Trump Starts Global Tariff Wall, Thailand Hit with 36% Tax

[Hamus Yaigh]

3 hours ago, J Branche said:

Not sure how putting a Tariff on the Fertilizer and Non-Ferrous Metal we import from Russia will help.

The Liberation Day tariff charade, penalizing Australia over its biosecurity laws while not addressing Russia’s invasion sends a poor message. It suggests that the U.S. values economic reciprocity with allies more than condemning aggression by adversaries by allowing stuff like " Tariff on the Fertilizer and Non-Ferrous Metal" get through freely , potentially undermining the USA's "moral authority" and alliance credibility.

[connda]

On 4/3/2025 at 5:15 AM, webfact said:

Under this new system, tariffs will vary across countries. While the UK, Brazil, and several others begin at 10%, Thailand faces a steep 36% tariff. Other nations are also heavily impacted, with Vietnam at 46% and Cambodia at 49%.

 

The funny thing about this, and not funny in a humorous manner, is that the US tariffs are in response to tariffs, some extremely high like Thailand's, that are imposed on US goods by other nations.  If you listen only to the media or Trump detractors you'd think that Trump woke up one morning and decided to impose tariffs on the world.  The reality is that many, many countries in the world have imposed ridiculously high tariffs on the US for no other reason than they can and have gotten away with doing so forever.

Now the media and Trump detractors scream bloody murder because the Trump plan imposed tariffs on countries imposing tariffs on the US at a rate of 50% of the target country's tariff's on the US.  So Thailand imposes an average tariff of 72% on the US, so now the US imposes 1/2 of that on Thailand or 36% - and Thailand, the media, and Trump detractors scream to high heaven.  "Unfair! Unfair!"  Yeah I agree.  That 72% tariff Thailand imposes on the US is "Unfair!"

In my own humble opinion, "Fair" would be reciprocal tariffs of the same amount as other tariffs that countries around the globe impose on the US.  The US should have imposed a 72% tariff on Thailand, 90% on Vietnam, 97% on Cambodia...you get the picture.

I have no sympathy for Thailand at all.  The US should hammer them until they drop their tariffs.  Those of us living here, Thai and expats alike, benefit from the reciprocal tariffs which hopefully will cause the Thai government to drop their tariff scheme and allow those living in Thailand to buy US goods without being hammered by ridiculously high tariffs as we have in the past.

 

[J Branche]

25 minutes ago, Hamus Yaigh said:

The Liberation Day tariff charade, penalizing Australia over its biosecurity laws while not addressing Russia’s invasion sends a poor message. It suggests that the U.S. values economic reciprocity with allies more than condemning aggression by adversaries by allowing stuff like " Tariff on the Fertilizer and Non-Ferrous Metal" get through freely , potentially undermining the USA's "moral authority" and alliance credibility.

Are you going to cherry pick information. 

 

We already have Sanctions on Russia and select people from Russia. India and China are only ones buying Russian Oil.

 

The Moscow Times on April 2nd reported.

"A bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Tuesday introduced a bill that would impose sanctions on Russian energy purchases if the Kremlin refuses to engage in good-faith negotiations for ending the war in Ukraine."

 

They have arrested large yachts, freeze bank accounts, etc.

Wake up.

[anchadian]

#ThaiEnquirer News Summary – April 4, 2025 · ‘Reciprocal Tariff’ is @ 37% not 36%

 

Donald Trump’s graphic that showed 36% tariff for Thailand was WRONG, the paper his administration signed off said 37%. Well, Thailand is not alone, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, uninhabited volcanic islands near Antarctica, covered in glaciers and home to penguins was also slapped with 10% tariff. So, if the penguins are not spared then we are not in that bad shape.

 

GDP set to dip after Tariff kicks in

 

https://x.com/ThaiEnquirer/status/1907980375399477644

 

[rimmae2]

Is the following due any way to USA?

 

"Taiwan, they took all of our computer chips and semiconductors," Trump said Wednesday. "We used to be the king, right? We were everything. We had all of it. Now we have almost none."

[Hamus Yaigh]

1 hour ago, J Branche said:

Are you going to cherry pick information. 

