Jim Geraghty

If we’re trying to increase U.S. exports, do we need to enact tariffs on, say, Australia, with which we have a trade surplus? https://t.co/a2EYI33ipQ

Burundi’s biggest export to the U.S. is coffee — $845,000 in January 2025. The U.S. does produce coffee, but not very much — 11.5 million pounds in 2023, or basically 1/282 of what we consume in a year. In other words, Hawaiian coffee growers are not losing money or market share https://t.co/5HfBx2ZlNy

Is our goal to increase U.S. exports? We should probably begin with a realistic expectation of how much we can export to each particular country. Yesterday’s newsletter mentioned Burundi; we probably shouldn’t expect the world’s poorest countries to spend a lot of money on https://t.co/GulxQ8Wsm3

Is our goal to economically decouple from China? Then our tariffs should focus on Beijing. Yes, a certain amount of Chinese goods gets sent through Vietnam so those goods can then be sent to America. But Vietnam also produces a lot of its own goods! This one study puts the figure

But Americans may not be as supportive of high tariffs on Chinese goods as I thought. The latest numbers from the Pew Research Center indicate that twice as many Americans think higher tariffs on China will be bad for the country as those who think they will be good.

(By the way, if the Trump administration wants to get tough on China, why is TikTok still operating when there’s a law on the books declaring it must be shut down?) https://t.co/a2EYI33ipQ

The U.S. defense-industrial base needs to make sure nothing in its production comes from China, particularly telecommunications or aerospace hardware or software equipment. The good news is that China produces only 7 percent of active pharmaceutical ingredients consumed by

I’m generally a free trader, but I’m also a China hawk. And as we saw during the crackdown on Hong Kong, our extensive ties with China have brought Chinese values to American society rather than American values to Chinese society. (This is how we ended up with “Google Uighurs”

When it comes to China, I think we need an economic “conscious uncoupling,” as Gwyneth Paltrow would put it. Xi Jinping, you need to understand that we’re opening up our relationship to other exporters — Vietnam, in particular. We’ve decided to see other Asian Communists.

Now You See the Maximalist Trade War, Now You Don’t https://t.co/a2EYI32KAi

RT @Chad1320: (Full Morning Jolt here: https://t.co/9msT5Tjxc2) After a thorough rundown of the administration's statements this last week…

RT @bonchieredstate: The whole "we can't ban TikTok because people rely on it" argument is completely out the window. If normal Americans…

RT @AudreyFahlberg: Senate GOP aide on WH messaging: “I’m pretty sure that a large number of people at the White House don’t have a clear…

Now I want to write the adventures of outlaw protectionist economist "Ron Vera," and I want him to look like one of the Beastie Boys in the Sabotage music video https://t.co/cyyrLFo6jd

A prolonged trade war would have serious repercussions for the Tarheel State economy. According to the office of the U.S. Trade Representative, last year North Carolina exported a record $42.8 billion of goods to the world, making it the 15th largest state exporter of goods. In

GOP Senator Expresses Mild Concern on Tariffs: 'Whose Throat Do I Get to Choke If This Turns Out to Be Wrong?' https://t.co/fRZ8ORyjaa

RT @GregCorombos: Your Tuesday #3MartiniLunch! Today, @JimGeraghty & I discuss Chris Sununu declining to run for Senate, Americans strongly…