] out” for redevelopment. In a later briefing, he encouraged us to “think of it as a big real estate site.”
Initially, Trump suggested the displacement “could be temporary” or “long-term.” By early February, during Netanyahu’s visit to the White House, the President confirmed the plan would be permanent. As journalist Caitlin Johnstone writes, the US and Israel have “a very extensive history of grabbing land from Palestinians and then refusing to give it back.”
But these actions would directly violate international law which prohibits forcible transfer of occupied populations – a war crime under Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Despite this, these actions align perfectly with the long-standing goals of Israel, Trump’s megadonors, and key figures like Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who has deep ties to the Israeli government, operates on its behalf, and has openly lobbied for “very valuable” beachfront property in Gaza.
They just needed full US support – which they had – and a “‘Made in America‘ stamp of approval” to make their vision of ethnic cleansing seem normal and mainstream, which Trump’s statements provided them with.
These policies of ethnic cleansing and genocide serve the broader strategy of dismantling any possibility of a sovereign Palestinian state. By establishing “facts on the ground” through illegal settlements and military occupation, the goal is the expansion of Greater Israel – systematically eroding Palestinian territorial integrity and self-determination.
Like past agreements, this ceasefire has been little more than a camouflage, concealing the consolidation of Israel’s gains and preparations for further encroachment. In reality, Israel never intended to move past the first phase. The cycle of violence, displacement, and land appropriation continues unabated, with the US playing a central role in facilitating it.
What the world has witnessed since then seems to have been political theater designed to disguise a larger agenda. This was anticipated in advance, whether through campaign promises to be the “most pro-Israel administration in US history,” the influential Zionist billionaires backing the Trump administration, his pro-Israel cabinet, or Trump’s claims about being Israel’s “best friend” and letting them “finish the job.”
For those paying attention to the pattern, the conclusion was unavoidable: it was clear this ceasefire would be nothing more than a cover for the continuation of Israel’s US-backed expansion.
Yet, Western media and public discourse continued framing Israel as “America’s greatest ally,” erasing its atrocities while legitimizing its use of US resources to carry out mass violence against the Palestinian people and the broader region.
Israel’s exploitation goes beyond financial; it is deeply ideological and psychological. By positioning itself as a victim, Israel manipulates the American public into bankrolling its expansionist violence, all under the guise of “self-defense.” This translates materially into arms deals, military assistance, intelligence operations, surveillance, policing of dissent, media cover, and political support – all weaponized against Palestinians and other factions of Arab resistance for standing against Israel’s international crimes in Palestine.
This inversion of reality, where the oppressor is portrayed as the oppressed and the victims vilified as aggressors, was starkly revealed in a recent statement by President Trump:
“Over the past 16 months, Israel has endured a sustained, aggressive, and murderous assault on every front, but they’ve fought back bravely. What we have witnessed is an all-out attack on the very existence of the Jewish state in the Jewish homeland. The Israelis have stood strong and united in the face of an enemy that has kidnapped, tortured, raped, and slaughtered innocent men, women, children, and even little babies.”
It isn’t the fact that he said it, but what it represents within the wider consensus – including a significant number of American Christians. What makes remarks like these so awful is the outright dishonesty and distortion of the truth.
Trump’s statement is 100% correct, but it flips the narrative of who is the victim and who is the perpetrator. It is Israel that has carried out these crimes. This isn’t a matter of opinion. And statements like these aren’t just propaganda; it’s a form of psychological warfare that dehumanizes Palestinians and numbs the global conscience.
If we corrected for the narrative distortion, his statement would read as follows:
“Over the past 16 months, [Palestinians have] endured a sustained aggressive and murderous assault on every front, but they’ve fought back bravely. What we have witnessed is an all-out attack on the very existence of [a Palestinian] state in the [Palestinian] homeland. The [Palestinians] have stood strong and united in the face of an enemy [Israel] that has kidnapped, tortured, raped and slaughtered innocent men, women, children, and even little babies.”
The first version dominates Western media. The second is documented fact – from the almost 18,000 dead children to the systematic sexual violence against Palestinian detainees – atrocities that the US media ignores, framing it instead as Israel defending itself.
There’s been no evidence provided to substantiate claims like those made by Trump and many others on Israel’s behalf. The reports and allegations put forward have been fabrications, designed to manipulate the public into consenting to the actual atrocities being committed by the US, UK, and Israel, among others. These claims have been repeatedly debunked for their lack of evidentiary standards and journalistic integrity, yet they persist, fueling a narrative that justifies carnage and erases Palestinian suffering.
