Trump's Treasury Secretary Admits Tariffs Are Paid by Americans

[JohnEngelman]

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The American Revolution began because of an unjustified tax revolt. The British knew that the American colonists had benefitted the most from their victory in the French and Indian War, so they thought we should help them pay off war debts.

 

[RoryN]

Good morning!

Are we still paying for those tariffs Deplorables swore we wouldn't pay for?

 

[DanOkeffie]

Welp...

Treasury Secretary Admits Trump’s Tariffs Are Paid by Americans

https://nz.news.yahoo.com/treasury-secretary-admits-trump-tariffs-193230724.html

congrulations - you are still a a racist idiot

 

[DanOkeffie]

Good morning!

Are we still paying for those tariffs Deplorables swore we wouldn't pay for?

is there anyone in your family that doesn't live off entitlements? Thank God, you have knee pads

 

[Rockymtnman]

I will not correct your grammar but I will rebut your point: The Big Beautiful Bill is the greatest piece of legislation passed in a generation. It will enshrine ICE as an arm of government for decades to come. No Democrat will be able to dismantle it. That will protect Americans (even foolish liberals) from threats, both foreign and domestic.

Sweet Christ. Do you even know how the government of this country works? Dems get pres. and senate and Ice goes back to what it was. It’s not a constitutional amendment. It’s easily reversed. Just like the orange micro penis did with Biden / Obama legislation. Governance is cyclical in this country. Always has been. A few seats move left in the senate and a dem wins the presidency the big beautiful bill goes bye-bye. Nothing is permanent ( the Amendments are close) but they can be changed with 38 states voting yes. See the 18th / 21st amendments. So ice isn’t enshrined in shit.

 

[dmallord]

So, since you have never run a business or a department, let me explain a "loss leader." That is when you sell an item at a loss so that you get people in the door to buy other things. It is why a Big Mac costs more to sell but you win on the fries and soda.
Companies have to eat certain costs. Like a restaurant having to provide paper towels in the bathroom. You work it into your cost of doing business.
Big companies are eating a certain amount of the tariffs because it will scare off their customers if prices rise too quickly/too much. Going from $1.25 to $1.50 is ok. But from $1.25 to $2.50 might not. So, eat the cost on the Target t-shirt and you will get the money back on makeup and frozen foods.
The market is up and staying there even as some companies are eating the loss because it is good governance and stewardship. And the losses are negligible for most big corporations.
No one can beat Trump on this. The money is rolling in and Americans will see that, along with stable prices (see above) and strong markets (see above).

That's not a very good explanation.

Tariffs aren’t a “loss leader.” That’s a sales tactic—tariffs are a tax. Companies may eat it short-term, but the bill always lands on consumers, workers, or investment. And pointing to the stock market as proof? That’s like crediting Trump for the weather. Bottom line: tariffs don’t disappear—they just make Americans pay. And it is implosibe to say money is rolling in when it's money out of Target and Walmart customers that are getting skimmed by Trump's tariffs. Prices are not stable! Where have you been?

 

[RoryN]

Trump tariffs: A grocery shopper’s guide

Trump's tariffs could raise the cost of some of the most popular imports in American grocery aisles, from coffee and olive oil to wine, matcha and spices.

After the “Liberation Day” tariffs kicked in worldwide in early August, businesses and consumers alike are watching closely for when — and how much — prices tick up.
Inflation data released Tuesday did not show an overall increase in food prices, but economists say that’s likely to change as businesses pass more costs on to consumers. Wholesale prices surged 0.9 percent last month, the biggest monthly jump since June 2022 and a sign that inflation may not be cooling off just yet.

“Many of us anticipated ahead of time that you might see some faster movement in groceries, partly because you can’t stockpile stuff right in the same way,” said Martha Gimbel, the Budget Lab at Yale’s executive director.

“You can’t stockpile a year’s worth of avocados. That being said, the price increases that we’ve seen in food so far are pretty muted, so we’ll just have to see what happens,” she said.
Here are six iconic imported grocery products that could be impacted by Trump’s tariffs.

