pam on Nostr: What are your thoughts on the tariff war? China doesn’t care, they doubled down on ...

What are your thoughts on the tariff war? China doesn’t care, they doubled down on domestic trade and alt markets like since 2020 (Dual Circulation Strategy). Canada sends retaliation warning to the US.

Southeast Asia has been the quiet facilitator in the US-Russia-China-EU trade tensions for decades and the middleman for global trade for centuries. Hitting them with those hefty tariffs seems short-sighted and might not end well.

What are we looking at ? Spikes in prices for semiconductor and broader supply chain disruptions, as southeast asia remains a critical assembly hub for the US and EU. If these nations pivot toward BRICS alternatives, the US risks losing a key trade and manufacturing partner, and like domino effect, weakening its influence in global supply chains.

Tariffs are political crowd-pleasers. All tariffs globally should be removed.

The US is trying to squeeze everyone all at once while its own industrial base is still not prepared for actual self-sufficiency. You can’t tariff your way into manufacturing dominance. You have to build without the unnecessary drama.

Otherwise you will create black markets and smugglers to overcome the high rise in consumer products. That and the rise of corruption/favouritism in licensing.

If Americans genuinely believe that restricting their own choices is the only way they will be driven to build their country up, then that’s a messed-up mission to roll. The irony is, forced economic self-reliance has been a key theme in many communist experiments. And it’s not like the government fully supports its people in building their country. Only a select few benefit.

This feels like we need to be prepared for 2008 repeat. The U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio is at record highs (~125%). Interest payments alone are massive, and rising rates make it worse. With rising debt, banking fragility, and geopolitical instability, a shock to trade could push things over the edge.

But with problems, come solutions.

Bitcoin is going to start playing an important role in keeping global trade running when sovereign currencies lose momentum. Nostr can play a functional role for countries and companies that lack digital maturity (offline Nostr is an area to tap on). Logistics bottlenecks and entrenched port control remain real barriers. If we can crack those, then maybe, just maybe, we could see a real shift toward a more fluid, borderless economy.

It would also be good to see countries in South America and Africa rising in support of global trade out of this.

But governments thrive on control. They’re not going to let go that easily.

Of late I have been trying to figure out my own standing in the macroeconomic world. I debate against myself in needing a balance. But I find myself increasingly drawn to a no-state position. I just cannot see a strong state’s role as an economic stabilizer.