Monday, May 12, 2025
Line Go Up
Reset
Chinese tariffs on U.S. agricultural products, retaliation for the tariffs Trump issued over fentanyl, will also remain.
China’s Ministry of Commerce reiterated Monday that the meeting was an “important first step” to resolve differences. In a statement, Beijing urged the U.S. to “completely rectify the mistake of unilateral tariffs [and] work together to inject more certainty and stability into the global economy.”
Under the agreement, Beijing will also suspend or cancel some non-tariff retaliatory measures, like export restrictions and the blacklisting of dozens of U.S. companies.
Other tariffs imposed during President Donald Trump’s trade war with China during his first term — as well as a 20 percent duty issued in February over what the president said was China’s failure to stop fentanyl-related chemicals from reaching the United States — will remain in place. Chinese tariffs on U.S. agricultural products, retaliation for the tariffs Trump issued over fentanyl, will also remain.
It's tough to keep track, but unless I am missing something this means that the ag tariff is still 125% - an embargo, basically.
Stupid Pope
I'm not Catholic, so when I have observations about the Pope and the Church, I am not engaging in argument, I am merely discussing whether or not this powerful individual and his institution are moving in a more positive or negative direction, as defined by me.
It's funny to me when American Catholics, for whom papal infallibility, or something close to it, is a somewhat critical thing, just come out with, "nuh-uh, Pope."
It's Tariff Day, Again
As part of an agreement hammered out in Geneva over the weekend, the US will lower tariffs on Chinese goods to 30 per cent from 145 per cent and China will reduce duties on US imports to 10 per cent from 125 per cent.Masterful gambit, sir, not quite solving a problem you created in the first place, once again.
30% is still going to do a lot of damage. Low enough that more necessary goods will flow, but not much of the rest of it. Small businesses will be fucked.
Also, it's only for 90 days. The uncertainty is more important than the levels, at this point. It takes awhile to turn the boats back on.
Sunday, May 11, 2025
Last I Checked, The Dude Only Gets One Vote
When an attendee asked Gallego about a fundraiser he held with Marc Andreessen, a billionaire crypto investor and close ally of Donald Trump, the freshman senator stayed on message — framing it as an example of how Democrats should bring more people in the tent. (The fundraiser was first reported by Rolling Stone.)
“My general view of how to win elections is you have to get a lot of votes, and that means we’re going to have to have alliances with people that we may not agree with 100 percent of the time,” said Gallego, stating that “Marc Andreessen runs the largest venture capital firm in Arizona. We want to bring as many jobs as possible.”
Echoes With
So They're Going Nowhere Then
Donald Trump says there has been a "total reset" in US-China trade relations following the first day of talks between American and Chinese officials in Switzerland.Hold out for Oregon, Xi! Just give it 3 more months!
In a social media post, the US president described the talks as being "very good" and said change had been "negotiated in a friendly, but constructive, manner".
Saturday, May 10, 2025
This Stuff's Important
For decades, the FBI chief has received an 8:30 a.m. daily “director’s brief” with the most important information gathered from thousands of agents and analysts. Patel reportedly had trouble making the morning briefing, so it was dropped from five days a week to two.
“Even that has been a struggle,” an unnamed official told NBC.
Two current FBI officials said Patel sometimes seems uninterested in the materials, forcing them to try to create briefs that will hold his attention.
Too Late
On Friday morning, West Coast port officials told CNN about a startling sight: Not a single cargo vessel had left China with goods for the two major West Coast ports in the past 12 hours. That hasn’t happened since the pandemic.
Sure Elise
U.S. lawmakers are proposing a bill that would allow some Canadian snowbirds to stay in the United States longer, in hopes of rebuilding cross-border tourism and supporting local economies.
The Canadian Snowbird Visa Act proposes to extend the length of time eligible Canadian citizens aged 50 and over could visit the U.S. without a visa to 240 days, up from the current 182 days that are permitted each year.
DOGEd
In testimony on Capitol Hill on Tuesday and Wednesday, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins confirmed that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is now looking to fill critical positions, after agreeing to pay more than 15,000 employees' salaries and benefits through September in exchange for their resignations.
"We are actively looking and recruiting to fill those positions that are integral to the efforts and the key frontlines," Rollins told members of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday.
...
"So you let people go and you're looking for new people to fill the positions that they had experience in?" Murray asked.
"We're having those discussions right now," Rollins responded, while noting that 15,000 employees represents less than 15% of USDA's workforce and that the department loses 8,000 to 10,000 employees every year through attrition.
Still, Rollins invited some of those who took the deferred resignation offer to return.
"If they want to come back, and if they were in a key position, then we would love to have that conversation," she told lawmakers.