Yes, here is more buffoonery.  The Trump administration inadvertently imposed a 29% tariff on Norfolk Island, an Australian territory halfway between Australia and New Zealand, due to mislabeled shipping data. The erroneous data led US authorities to believe that Norfolk Island was exporting goods to the US, when in fact, there is no known export relationship between the two countries. The mislabeled shipments included items such as aquarium systems, Timberland boots, wine, and recycling plant parts. The error has perplexed the Australian government, with the prime minister and trade minister expressing their belief that it was a mistake, yet it means a 10% tariff nevertheless. The US imported around A$1.04 million worth of goods from Norfolk Island between 2023 and 2024, primarily leather footwear from a local shoe shop. News reporters identified several bills of lading that listed Norfolk Island as the country of origin, despite the shipments originating from other countries. The US Census Bureau acknowledges that reporting errors can occur and significantly impact detailed commodity statistics. The errors in the shipping records appear to have **flowed through to US census and trade data used as the basis for calculating tariffs**.

[SLOWHAND225]

16 hours ago, Middle Aged Grouch said:

If Thailand wants to survive.

 

1. Stop putting such high tax on imports.

2. After reducing the import duty, negotiate with America.

3. Stop overcharging customers on anything from the price tags in malls to the other prices that are applied to foreigners.

 

Stop greed, Stop cheating foreigners. Things (may) improve.

 

In the meantime, good news as the Bhat is crashing and will crash further.

Nobodys cheating anyone. Price structures exist in most spaces. If you don't like the price then go somewhere else

[xylophone]

 

Hitting penguins where it hurts: Trump’s tariffs target remote island.

 

“The penguins have been ripping us off for years,” Anthony Scaramucci, who was Trump’s former communications chief for 11 days in his first term and is now a vocal critic, joked on X.

 Trump is a doofus, but the world, apart from those in the Maga cult, already knew this!!!

[SiSePuede419]

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick insisted that foreign companies — stung by the tariffs — decide to move their factories to the U.S. “Global governments have backed taking our factories away from us,” Lutnick told Newsmax. “But what you’re going to see is the most modern factories of the world come back here.”

 

And have the Unstable Jenius remove the tariff on a whim and obliterate the need for a new factory?  Hardly.

 

But let's just suppose they did open a "most modern" factory in the United States?

 

Does MAGA even know what that means?

 

Total automation with robots.

 

Only gate guard and janitor jobs because robots do everything.

 

Suckers. 😂

[MeRakThai]

On 4/3/2025 at 9:17 AM, daveAustin said:

Gonna hurt US consumers more than anyone. 
“plundered and stolen from”

lol. He has no clue about economics. The US has benefitted hugely in price and diversity from everyone that sells to them. They can’t make most of what they buy in. 

In Australia we historically have imported more goods than we have sold to America. So what happened to the free trade agreement America signed up to with us?  tariffs, (tax) at the numbers being set for poor SE Asian countries is counter productive in helping them develop.

[Gecko123]

unstable Jesus

[Gecko123]

Promises made, promises kept...

 

Well he's certainly getting interest rates down as promised.... [sarcasm alert]

[Bannoi]

When Americans realise the affect these tariffs are going to have on their pockets they just might drag him out of the White House and Lynch him.

 

A 50% tariff on a country doesn't mean that country pays 50% it means the American consumer pays the 50% and the 50% ends up in Trumps pocket  Treasury.

[hotandsticky]

Just now, Bannoi said:

When Americans realise the affect these tariffs are going to have on their pockets they just might drag him out of the White House and Lynch him.

 

A 50% tariff on a country doesn't mean that country pays 50% it means the American consumer pays the 50% and the 50% ends up in Trumps pocket  Treasury.

 

 

They will be kissing his butt when the net effect becomes lower tariffs on the US.

[Bannoi]

4 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

They will be kissing his butt when the net effect becomes lower tariffs on the US.

Most likely other countries will take a sensible approach and counter with targeted tariffs that will maximise the damaging effect on the US while minimising the effects on their own citizens and economy.

 

Everything that the US imports is now a minimum of 10% more expensive some are nearly 100%.