Far from a cessation of violence, the ceasefire served as a facade for Israel’s ongoing aggression and expansion while Washington’s new management settled in.
‘Palestinians Cease, Israelis Fire’
In a stark admission, President Donald Trump gave Israel “the green light to rain fire and hell on Gaza.” For those who hoped Trump might be a “President of peace,” reality is proving to be quite different. But this moment underscores the brutality of a system designed to serve the ultra-wealthy and ruling elite – not everyday people, and certainly not peace.
Under the current administration, US policy has not only enabled but actively encouraged this escalation, with devastating consequences for the people of Gaza and beyond.
As journalist Michael Tracey noted, “If history is any guide, Israel will use the slightest pretext to claim Hamas violated the ceasefire agreement. And the incoming administration says if Israel decides they need to ‘go back in,’ they will have full US support.”
This is… just the most recent of a series of ceasefire agreements reached…
The regular pattern is for Israel… to disregard whatever agreement is in place, while Hamas observes it – as Israel has officially recognized…
President Trump reportedly “emphasized” that the “temporary” ceasefire could collapse with the “full backing” of the US, lifting “all the remaining restrictions” on munitions, enabling Israel to resume its genocidal and ethnic cleansing campaign in Gaza with “tremendous force.”
So far, this has unfolded as predicted. Israel “violat[ed] the original ceasefire agreement,” reported The Cradle. “Phase one of the Gaza ceasefire was due to end on Saturday [March 1st]. Israel [pushed] for the extension… and… continuously delayed the start of negotiations for the second phase.” Even Israeli media outlets confirm this.
The US and Israel altered the terms of the ceasefire, imposed unacceptable conditions on Hamas, and it led to further displacement, destruction, and loss of innocent Palestinian lives, continuing to pave the way for ‘Greater Israel’ and what some critics have dubbed ‘Gaza-Lago’, the ‘MAGA Strip’, or a Trump-Gaza Riviera.
Source – BreakThrough News
Israel has already prepared and executed its “hell plan,” cutting all electricity and water to Gaza while blocking food, fuel, and humanitarian aid. Food, water, electricity, fuel, and medical supplies must never be used as weapons of war or coercion against civilians.
Under US Leahy Law, the United States cannot provide military aid to foreign forces engaged in war crimes or gross violations of human rights (GVHR) such as these. Yet Trump’s administration continues to funnel weapons to Israel – including $12 billion in arms deals and military aid – while lifting all restrictions on munitions and military support, as if Israel had been ‘restrained’ under Biden.
In response, Hamas condemned “the cheap blackmail practiced by Netanyahu and his extremist government against our people by using humanitarian aid as a bargaining chip in negotiations.” The Hamas official stated that Israel’s “conduct and breaches during the first phase of the agreement prove beyond doubt that its government was intent on collapsing the agreement and actively worked toward this goal.”
“We [Hamas] remain committed to moving forward with the agreement and its second phase and hold the occupation fully responsible for violating it,” senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan declared. They are even prepared to release all hostages in exchange for a permanent ceasefire – something the US and Israel are unwilling to do, as will be evident from the statements below.
Trump’s National Security Advisor, Michael Waltz, encapsulated the administration’s stance stating, “Hamas would like to believe that” Israel is finished in Gaza, but “Gaza has to be fully demilitarized, Hamas has to be destroyed to the point that it cannot fully reconstitute.” In other words, the goal is not peace, but the complete eradication of Palestinian resistance to occupation, which is fully justified under international law.
Waltz further emphasized Israel’s “right to fully protect itself,” a common talking point used to justify Israel’s actions as a “right to self-defense.” While Israel, like any state, has a right to protect its citizens, its actions have not been defensive. They’ve been offensive – part of a broader agenda of occupation, colonization, and territorial expansion.
Despite Western intelligence assessments acknowledging that Iran’s nuclear weapons program does not exist, the US imposed a two-month deadline to end the nonexistent program, while both the US and Israel prepare to bomb Iran for that program – which doesn’t exist. This doesn’t even touch on the simultaneous US escalation towards war with China and the failure to broker peace in Ukraine.
As Israel’s full blockade on Gaza resumed in March, Yemen threatened to reimpose a blockade on Israeli-linked shipping in the Red Sea, holding Israel accountable for its violations of international law – much like under the Biden administration. In response, the US resumed its bombing campaign in Yemen without congressional approval, killing and wounding civilians while bombing vital infrastructure. Instead of working to prevent Israel’s killing of civilians, as Yemen is doing, the US defends Israel by killing more innocent people.
