US politics - never go full Project 2025 (part 8)

Trump on the “Epstein list”?
Nah there’s no such thing apparently.

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They thought they had a list, but it turned out to be just a piece of paper fully covered in redacted black lines.

Nothing to see here!

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Almost like they have something to hide.

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Trump TACOs again, tariff rise put back to August 1st.

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According to Bessent, letters went out to 100 countries with bilateral trade surpluses. Some had not responded.
He said the letters are The Deals foreshadowed by Trump. The US does not need to negotiate.
Bessent said this with a straight face at an interview, in response to a Q on the state of play of the 10O Deals.

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Looks just like something in the dollar bin at Blockbuster a few decades ago.

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So that mean those with deficits (like us?) are not being spoken to and will just have to cop what was previously ANNOUNCED?

Well the 10% tariffs are already in place, they aren’t going away.
As are the 25% steel tariffs.
The ones deferred to 1st August are the super dooper, bigily wonderful tariffs on top of that.

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That makes more sense given the “negotiations” on the 10% have previously been ANNOUNCED as kicked indefinitely down the road.

Never in doubt.

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Hasn’t anyone told them that @Aceman is over there?

there was , but the guy that had the list had an incredible unlucky brake failure , crashed and died and now they can’t find it . what are the odds?

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Like falling out of a Russian window.

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Trump wouldn’t be on the EPstein client list. He would be on the Epstein freebies list.

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Sadly not. I’m almost home now.
I will say that airports are packed and travel numbers that I’ve seen suggest passenger numbers are almost back to normal.
Immigration and border control were superb and no issues whatsoever. Was only too brief of a stay but people we encountered were great and both Washington and Boston felt very safe and accommodating albeit expensive. We are going to go back next year for 2 months

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Russia Trade Summary
U.S. total goods trade with Russia were an estimated $3.5 billion in 2024. U.S. goods exports to Russia in 2024 were $526.1 million, down 12.3 percent ($73.5 million) from 2023. U.S. goods imports from Russia totaled $3.0 billion in 2024, down 34.2 percent ($1.6 billion) from 2023. The U.S. goods trade deficit with Russia was $2.5 billion in 2024, a 37.5 percent decrease ($1.5 billion) over 2023.

https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/europe-middle-east/russia-and-eurasia/russia

In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump said the US would impose an additional 10% tariff on “any country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS” with “no exceptions,”

So, no tariffs for Russia because they don’t trade with the US, according to the orange moron. Also, I bet BRICS is spelled BICS in the White House.

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Or mmmmm TACOs

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Trump’s Trade deals involve modest concessions only.

The Economist 3 July:

Britain’s and Vietnam’s deals were narrow, involving only modest concessions—including pledges to curb Chinese influence—in return for targeted relief. Britain won a reprieve on car levies and future taxes on plane parts by granting American beef and ethanol access to its market, and pledging limits on Chinese supply-chain involvement, while leaving thornier matters for another day. Vietnam agreed to open up to SUVs and to accept higher tariffs on Chinese packages stopping off in the country on the way to America. It now faces levies of 20% on most goods, down from the 46% threatened in April.

Others are following a similar script, hoping to swap meagre concessions for exemptions. The EU is reportedly willing to accept an overall tariff of 10% in exchange for relief on cars and pharmaceutical products. It is also willing to buy more American weapons and natural gas, and address shared concerns over China. India is on track for an interim deal after doubling oil imports from America and indicating it will purchase more liquefied natural gas, fruit and nuts. Japan has proposed a gradual reduction in auto tariffs tied to direct investment in America’s car industry.

As Mr Trump’s deadline approaches, expect a few more “agreements in principle”. Many tariffs will remain, and the stickiest disputes—over agriculture, cars and digital-market rules—will stay unresolved.

It is unclear what America gains from this. Any attempt to bring back industry is undermined by carve-outs.

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Known as “bread and circuses”, translated from Latin. Very common play in imperial Rome.

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