Coffee​

Coffee prices were already up before a 50 percent tariff on Brazil, the top coffee importer to the U.S., went into effect last week.

Coffee prices sharply rose 25 percent over the past three months, according to inflation data released Tuesday. Reuters reported Tuesday that Brazilian coffee exports have started seeing postponements to their U.S. shipments.

How hard your morning habit gets hit varies between brand, shop and choice of bean.

Nespresso pods, for instance, are entirely produced in Switzerland, which is subject to a 40 percent tariff. Colombia, the second-largest importer of coffee to the U.S., only pays Trump’s 10 percent baseline duty.

“Some importers might shift sourcing toward countries with exemptions, but in many cases the increased costs will all be passed on to you, the coffee lover,” Todd Carmichael, the co-founder of La Colombe, wrote in The Washington Post earlier this week.

“Surely, coffee is too essential and too global to put at the center of a geopolitical chess match.”

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said Wednesday he would introduce a bill with bipartisan support to repeal tariffs on coffee.

Olive oil ​

Trump’s tariffs have only added to the uncertainty facing olive oil producers, who are grappling with climate shocks. Extended droughts in Spain in 2022 slashed production, and other top production regions like Sicily and Greece have also confronted record-high temperatures.

Allen Dushi, a co-founder of olive oil brand Graza, said the company has held off on increasing prices, adding that any uptick in import costs could take at least three to four months to reflect on grocery shelves. Many retailers or distributors require 60 to 90 days notice for a change, he said.

The company uses Spanish olives, and production and bottling are all based in Spain. That limits the extent to which the company can keep stocks in the U.S., which would have to be finished bottles.

“We are not trying to stockpile inventory, because our priority number one is always the quality of what’s inside the bottle,” Dushi said. “That’s not something we really compromise on.”

Switching to American production wouldn’t help, Dushi added; the company would still have to pay tariffs on Spanish olives, as American olive production doesn’t meet the same standard.

“So as long as you’re buying the oil, and importing the oil, you’re going to be paying the tariff on that,” he said.

Spain and Italy accounted for two-thirds of U.S. olive oil imports in 2024. Both are subject to the 15 percent tariff under the trade deal struck between the European Union and the U.S. in July. Other top producers are still subject to tariffs, such as Tunisia (25 percent), Turkey (15 percent) and Argentina (10 percent).

Wine​

The July U.S.-E.U. trade deal was seen as a starting point. As negotiations have continued, the beverage industry and European officials have pushed for an exemption for wine and spirits, The Wall Street Journal reported.

A group of nearly 60 associations representing wine, beer and liquor interests warned last week that the industry could face nearly $2 billion in lost sales and have to cut more than 25,000 jobs in the U.S. as a result of the tariff. The coalition, Toasts not Tariffs, pointed to products like cognac that have to be produced in a specific region and cannot be switched to a tariff-free alternative.

Eric Foret is a wine buyer at Le French Wine Club, which operates several locations in New York City and Washington, D.C., alongside an online shop. He said that he had to increase his prices, although they were fairly gradual.

“It’s a dollar here, a dollar there, a dollar here, a dollar there and then at the end, you spend ten dollars more on the bottle of wine, you don’t even notice it,” he said.

In addition to France, which accounted for more than one-third of U.S. wine imports last year, the EU tariff impacts shipments from Italy (33 percent of imports) and Spain (6 percent).

Matcha​

A 15 percent tariff on Japan could impact the price of a matcha latte — already a pricey product before tax, tip and oat milk.

While U.S. trade data does not specifically track matcha, Japan generally accounts for about half of American green tea imports by value each year, and Japanese origin is a selling point for many specialty matcha shops.

The industry is also grappling with the impacts of record heat waves in Japan last summer that curbed harvests of tencha, the tea leaves dried and ground into matcha. Demand for the vibrant green beverage has also soared in recent years, driven by young enthusiasts and social media.

David Cooper runs Spot of Tea, a Washington, D.C.-based shop with three locations selling matcha and other tea drinks. He considers himself lucky to have bought his 2025 stockpile before the tariffs and shortages hit.