[thaibreaker]

4 hours ago, connda said:

The funny thing about this, and not funny in a humorous manner, is that the US tariffs are in response to tariffs, some extremely high like Thailand's, that are imposed on US goods by other nations.  If you listen only to the media or Trump detractors you'd think that Trump woke up one morning and decided to impose tariffs on the world.  The reality is that many, many countries in the world have imposed ridiculously high tariffs on the US for no other reason than they can and have gotten away with doing so forever.

Now the media and Trump detractors scream bloody murder because the Trump plan imposed tariffs on countries imposing tariffs on the US at a rate of 50% of the target country's tariff's on the US.  So Thailand imposes an average tariff of 72% on the US, so now the US imposes 1/2 of that on Thailand or 36% - and Thailand, the media, and Trump detractors scream to high heaven.  "Unfair! Unfair!"  Yeah I agree.  That 72% tariff Thailand imposes on the US is "Unfair!"

In my own humble opinion, "Fair" would be reciprocal tariffs of the same amount as other tariffs that countries around the globe impose on the US.  The US should have imposed a 72% tariff on Thailand, 90% on Vietnam, 97% on Cambodia...you get the picture.

I have no sympathy for Thailand at all.  The US should hammer them until they drop their tariffs.  Those of us living here, Thai and expats alike, benefit from the reciprocal tariffs which hopefully will cause the Thai government to drop their tariff scheme and allow those living in Thailand to buy US goods without being hammered by ridiculously high tariffs as we have in the past.

 

You never even thought of questioning whether these numbers were correct?

Because I've got news for you. These numbers are a straight out lie. They only show the imbalance between exports and imports (which have been proven by experts and mathematicians), which is a completely different thing.

 

The way this was represented, I have no other words than to use scam and a fraud.

 

I can give you one example. Norway. They were presented to have a 30% tariff on US goods. The real number is only 2.2%...

But Norway exports 30% more goods than they import from the US. Hence that insane number presented. Very "kind" of Trump to give Norway only 15% tariff in return, from 2.2%, don't you think?

 

This is what this administration does. Every single time. They lie, and expect to get away with it. And people like you take the bait.

 

Thailand 72%?? Get real. I don't know what the real number is for them, but I doubt it's above 10-15% (that aligns better to other nations' real numbers). And the kind US has answered with 36% in return...

That makes sense to me, this administration has no idea what they are doing.

[S Mart]

On 4/3/2025 at 1:12 PM, Lacessit said:

Just to demonstrate how dumb these tariffs are:

 

McDonald and Heard Islands are subject to a 10% tariff by the USA. They are uninhabited.

 

Norfolk Island is an Australian dependency. Australia has been hit with 10% tariffs, Norfolk Island 29%. It exports nothing to the USA.

 

Wake up yourself. Everything in America will cost more. Except shares.

 

Economics 101 says the US will go into recession or even depression. You guys have lost the plot completely.

We’ll see! Maybe you should apply for Ambassador to Brussels or Cambodia.

Maybe you’re right but my strong bet is you’re wrong.

The jobs are coming home.

I priced a mini in BkK costs as much as a BMW 7 series in the US. How’s that for labor costs??

[S Mart]

2 hours ago, xylophone said:

 

Hitting penguins where it hurts: Trump’s tariffs target remote island.

 

“The penguins have been ripping us off for years,” Anthony Scaramucci, who was Trump’s former communications chief for 11 days in his first term and is now a vocal critic, joked on X.

 Trump is a doofus, but the world, apart from those in the Maga cult, already knew this!!!

Better look in the mirror you’ll be looking at the joke. 
😅 He won by a larger margin in both the Electorate and won the largest popular vote in History. 👍👍👍👍👍

[S Mart]

Democrats in America are no longer Democrats they now represent the Communist Socialists Party just hiding under an old name. Most every common sense Democrat I know voted for Trump.

I’m an Independent and did the same thing. Biden ruined America.

[TheAppletons]

4 hours ago, connda said:

The funny thing about this, and not funny in a humorous manner, is that the US tariffs are in response to tariffs, some extremely high like Thailand's, that are imposed on US goods by other nations.  If you listen only to the media or Trump detractors you'd think that Trump woke up one morning and decided to impose tariffs on the world.  The reality is that many, many countries in the world have imposed ridiculously high tariffs on the US for no other reason than they can and have gotten away with doing so forever.

