TACO Tuesday

What in the hell is the Donald talking about now? The Tariff Man has just further decreed that Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and any new fellow travelers will pay an extra 10% tariff for just being members of the informal BRICs bloc. Their sin, apparently, is that they have not been keen on remaining submissive receptacles for Washington’s surfeit of dollars and debts.

Members of the Brics bloc of nations—Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—will pay an additional 10% tariff charge, President Trump said on Tuesday.

“Anybody that’s in Brics is getting a 10% charge,” Trump said during a cabinet meeting, adding that the levies would be imposed “pretty soon.”

“What they’re trying to do is destroy the dollar, so another country can take over and be the standard [currency],” Trump said, adding that would be “like losing a war,” and that he’s not going to let that happen.

Well, holy moly, POTUS, exchange rate movements in global commerce do not remotely constitute a “war” that the Oval Office is obligated to”win” or even conduct. Instead, FX movements are a function of economics, and most especially monetary policies and trade and current account balances.