Donald Trump is escalating his threats to increase tariffs on imports if he wins a second term in the White House, reviving fears of renewed trade wars that hit the global economy during his presidency.

On Saturday, Trump went further, promising tariffs of 100 per cent on imports from countries that were moving away from using the dollar — a threat that could engulf many developing economies too.

“I’ll say, ‘you leave the dollar, you’re not doing business with the United States. Because we’re going to put a 100 per cent tariff on your goods,’” he said at a rally in Wisconsin.

“If we lost the dollar as the world currency, I think that would be the equivalent of losing a war,” he told the Economic Club of New York on Thursday.

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      • anarcho_blinkenist@lemmy.mlEnglish
        0·
        2 months ago

        his own dumb ass thinking it’s 1890 (or that he can make it 1890 again). I know it’s easy to forget in the 24-hour media circus and liberal hand-wringing over his sleazy and reactionary attitudes and him being an ‘existential threat to “democracy”’ or whatever, but he is in actuality a remarkably stupid man. A shining dunce. He probably just watched a documentary on the early history of the US steel industry while half-asleep and connected it with his impulsive half-knowledge of trade and currency politics in his very big very good brain (the best brain, maybe, a lot of people are saying it).

        Based on other things he’s said he probably actually thinks this kind of ‘protectionist’ policy and talk is not only totally grounded in any kind of contemporary reality, but is a ‘win-win’. “either these countries get so scared of losing our valuable markets and ‘deals’ that they bend the knee, or I tariff everything which will definitely bring manufacturing back to the states and everyone gets jobs and america is great again! ART OF THE DEAL!”