Now the media and Trump detractors scream bloody murder because the Trump plan imposed tariffs on countries imposing tariffs on the US at a rate of 50% of the target country's tariff's on the US.  So Thailand imposes an average tariff of 72% on the US, so now the US imposes 1/2 of that on Thailand or 36% - and Thailand, the media, and Trump detractors scream to high heaven.  "Unfair! Unfair!"  Yeah I agree.  That 72% tariff Thailand imposes on the US is "Unfair!"

In my own humble opinion, "Fair" would be reciprocal tariffs of the same amount as other tariffs that countries around the globe impose on the US.  The US should have imposed a 72% tariff on Thailand, 90% on Vietnam, 97% on Cambodia...you get the picture.
 

  

  Except none of what you state is how they calculated the US "reciprocal tariffs".  It had nothing to do with what other countries actually use as tariffs.

 

  "To calculate the tariffs it decided to impose on countries around the world, the White House used a formula that focused on trade deficits and total exports. The formula didn’t include an assessment of tariff rates for specific products in individual countries, or take into account other trade barriers that weren’t tariffs.   

 

  Instead, the reciprocal tariff rate applied to each country was: their trade deficit divided by exports to the U.S., divided by two.   If the country has a trade surplus with the U.S., or the number resulting from the above formula was less than 10%, then a flat rate of 10% was applied."

 

and

 

"For example, the U.S. has a $235.6 billion trade deficit with the European Union, which exports a total of $605.8 billion to the U.S. Based on the White House’s formula, $235.6 divided by $605.8 equals 0.388, which divided by half is 0.194. That number gets rounded up to 0.2, which leads to a 20% tariff rate."

 

 https://archive.ph/NSn9u#selection-875.0-896.0

 

(Originally published in Fortune magazine; the link is to a non-paywalled archive of the original article.)

[hotandsticky]

1 hour ago, Bannoi said:

Most likely other countries will take a sensible approach and counter with targeted tariffs that will maximise the damaging effect on the US while minimising the effects on their own citizens and economy.

 

Everything that the US imports is now a minimum of 10% more expensive some are nearly 100%.

 

 

Don't worry, Trump is playing a long game.

[thaibreaker]

8 minutes ago, TheAppletons said:

  

  Except none of what you state is how they calculated the US "reciprocal tariffs".  It had nothing to do with what other countries actually use as tariffs.

 

  "To calculate the tariffs it decided to impose on countries around the world, the White House used a formula that focused on trade deficits and total exports. The formula didn’t include an assessment of tariff rates for specific products in individual countries, or take into account other trade barriers that weren’t tariffs.   

 

  Instead, the reciprocal tariff rate applied to each country was: their trade deficit divided by exports to the U.S., divided by two.   If the country has a trade surplus with the U.S., or the number resulting from the above formula was less than 10%, then a flat rate of 10% was applied."

 

and

 

"For example, the U.S. has a $235.6 billion trade deficit with the European Union, which exports a total of $605.8 billion to the U.S. Based on the White House’s formula, $235.6 divided by $605.8 equals 0.388, which divided by half is 0.194. That number gets rounded up to 0.2, which leads to a 20% tariff rate."

 

 https://archive.ph/NSn9u#selection-875.0-896.0

 

(Originally published in Fortune magazine; the link is to a non-paywalled archive of the original article.)

Correct. As I have tried to explain a few times too. And it is true with all countries they have checked so far. I can confirm this for Norway, being a Norwegian. 2.2% real tariff became 30% presented. 

 

But these MAGA people, or Trump voters, are taking the bait as usual, and swallowing every lie that comes from this administration.

[ourmanflint]

On 4/3/2025 at 12:46 AM, realfunster said:

 

All very true - but I cling to the hope this is all bluster and a negotiating tactic 🙂

 

Let's be realistic, the US remains the global economic superpower, after the huffing and puffing, I expect pragmatism will kick-in and all sides will be looking for deals to be made rather than starting an escalatory trade/tariff war.