Now, however, “we’re looking at how much stock we have in our warehouse and then how much we’re going through per month and doing the math and trying to push the suppliers to finalize the order as quickly as possible,” he said. “It’s definitely a little anxiety-inducing.”

The uncertainty for the drink industry even extends to things like cups, Cooper said, which his shop sources from South Korea.

“I think on the day I was about to put the deposit down, Trump announced 25 percent tariffs for Korea. And so our supplier was basically, like, we cannot absorb all this cost,” he said.


“It’s just so hard to tell at this point what percentage tariff is actually going to be applied.”

More here:​

https://thehill.com/business/personal-finance/5453194-trump-tariffs-grocery-prices/

 

[Pad_Foot]

Delivery Costs??

Not shipping!!!!

Huge!!!

 

[MajorRewrite]

Sycophantic Treasury Secretary Bessent pretends that tariff revenue will pay down the national debt.

The Trump Tax & Spend Bill makes deficits and the national debt go up, not down. TrumpTariffs don’t change that.

It’d be nice if we had a Treasury Secretary who didn’t spew bullshit constantly.

 

[heathrowinneo]

Sycophantic Treasury Secretary Bessent pretends that tariff revenue will pay down the national debt.

The Trump Tax & Spend Bill makes deficits and the national debt go up, not down. TrumpTariffs don’t change that.

It’d be nice if we had a Treasury Secretary who didn’t spew bullshit constantly.

He is auditioning for Powells job, gotta say the right things for the audience of 1.

 

[MajorRewrite]

Useless MAGA sheep Treasury Secretary Bessent has reverted to denying that American businesses and consumers pay the TrumpTariffs.

As concerns continue to grow over American companies trying to pass on the cost of US tariffs on to everyday Americans, Welker asked: “Do you acknowledge that these tariffs are a tax on American consumers?” To which Bessent replied: “No, I don’t.”

It’s funny that an openly gay man is living in denial about this issue.

Mindless MAGA sheep are so weird and pathetic.

 

[SkyBubble]

So what else is new?

 

[MajorRewrite]

Being a sycophantic MAGA sheep in the Clown Show Administration appears to be irritating Treasury Secretary Bessent.

Bessent tells FHFA director ‘I’m gonna punch you in your f‑‑‑ing face’: Report

The FHFA director is halfwit nepo baby Bill Pulte, who certainly deserves to be punched.

 

[RoryN]

New tariff rules bring 'maximum chaos' as surprise charges hit consumers

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/rcna229375

 

[MajorRewrite]

Donnie continues to indulge in his tariff fetish …

• 100% tariff on pharmaceuticals
• 50% on kitchen cabinets (targeting IKEA)
• 30% on upholstered furniture
• 25% on trucks

Trump on Thursday also announced a 25% tariff on heavy trucks imported into the United States, a trade levy designed to level the playing field for America’s truck-making industry that has been hit relentlessly by the White House’s compounding tariffs.

So Donnie is imposing tariffs to help the truck manufacturers that were hurt by … earlier TrumpTariffs.

Stable geniuses!

Protectionism will contract the overall size of the economy. Donnie is just picking winners and losers now.

 

[DeluxAuto]

He's going to pay the farmers the tariff money that hasn't come in yet now when the tariff money comes in 2 weeks.

He can't even make a false promise without fucking it up.

 

[DeluxAuto]

I hate this.

 

[coati]

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I hate this.

Most ranchers in the West are just as bad. They take federal money with both hands for price subsidies, grazing leases, fencing, well drilling, stock tanks, pasture/feed irrigation systems, and even administrative costs for their local professional organizations, and then they turn around and badmouth the federal government every time they hold a meeting.

These welfare ranchers are the most hypocritical and entitled population segment of the rural area where I live. They are the antithesis of the self sufficiency portrayal in the "cowboy" myth.

 

[Beachguy23]

I find it amazing that people are just starting to figure that out. Time to perhaps stand up and say that’s enough of this bullshit

 

[Lazaran]

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I hate this.

And by “this”, you mean “them”, correct???



We. Told. Them. So.

