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making ordinary americans poorer....

New research from investment bank Goldman Sachs affirms, as progressive advocates and economists warned, that US consumers are bearing the brunt of President Donald Trump’s trade wars.

As reported by Bloomberg on Monday, economists at Goldman released an analysis this week estimating that US consumers are shouldering up to 55% of the costs stemming from Trump’s tariffs, even though the president has repeatedly made false claims that the tariffs on imports exclusively tax foreigners.

 

US Consumers Paying the Most for Tariffs: Wall Street Giant’s Report Exposes Trump Lies
The report from investment bank Goldman Sachs comes as President Donald Trump is piling up even more tariffs on imported goods.

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Goldman’s research also found that US businesses will pay 22% of the cost of the tariffs, while foreign exporters will pay just 18% of the cost. Additionally, Goldman economists estimate that Trump’s tariffs “have raised core personal consumption expenditure prices by 0.44% so far this year, and will push up the closely watched inflation reading to 3% by December,” according to Bloomberg.

Despite all evidence that US consumers are shouldering the costs of the tariffs, the Trump administration has continued to insist that they are exclusively being paid by foreign countries.

During a segment on NBC‘s “Meet the Press” last month, host Kristen Welker cited an earlier Goldman estimate that 86% of the president’s tariffs were being paid by US businesses and consumers, and then asked US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent if he accepted that the tariffs were taxes on Americans.

“No, I don’t,” Bessent replied.

As Common Dreams reported in August, executives such as Walmart CEO Doug McMillon have explicitly told shareholders that while they are able to absorb the cost of tariffs, Trump’s policy would still “result in higher prices” for customers.

Goldman’s report comes as Trump is piling up even more tariffs on imported goods that will ultimately be paid by US consumers as companies raise prices.

According to The New York Times, tariffs on a wide range of products including lumber, furniture, and kitchen cabinets went into effect on Tuesday, and the Trump administration has also “started imposing fees on Chinese-owned ships docking in American ports.”

The administration has claimed that the tariffs on lumber are necessary for national security purposes, although some experts are scoffing at this rationale.

Scott Lincicome, vice president of general economics at libertarian think tank the Cato Institute, told the Times that the administration’s justification for the lumber tariffs are “absurd.”

“If war broke out tomorrow, there would be zero concern about American ’dependence’ on foreign lumber or furniture, and domestic sources would be quickly and easily acquired,” he said.

 

a trumpistic business model....

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said Beijing’s new export controls reflect a ‘Leninist business model’ that could backfire on China and slow global growth.

Last week, China announced plans to expand export restrictions on certain strategic minerals with dual-use in military applications, citing national security. Under the new rules, foreign firms must obtain special approval before exporting goods containing even minimal amounts of Chinese-sourced rare earth elements. US President Donald Trump responded by threatening to target Chinese imports with an additional 100% tariff.

In an interview with Financial Times on Tuesday, Bessent accused Beijing of trying to hurt the global economy with its new export curbs, saying it’s “a sign of how weak their economy is, and they want to pull everybody else down with them.”

“Maybe there is some Leninist business model where hurting your customers is a good idea, but they are the largest supplier to the world,” Bessent said. “If they want to slow down the global economy, they will be hurt the most,” he added.

READ MORE: Beijing vows to ‘fight to the end’ in trade war with US

China firmly rejected Trump’s tariff threats, saying they are “not the right way” to deal with the dispute and that Washington should “correct” its approach and act on the understandings the two presidents reached in their phone calls.

On Tuesday, Beijing sanctioned American shipping units and warned of further retaliatory steps.

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet in South Korea in late October. Bessent told Fox Business on Monday the high-level meeting remains on track. “The 100% tariff does not have to happen,”he said.

The latest escalation echoes earlier rounds of the trade war, when both sides imposed sweeping tariffs on billions of dollars in goods. The current tariff truce, extended in August, is due to expire in November. Under the 90-day extension, US tariffs on Chinese imports were reduced from 145% to 30%, while China’s tariffs on American products dropped from 125% to 10%.

https://www.rt.com/business/626424-us-china-trade-tensions/

 

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

german cash....

Germany to pay US military base employees amid shutdown

Germany's Finance Ministry said Berlin would pay 11,000 local employees at US military bases who might not receive salaries due to a US federal government shutdown.

Germany plans to pay some 11,000 local employees at US military bases in the country who might not receive salaries in October because of the government shutdown in Washington, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday.

"The [German] federal government will initiate an unscheduled expenditure to ensure that October salaries are paid on time," a ministry spokeswoman said.

A ministry spokeswoman told AFP news agency on Wednesday that it was still unclear whether the US government would send through the money but that the German government would ensure that salaries would be paid anyway.

She said the German government anticipates being reimbursed once the US side does make payment.

Berlin's contribution is "a sign of solidarity with the US armed forces stationed in Germany and their civilian employees," she added.

Germany and the US are both members of the NATO military alliance and engage in substantial defense cooperation.

 

What is the US federal government shutdown?

The US federal government shut down on October 1 after Democrats and Republicans failed to agree on a stopgap funding bill.

If no budget is passed, the government cannot approve new spending, which has a broad impact on several federal institutions.

Under the shutdown, federal workers are furloughed or continue to work without pay.

Earlier this month, the White House began carrying out mass layoffs of federal workers.

US President Donald Trump has blamed the impasse on his political rivals, saying: "The Democrats are causing the loss of a lot of jobs."

While the Democrats want more concessions from Republicans on health policy, they are under pressure from voters to come to an agreement and end the shutdown.

Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah

https://www.dw.com/en/germany-to-pay-us-military-base-employees-amid-shutdown/a-74477877

 

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT — SINCE 2005.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.