Donald Trump holds up his chart of made-up tariff numbers in the Rose Garden of the White House, Washington, D.C., April 2, 2025 (Chip Somodevilla/Getty)
EA on RTE and TRT World: Trump’s Tariffs Damage
UPDATE 1700 GMT:
EA’s David Dunn speaks with BBC Stoke about the consequences for the UK, the US, and the world of Donald Trump’s tariffs.
What we have is the opening bout of a trade war. You try to force the other side to back down, or you tax their goods.
We have already had the most disruptive economic act in 100 years, and it’s not over yet.
Listen to Discussion from 2:13.56
UPDATE 1253 GMT:
I joined Dublin NewsTalk’s Pat Kenny Show, alongside former Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and University College Dublin’s Nora Strecker, on Thursday morning for a 25-minute dissection of Donald Trump’s tariffs assault on the world.
I explain why Trump’s attack has nothing to do with the realities of international trade and everything to do with his ego and ignorance. I outline the damage, and the panel considers what steps should be taken in response.
Donald Trump does not understand economic basics. Some of his statements aren’t lies. He just can’t comprehend properly, for example, thinking that tariffs can replace income tax.
But that doesn’t matter to Trump or his advisors. All that matters is that they want to be bullies and make other countries pay them.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: I joined France 24 English and Times Radio on Wednesday night to analyze the economically illiterate, lie-filled, destructive speech of Donald Trump announcing the highest global tariffs in more than a century.
I evaluated the chaos as the Administration appeared to pull tariff numbers out of a hat, and Trump made up other figures, proclaimed against all economic projections that the duties will spur growth, and praised himself incessantly.
Watch France 24 English
Immediately after Trump’s 50-minute performance, I took apart the rhetoric and the tariffs:
That was the dumbest, most economically illiterate speech I have heard in my life — and I have heard a lot of bad ones.
It was filled with lies and distortions. For example, Trump said the EU tariff on the US is 39%. In fact, the weighted average is 1%. Japan, which supposedly has a 46% tariff rate, has an actual rate of 3.2%.
The President of the US was speaking nonsense, and the biggest nonsense of all was that tariffs can replace income taxes and that they can lead to economic growth.
They won’t.
Listen to Times Radio from 38:23
I joined journalist and author Julia Langdon and host Carole Walker for a 20-minute assessment.
This is one of the most destructive nights in economic history. In the scenario started by Trump, the projected loss to the global economy will be $1.4 trillion, according to the Aston Business School.
What Donald Trump has done is replicate the tariff increass of the 1930s — and you know what happened next.
We also discuss the announcement by Israel’s Netanyahu Government that it intends to establish a long-term occupation over much of Gaza.
Listen to BBC Radio from 3:08.53
Just before the speech, I joined BBC local radio stations to anticipate both the politics and the economic damage of Trump’s performance.
Donald Trump, being a bully and a reality TV star, keeps you in suspense. He wants to leave everyone thinking until the final moment, “Will he? Won’t he?” over how far these tariffs will go.
I knock back the idea that this is “Making America Great Again”:
How does it make America great again when this is an effective $6 trillion tax on Americans?
