Trump’s MAGA v globalism, or rather, Trump’s reverse American imperialism v global supply chains

Tomorrow’s the day when Trump’s administration tackles the massive trade imbalances that the world has with the US.

On the face of it, it makes good sense.

The EU is imposing its own warped logic on global supply chains in pursuit of its lunatic and destructive “net zero” agenda:

EU rewrites every trade deal it has with the entire world via its new compliance directive

“The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, approved this year, requires larger companies operating in the European Union to check whether their supply chains use forced labor or cause environmental damage and to take action if they do. Penalties include fines of up to 5 percent of global turnover.”

China competes on volume, with price a secondary consideration - in the usual Marxist fashion.

Other countries, such as BRIC s are “price takers” and supply at the world price.

The US should not suffer the tariffs of others without reciprocation.

The WTO has been silent throughout these trade disputes. All the trade agreements have been shredded - like the MCA that replaced NAFTA.

The US has been pursuing globalism for decades,

Trump is reversing it.

Here’s a few fun facts about “American” companies that will be impacted by the tariffs about to be imposed.

From Brave AI:

“Pfizer's revenues generated from outside the United States accounted for almost two-thirds of its total revenue in 2023.”

(100) A quick look at Pfizer’s Income and Tax over the last ten years

“The Boeing 747 is assembled in the United States, but a significant portion of its components are sourced from overseas. For example, major structures, engine nacelles, and sub-assemblies were supplied by Northrop and Daewoo, respectively, indicating that more than fifty percent of the aircraft was produced by subcontractors from different countries.”

“… the article from SlashGear published on January 18, 2025, mentions that only 32% of the Ford F-150 is made in America, putting it at 58th on the 2024 American Made Index.4 This indicates that a substantial portion of the components for the F-150, and likely other Ford vehicles sold in the US, are not made in the US but could potentially be made in other regions, including Europe. “

More details on American cars here:

Cars.com Releases 2024 American Made Index | THE SHOP

There is a huge difference between the “assembly” of parts in completely knocked down form - and the making of those parts for assembly.

The training in being “woke” does not lend itself to the take up of the slack from employees in Asian and European companies that export to the US.

Are there sufficient “un-woke” workers with the pre-requisite skills and willingness to work hard to make the components in the US? Or are there too many Americans educated to DEI and CRT standard to ever make a contribution to the national interest?

We can get some sense of the degree of globalisation from looking at investment funds and how they are invested. Overseas/International/Ex-US funds charge two to three times the fees and costs charged by American invested funds.

Perhaps 20 per cent of these funds are invested outside the US, promoting inner city development and economic growth of deprived areas and cities - rather than in the US.

From here:

Retirement & Pension Plans in the US in the US | IBISWorld

“The market size of the Retirement & Pension Plans in the US was $953.6bn in 2023.”

And other trillions here:

List of largest pension schemes in the United States - Wikipedia

The US stock market has performed well in the last two calendar years:

“The S&P 500 surged 23.31% in 2024, building on a gain of 24.2% from last year. The two-year gain of 53% is the best since the nearly 66% rally in 1997 and 1998. Meanwhile, the Dow added 12.88% in 2024, while the Nasdaq has outperformed with a gain of 28.64%.”

The Union of European Socialist Republics (UESR - as opposed to the old and failed USSR0 imposes a tariff on every import called Value Added Tax - so does he UK - of upwards of 20 per cent - on ALL imports.

Reciprocation implies just that!

Instead, the EU, recall the trade barriers in the link at the top of the page, has imposed tariffs on these goods - from Brave AI:

“The European Union has imposed tariffs on a variety of U.S. products in response to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

• Motorcycles: Tariffs were imposed on U.S.-made motorcycles.

• Bourbon: Tariffs were imposed on U.S. bourbon.

• Peanut Butter: Tariffs were imposed on U.S. peanut butter.

• Jeans: Tariffs were imposed on U.S. jeans.

• Whiskey: Tariffs were imposed on Tennessee whiskey.

• Almonds: Tariffs were imposed on California almonds.

• Rearview Mirrors: Tariffs were imposed on rearview mirrors made in Michigan.

• Casks for Alcohol Brewing: Tariffs were imposed on casks used in alcohol brewing.

• Tobacco and Tobacco Products: Tariffs were imposed on tobacco and related products.

• Peanuts: Tariffs were imposed on peanuts.

• Frozen and Fresh Orange Juice: Tariffs were imposed on frozen and fresh orange juice.

• Food Oils: Tariffs were imposed on food oils.

• Motorcycles: Tariffs were again imposed on motorcycles.

• Dishwashers: Tariffs were imposed on dishwashers.

• Clothing: Tariffs were imposed on clothing.

• Footwear: Tariffs were imposed on footwear.

• Furniture: Tariffs were imposed on furniture.

• Carpets: Tariffs were imposed on carpets.

These tariffs are part of the EU's retaliatory measures against the U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, which took effect on April 1, 2025.

25% EU Tariffs Dynamic: Under a dynamic economic model, the EU's 25% tariffs are expected to generate $50.0 billion in revenue in 2025, increasing to $68.7 billion by 2034.”

And the US:

“US Tariffs on EU

• 25% Tariff on Steel and Aluminum: On March 12, 2025, the U.S. imposed a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports, aiming to strengthen domestic production. This tariff eliminated all previous exemptions and raised the aluminum tariff from 10% to 25%.6

• Reciprocal Tariffs: A "reciprocal tariff policy" is expected to take effect on April 2, 2025. The exact scope and scale of these tariffs remain uncertain, but speculation has intensified that the White House could impose tariffs of up to 25% on European goods.256

• Potential 200% Tariff on European Alcohol: On March 13, 2025, President Trump threatened to impose a 200% tariff on European wine, champagne, and other alcoholic beverages if the EU moves forward with a levy on American whiskey exports currently due on April 14.46

• Tariffs on Autos and Parts: Existing levies on autos and parts have already increased the cost of vehicle-related exports by as much as 50%.23 These tariffs are part of the broader trade tensions between the U.S. and the EU.

The unwinding of decades of global supply chains will take some doing.

It seems obvious that the US with a population of around 340 million and abundant natural resources should be able to stand on its own two feet - with little to no help from anyone.

We are a log way from Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” when countries could get by with doing what they were best at!

Please take a subscription to gain access to the thousands of hours of research that go into producing these SubStack articles - or make a donation of $3 bucks or more for a ko-fi here:

(8) Ko-fi.com - Your Ko-fi

Onwards!!!