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Greetings, All!
Let’s catch up on the latest top headlines, opinions, and recommendations.
The big story of the week was, without a doubt, Liberation Day, when President Trump announced new tariffs on 185 countries, including an uninhabited island with zero human population and many, many penguins.
This week I enjoyed two fascinating conversations:
With Ryan McMaken, we discussed a range of topics related to the mysterious gold reserves held at Fort Knox and their true origins. Ryan shared his perspective on whether gold revaluation would collapse the U.S. dollar and if President Trump would use gold reserves to pay off $37 trillion in federal debt or buy Bitcoin for the newly created Federal Bitcoin Reserve.
Ryan McMaken notes that the gold held at Fort Knox was effectively “stolen” from the American public by the U.S. government after President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 6102 in 1933. This order effectively made gold ownership, both in coins and bars, illegal for all Americans and punishable by up to ten years in prison.
As the new tariff regime is launched, its impact on the United States, the targeted countries, and the global economy is increasingly challenging to predict. It will undoubtedly raise prices domestically. The total tariff on goods produced in China now stands at 54 percent! After identifying China as a foreign “adversary,” the United States has doubled down on aggressive policies aimed at inflicting economic pain to weaken China’s manufacturing, military, and geopolitical capabilities.
Dr. Warwick Powell notes that China’s trade ties are well-diversified, and the shift away from the US market will take no longer than two years. The new tariffs are unlikely to yield better results than the tariff regime imposed on China during President Donald Trump’s first term. In fact, China has already won the technology race. Warwick underscored that tariffs alone would not “bring manufacturing back to the United States”; instead, policies to reduce the dominance of the finance sector, raise substantial investments in infrastructure, and create highly skilled, well-educated human capital should be prioritized.
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No, it’s not “fearmongering”—even before “Liberation Day”, the US economy has started to show signs of weakening GDP growth, declining consumer demand, and rising inflation. I shared the specifics in this video, along with supporting data. Senator Rand Paul summed up the impact of tariffs best:
On an unrelated note, it is now “acceptable” to admit that the United States’ foreign policy is to blame for the emergence of the trend to de-dollarize. A recent article published in Financial Times spells out how the US “weaponized” the dollar:
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In retaliation for President Trump’s 54% tariff, China imposed a 34% tariff and launched export controls limiting the sale of rare earth minerals. The move undercuts Trump’s goal to increase purchases of the necessary components for domestic production.
Additionally, in a quite surprising turn of events, the EU signaled its willingness to escalate if a deal is not reached. The EU finds itself in a very unfortunate situation since the US is its top trade partner, and the more escalatory measures are taken, the weaker its economic realities become. In this video, I explain the US-EU trade patterns and the dependence of the European countries on Trump’s trade policies.
Thank you to all my subscribers for being part of World Affairs in Context. Your support makes the newsletter happen, and your questions, ideas, and suggestions inspire it. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber, which will help contribute to the resources needed to produce more content on the platform. If you’d like to make a one-time contribution, please do so via PayPal or Buy Me a Coffee.
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This Week’s Top Headlines
President Trump introduced reciprocal tariffs, referring to the new trade policies as America's "declaration of economic independence."
The US is introducing 10% duties on imported goods from all countries of the world.
For all finished vehicles, tariffs of 25% will be effective on April 3.
The estimated cost of new reciprocal tariffs is $654 billion based on the import data.
Following President Trump’s announcement of new tariffs, hedge funds sold nearly $40 billion of North American stocks on Thursday, April 3rd. Since April 2, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping by 5.5%, the S&P 500 dropped 9% on the week, its worst week since the breakout of Covid in early 2020, and the Nasdaq tanking by 5.8%, with the Nasdaq entering bear market territory.
US job cut announcements surged 205% year over year, recording 275,240 layoffs in March, the third-highest monthly reading on record and a 60% increase from the prior month.
The US government (DOGE) has led all sectors with 216,215 cuts in March and 279,445 cuts year-to-date, up 672% from Q1 2024.
The mystery related to the existence of US gold reserves took an unexpected turn this week. Germany plans to withdraw $124 billion worth of gold from US reserves after President Trump's reciprocal tariffs.
Following the introduction of tariffs, steep margin calls, and stock market losses, JP Morgan expects a US recession in 2025.
In Rome, thousands of people marched against the EU’s €800 billion rearmament plan, chanting, “We need new hospitals, not missiles.”
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What I’m Reading & Listening to This Week
“Those who willingly become pawns will inevitably be discarded,” Dr. Anna Malindog-Uy writes in her new article titled “As Hegseth visits Manila, Beijing warns outsiders against meddling in South China Sea.” The ongoing militarization of the Philippines by the United States (under Biden and Trump) should be concerning to anyone, especially those who directly fund it via their tax dollars. During his first visit to Asia, Pete Hegseth told Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that deterrence was needed against China in the region. Is the Philippines being groomed to become the Ukraine of Asia? Anna shares the details and her perspective, as a Filipino, on the troubling events in the region.
Thank you to all my subscribers for being part of World Affairs in Context. Your support makes the newsletter happen, and your questions, ideas, and suggestions inspire it. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber, which will help contribute to the resources needed to produce more content on the platform. If you’d like to make a one-time contribution, please do so via PayPal or Buy Me a Coffee.
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