 

Thailand for example, a healthy trade surplus with US. They can either walk away from that or negotiate a slightly less favourable US trade surplus.

With China, they have a huge deficit and who knows whether Beijing sees reducing their current surplus as economically possible or politically advantageous.
They might be able to expand trade with EU and UK. Currently neither of these have an FTA in place due to Thailand's protectionist policies...

 

Anyway, we will see !

This is the beginning of the end of the USA as a global superpower. The Trump administration has done more to damage its position in the world order than anyone could have imagined a few months ago.

The world simply will not trade or trust this US admin' and countries will work together to avoid the USA as much as possible.

[Bannoi]

15 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

Don't worry, Trump is playing a long game.

The GOP needs to grow some balls and reign him in before he does irreparable damage so far he's been reigning like a king with his executive orders.

[Lacessit]

35 minutes ago, S Mart said:

Better look in the mirror you’ll be looking at the joke. 
😅 He won by a larger margin in both the Electorate and won the largest popular vote in History. 👍👍👍👍👍

Biden got 81 million popular votes in 2020, Trump had 77 million in 2024. Not so smart on your part

[thaibreaker]

28 minutes ago, ourmanflint said:

The world simply will not trade or trust this US admin' and countries will work together to avoid the USA as much as possible.

You bet. It already started in January, with Trump's expected foreign policy. The crazy thing is that it has even become much worse than anyone could ever imagine. Siding with Russia in the Ukraine war, threatening to leave NATO, threatening to annex a country belonging to an ally (Greenland/Denmark), wth is that btw.. Openly criticising Europe numerous times (also for not having free speech, lol, and that comes from THIS administration..), having talks with and supporting the German far right party AfD.. The humiliation of Zelenskyy at the White House, there are so many things that I could go on for hours.

[thaibreaker]

17 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Biden got 81 million popular votes in 2020, Trump had 77 million in 2024. Not so smart on your part

The landslide they all talk about, 77 mill vs 76 mill total votes, doesn't make sense either.

 

But everything coming from this administration, is the greatest and biggest and bestest the world has ever seen... The tweets coming from the WH are absolutely insane. Who writes like this in a modern world? Are they 12 years old?

 

If any Norwegian politicians wrote anything similar to this, they would have been fired instantly. And Trump does this every single day. I can't fathom why no one reacts. Where are the adults?

[Lacessit]

42 minutes ago, S Mart said:

We’ll see! Maybe you should apply for Ambassador to Brussels or Cambodia.

Maybe you’re right but my strong bet is you’re wrong.

The jobs are coming home.

I priced a mini in BkK costs as much as a BMW 7 series in the US. How’s that for labor costs??

I'd be happy to apply for the job of giving lobotomies to Trump's cabinet.

 

Scratch that, they've already had it done.

 

What jobs? If you think Trump is going to put money from tariffs into renewing infrastructure or manufacturing subsidies, you are even more gullible than the average MAGA.

[xylophone]

1 hour ago, S Mart said:

Better look in the mirror you’ll be looking at the joke. 
😅 He won by a larger margin in both the Electorate and won the largest popular vote in History. 👍👍👍👍👍

“The penguins have been ripping us off for years,” Anthony Scaramucci, who was Trump’s former communications chief for 11 days in his first term and is now a vocal critic, joked on X.

 Trump is a doofus, but the world, apart from those in the Maga cult, already knew this!!!

 

As for your comment.....trump won the largest popular vote in History. Lay off the Maga Koolaid because it has affected what little piece of grey matter you have; for the record.......

 

The number of electoral votes Trump won ranks in the middle of the pack for elections since 1960 and.....In 2024, Trump finished with the 7th highest share of the vote for an out-of-power party's nominee

 

Also, Trump won the popular vote by a relatively small margin. 

 

If all you have is the retelling of trump's lies, then you are a sad case and you've got nothing!!

[parallelman]

On 4/3/2025 at 3:01 PM, John Drake said:

 

I don't think Thailand wants this particular reciprocal effect. There are far more Thais in the US than Americans in Thailand, and, of course, many of those Thais own a great deal of property, which Thailand denies to Americans in Thailand.

It wasn't a serious comment