Trump Crashing Global Trade

Here's a YouTube video where the bloke thinks there's not a lot of thought gone into the current trade war, started by the US. If there is any sense to it, then, possibly, it is intended to force a renegotiation of any trade rules and relationships that do exist. The idea being to skew those new deals in favour of the US.

My own idea is that this government of billionaires are intentionally crashing the market. They make money short-selling on the drop, and then buy up entire industries when it bottoms out. They'll end up owning everything this way, and for cents on the dollar. If this is even close to their thinking, that is very dangerous indeed as it may become the French Revolution all over again.

What authorities and elites fail to remember, is that the thin blue line is a very thin line when the proverbial hits the fan. 

Tait Communications

 Have you ever seen or used one of these?

Tait Handsets

They're made in Christchurch, New Zealand; and exported around the world. Police and emergency services everywhere use Tait as they're reliable and secure. Very few people know that.

https://www.taitcommunications.com

Will the EU Crush America?

Err, I doubt the EU has the economic muscle to defeat the US in a trade war, but I guess we are about to find out. What is more likely to happen is the whole world decides to deal with one another and move away from the US dollar.

New Zealand's Tariff Rate - Liberation Day USA

I see reports on New Zealand being listed as charging the US a 20% tariff on its goods. In fact, NZ charges about 1.9% on average, plus 15% GST. The total of the two is 16.9%, the tariff being paid by the end-user, while the GST is refunded to the importer when they file their periodic GST return. 

However, this is NOT the methodology America appears to have used. How did NZ get listed at 20%? The US appears to have looked at the trade balance, currently NZ exports to the US, about $1.1 billion more than it imports from the US ($4.5 billion). Thus, the $1.1 billion surplus represents 19.65% of NZ's exports ($5.6 billion). They've rounded that 19.65% up to 20%. 

Any country whose surplus increases from hereon will likely face increases in tariffs if that surplus becomes a greater percentage of its exports to the US. The US is effectively saying, you need to buy more from us, if you want to sell more to us. You cannot buy nothing and expect to sell more. Do you see?

I'm sure NZ officials do not understand this methodology, so if you're reading this, please contact the NZ government and inform them. 

Kea Aerospace

New Zealand are world leaders in private high altitude aerospace development. Kea Aerospace is another company with aircraft up and running from its base in Christchurch. Clever idea this one; they're making aircraft that fly perpetually, with solar panels charging batteries during the day. Being in the air so long, they can do accurate testing, provide cost-effective communications, you name it. One of the founders is Mark Rocket, who was also a founder of Rocket Lab. Mark Rocket is a clever guy and I've spoken to him previously, he complimented me once by saying I had good ideas (heh). 

https://www.keaaerospace.com

In the below video at about the 1:03 mark, you can get a good aerial view over Banks Peninsula with Akaroa Harbour on full display. This harbour is massive, you could lose several cruise ships in it, wondering where did they go? 

Trump Tariff List

Here is a list of what each country faces. Brexit seems to have avoided the worst since it has left the EU. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1jxrnl9xe2o

10% baseline for all countries, with the following only facing that baseline rate (amongst others):

• United Kingdom
• Singapore
• Brazil
• Australia
• New Zealand
• Turkey
• Colombia
• Argentina
• El Salvador
• United Arab Emirates
• Saudi Arabia

Punitive rates, as follows on some countries:

• European Union: 20%
• China: 54%
• Vietnam: 46%
• Thailand: 36%
• Japan: 24%
• Cambodia: 49%
• South Africa: 30%
• Taiwan: 32%

Plus; 25% tariff on all car imports to the US.

Canada and Mexico have nothing added to the measures already introduced against them.

Trump's Tariff Regime

Here is a brief rundown on Donald Trump's 'reciprocal' tariffs:

Dawn Aerospace

I have previously mentioned that New Zealand leads the world in private companies accessing space. Rocket Lab is fully operational and launches satellites on its NZ built conveyance from its launch facility on the Mahia Peninsula, near Gisborne in the North Island.

Now, almost up and running and currently testing is Dawn Aerospace in Canterbury, the South Island's largest province. The vehicle is a purpose built rocket aircraft for launching payloads into space. The aircraft has approval and can potentially launch from any airport in the world. 

Their aircraft, the Mk-II Aurora became the first civil aircraft to go supersonic since Concorde, when it went supersonic on the 12th November, 2024.

https://www.dawnaerospace.com/latest-news/certifiedsupersonic

Dawn Aerospace, proudly announces that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has awarded it a certificate to fly the Mk-II Aurora at unlimited speeds, including supersonic, up to 80,000 feet altitude. This certification permits operations beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) without the need for restricted airspace.

The Mk-II Aurora is a rocket-powered aircraft, designed to be the first vehicle ever to fly to 100 km altitude, the edge of space, twice in a single day. It is rapidly reusable and low cost, making it well suited for a variety of applications in microgravity, high speed flight research, earth observation, as well as other defence and civil uses.

“This unlocks the next major performance milestone for the Mk-II vehicle, namely supersonic flight,” said CEO, Stefan Powell. “To the best of our knowledge, this would be the first privately funded UAV to break the sound barrier.”

Liberation Day

April 2nd., 2025 is almost here and we will soon find out what effect Trump's tariff regime will have on world trade. While I think it unlikely, I wouldn't be surprised if some overseas based manufacturers pull out of the US market altogether, just to make doing business simpler. 

https://apnews.com/article/trump-new-tariffs-liberation-day-import-taxes-118d73f50e5133ef3d9598aed6661a6c

As he announced 25% auto tariffs last week, he alleged that America has been ripped off because it imports more goods than it exports.

“This is the beginning of Liberation Day in America,” Trump said. “We’re going to charge countries for doing business in our country and taking our jobs, taking our wealth, taking a lot of things that they’ve been taking over the years. They’ve taken so much out of our country, friend and foe. And, frankly, friend has been oftentimes much worse than foe.”

<snip>

The Republican president plans to tax imported pharmaceutical drugs, copper and lumber. He has put forth a 25% tariff on any country that imports oil from Venezuela, even though the United States also does so. Imports from China are being charged an additional 20% tax because of its role in fentanyl production. Trump has imposed separate tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico for the stated reason of stopping drug smuggling and illegal immigration. Trump also expanded his 2018 steel and aluminum tariffs to 25% on all imports.