These tactics, mirroring those under Biden, reveal a troubling truth: both parties serve the interests of a small, powerful elite rather than the American public, or anyone critical of Israel and US foreign policy.
The consistency of these actions reflects broader geopolitical interests – an unyielding drive for control, military superiority, and economic dominance, all for profit and power – perpetuating cycles of violence under the guise of protecting “security” and “stability.”
‘I ask you now: do not stop speaking about Gaza. Do not let the world look away. Keep fighting, keep telling our stories – until Palestine is free.’ ~ For the last time, Hossam Shabat, from northern Gaza. X/Twitter – (Source)
Derek Albert Schurbon is an independent citizen journalist with a focus on US foreign policy and narrative manipulation – writing on topics helping us to move in a brighter direction, collectively awaken, and create a healthier world. Derek also works in the behavioral/mental health field and teaches mindfulness meditation for mental and emotional well-being, and cutting through biases and inner and outer false narratives. You can find Derek at: writing: derekalbert.substack.com; meditation: takebackyourmind.onlineFacebook
Attacks on the movement for Palestine are escalating. Following the high profile detainment of political prisoner and Palestine movement activist, Mahmoud Khalil, several other pro-Palestine students and researchers across the United States have been abducted by federal agents and threatened with deportation by the Trump administration.
The escalation of attacks on the movement for Palestine is not confined to the United States. In France, the state is using broad “anti-terrorism” laws to target prominent figures on the Left who have shown solidarity with the Palestinian struggle. As journalist Olly Haynes reports in Jacobin, these anti-terrorism laws have already been used to sentence a labor activist to a year in prison for a communique contextualizing the October 7 attacks, which stated, “the horrors of the illegal occupation have accumulated. Since [October 7] they have received the responses that they themselves provoked.”
On June 18, another labor activist will head to trial. Anasse Kazib is a railroad worker, union activist, former presidential candidate, and spokesperson for the publication/political organization Revolution Permanente (RP). For writing a post on X expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people, he faces charges of “apologia for terrorism.” If convicted, he faces up to seven years in prison. (Disclosure: RP is the sister site of Left Voice, where I am an editor).
The charge of “apologia for terrorism” is a law that candidly aims to police acts of free speech. The law comes from a penal code passed in 2014 under the presidency of Francois Hollande and makes it illegal to “directly incite or publicly apologize for acts of terrorism.” To be clear, under this law one does not have to be accused of committing acts of terrorism. They don’t need to be accused of materially supporting acts of terrorism. Mere speech deemed and vaguely defined by the government as “apologia for terrorism,” is enough for an activist to face charges.
Under current French president Emmanuel Macron, the law has been used to go after various figures on the Left who have spoken out in solidarity with Palestine. Other notable figures who have been called in for questioning include Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of one of France’s more well-known left-wing parties, as well as Rima Hassan, a French-Palestinian politician. While Hassan is not facing an official trial, the legal moves against her have empowered the country’s Far Right to call for her French citizenship to be revoked.
These charges are one of the most extreme examples of a government using the law to try to silence pro-Palestine activism. However, the French government is not unique in its equating of pro-Palestine advocacy with support for “terrorism.” Following the abduction of Mahmoud Khalil, Trump took directly to social media threatening to, “deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again.” Similar campaigns of repression can be found in the United Kingdom where 18 activists were arrested by counter-terrorism police and imprisoned for months, or in Germany where hundreds of police conducted raids targeting members of Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network after several countries designated it as a terrorist group.
Kazib and RP are attempting to fight the charges by launching a broad democratic campaign. They hope to make the case that the repression of the movement for Palestine is an international trend and that resistance to this repression is inseparable from the larger fight for Palestinian liberation. Last year they circulated a letter denouncing the repression. This letter received more than 800 signatures from leaders, intellectuals, and activists from the Left including Bhaskar Sunkara, Clare Daly, Ilan Pappe, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Nancy Fraser, Jodi Dean, and Robin D.G. Kelley. RP is also encouraging journalists and news outlets around the world to cover the attack on Kazib.
Sam Carliner is a journalist covering U.S. foreign policy, militarism, immigration, and social movements. His writing has appeared in Teen Vogue, Responsible Statecraft, Middle East Eye, Truthout, Mondoweiss, Waging Nonviolence, and other publications. He is also an editor at Left Voice, part of the La Izquierda Diario international news network. Previously he was Social Media Manager at the feminist anti-war organization CODEPINK.