 

[Lazaran]

Most ranchers in the West are just as bad. They take federal money with both hands for price subsidies, grazing leases, fencing, well drilling, stock tanks, pasture/feed irrigation systems, and even administrative costs for their local professional organizations, and then they turn around and badmouth the federal government every time they hold a meeting.

These welfare ranchers are the most hypocritical and entitled population segment of the rural area where I live. They are the antithesis of the self sufficiency portrayal in the "cowboy" myth.

I knew a guy once who had the easiest job in our workplace and did the least amount of work among his peers who did similar work, yet this guy was perpetually grumpy and hostile about the workplace, his coworkers, and the management.

One day I called him on it, and he didn’t pause a beat. He straight up admitted that his gruff demeanor was an act that he learned from an old timer who told him if he presented that way, no one would give him trouble, and he could slack off all he wanted - and it kinda worked…

Do you see what I’m getting at???

 

[coati]

I knew a guy once who had the easiest job in our workplace and did the least amount of work among his peers who did similar work, yet this guy was perpetually grumpy and hostile about the workplace, his coworkers, and the management.

One day I called him on it, and he didn’t pause a beat. He straight up admitted that his gruff demeanor was an act that he learned from an old timer who told him if he presented that way, no one would give him trouble, and he could slack off all he wanted - and it kinda worked…

Do you see what I’m getting at???

No, I don't see what you're getting at.

Part of my work involved meeting regularly with certain influential right-wing ranchers. That was like infiltrating the KKK.

 

[Lazaran]

No, I don't see what you're getting at.

Part of my work involved meeting regularly with certain influential right-wing ranchers. That was like infiltrating the KKK.

The point was: Individuals like those ranchers and that guy I mentioned are basically con artists who exploit the perception they give off:

Present a certain way, and you can get away with just about anything (See also: DonOld Trump, etc). It’s a well constructed and well executed bluff by those individuals.

And some people will even admire those individuals: The guy I mentioned in my other post was generally well respected and even admired by a fairly sizable number of people in that workplace, but he and I knew exactly what he was - and he had no qualms about admitting it to me for some reason - probably because we had different bosses and his boss was a bit of a slacker as well (for all I know, his boss was the one who coached him on how to get away with his bluff / con).

As my career in forensic psyche progressed (a completely different career / workplace) I noticed that the presentation of the guy I mentioned was a pretty consistent presentation among sociopaths / psychopaths - and other individuals seemed to either follow them or learn / mimic their behaviors / presentation and try to present that way as well to gain some edge / advantage.

Ultimately:

Those ranchers still bitch about the government, despite getting all those government perks / handouts you mentioned, because they’re maintaining the con / bluff by presenting as anti-government "rugged individualists".

Bottom line: They’re sociopaths. (The fact that they are often the ones labeling others as "socialists" only strengthens that assessment).

 

[heathrowinneo]

Donnie continues to indulge in his tariff fetish …

• 100% tariff on pharmaceuticals
• 50% on kitchen cabinets (targeting IKEA)
• 30% on upholstered furniture
• 25% on trucks

So Donnie is imposing tariffs to help the truck manufacturers that were hurt by … earlier TrumpTariffs.

Stable geniuses!

Protectionism will contract the overall size of the economy. Donnie is just picking winners and losers now.

nothing surprising here with his on again off again concept of trade and tariff plan. What wasn't addressed was the tariff on trucks doesn't take into account the cost of imported materials to manufacture trucks.

The pharma and furniture seem to be more of a shakedown. Trump wants to reduce some pharmaceutical costs and demands they build on the US. They are in business to make money and dont hear the incentives to build here.

Wait 2 weeks/months and it will change again when another group whines.

 

[heathrowinneo]

He's going to pay the farmers the tariff money that hasn't come in yet now when the tariff money comes in 2 weeks.

He can't even make a false promise without fucking it up.


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Until the tariffs kick in? They have kicked in and the foreign customers, notably China, are sourcing from south American countries, Canada and others. They have kicked in.

For those arguing against government handouts, there will be more to come. Buyers need to be found for their crops since China and others aren't buying US crops.

The handouts are just the start. Looks like, sounds like, feels like, smells like socialism.