Yves here. Longstanding readers of this site will likely recognize the name Public Citizen. Founded by Ralph Nader, Public Citizen has regularly punched well above its weight, particularly in the trade arena. Its relentless investigation and activism on the workings of so-called free trade deals, particularly the secretive and corrupt workings of Investor-State Dispute Settlement arbitration panels, was instrumental and arguably key to Obama having failed to get the Trans-Pacific Partnership and its European sister, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, approved. So a critique like the one below from experts at the level of Public Citizen should carry a lot of weight….but probably won’t until the Trump-created wreckage starts piling up.
The discussion below focuses on the harm done by Trump’s extreme flip-flops, as well as his simpleminded radicalism. In a bit of synchronicity, DLG, Reality Czar weighted in by e-mail on the question of Trump’s lack of probity, or failing that, astute use of power:
Do you recall reading Capitalist Fools by the esteemed Nicholas Von Hoffman?
He calls much of this power-grabbing, errant, and unproductive behavior the Mad Ludwig Syndrome. These executives have been put at the top of strongly hierarchical organizations where they are told repeatedly that they are infallible — and it all goes into their pointy little heads, producing much much untoward behavior.
See this record at the Chicago Public Library:
https://chipublib.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S126C500282/reviews
Trump entered the Mad Ludwig phase a while back. Note in the reviews how Von Hoffman recognized and critiqued the second generation — the bozos who took the family fortune and the assets built by the parents’ generation and made a mess of them. Von Hoffman spent much time on the Forbes family, which has been wigged out for some 100 years. Trump is second generation, also.
And I will add a great mystery: Where is Melania Trump when we need her?
Backstory from Schloss Neuschwanstein:
Ludwig II was possessed by the idea of a holy kingdom by the Grace of God. In reality he was a constitutional monarch, a head of state with rights and duties and little freedom of action. For this reason he built a fantasy world around him in which – far removed from reality – he could feel he was a real king. From 1875 on he lived at night and slept during the day.
Idealized designs by scene painters for a “New Hohenschwangau Castle” high above the tranquil Hohenschwangau of Ludwig II’s father, a “Byzantine Palace” and a copy of Versailles were already in existence by 1868. From the beginning, Ludwig’s fantasy world embraced several different epochs. The “New Castle” (subsequently Neuschwanstein), was based on Christian kingship in the Middle Ages, and the new Versailles, built from 1878 on the Herreninsel, recalls the baroque absolutism of the Bourbon King of France. Linderhof in the Graswangtal, built from 1869, imitates a variety of styles, with the help of the latest technology.
The latest technology was also used for the highly elaborate coaches and sleighs in which the king travelled at night, sometimes in historic costume….
The “ideal monarchical poetic solitude” which the king chose for himself was not in the long run compatible with his duties as a head of state. The new settings he was constantly devising for himself were equally beyond the private means of a king. Ludwig failed through his desire to anchor his illusions and dreams in reality.
From 1885 on foreign banks threatened to seize his property. The king’s refusal to react rationally led the government to declare him insane and depose him in 1886 – a procedure not provided for in the Bavarian constitution. Ludwig II was interned in Berg Palace. The next day he died in mysterious circumstances in Lake Starnberg, together with the psychiatrist who had certified him as insane.
By Jessica Corbett, staff writer at Common Dreams. Originally published at Common Dreams
“Trump’s ‘will he, won’t he’ tariff chaos is just one more con on working people.”
That’s what Melinda St. Louis, Global Trade Watch director at the watchdog group Public Citizen, said in a Wednesday statement after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 90-pause for what he has called “reciprocal” tariffs, excluding China.
“He claimed that the so-called ‘reciprocal tariffs’ would protect American jobs, but these reckless tariffs were never designed to do that,” she said of Trump. “He just wants to wield threats as a schoolyard bully while giving his billionaire buddies sweetheart deals.”
St. Louis warned that “when he says he’s going to ‘negotiate,’ he means more harmful free trade agreements that double down on the failed trade model he claims to oppose and that force countries to gut public interest protections for the benefit of Big Tech, Big Pharma, and other corporate giants.”
“Who’s left out of his megalomaniacal game? The workers he claimed to support.”
“And he wants U.S. companies to beg for exemptions from his tariffs, as they did in his first term. This is all part of Trump’s authoritarianism and corruption, forcing countries and businesses to bend the knee just as he is doing with law firms and universities,” she stressed. “Who’s left out of his megalomaniacal game? The workers he claimed to support. All he has shown is that he’ll cave to Wall Street’s hand-wringing and prioritize his own power over real people’s plight.”
St. Louis wasn’t alone in continuing to blast Trump’s tactics around tariffs, which have led some economists to concludethat the president does not actually even understand how international trade works.
“It took a month to ‘negotiate a deal,’ but it only took one day for Trump to hit the brakes on his nonsensical new tax on autos from Canada and Mexico,” Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said in a Wednesday statement. “This endless flip-flopping and bluster is just further proof that Donald Trump has no economic strategy beyond slapping tariffs on our trading partners.”
“Instead of coming up with a real plan to get American workers a fair shake, he’s making the United States into an international joke and driving up prices for U.S. consumers,” he added. “If Republicans in Congress allow him to keep this up, Trump will keep yo-yoing on tariffs and using threats to pressure U.S. companies to stay in line instead of fighting back against this senseless economic war on American families.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a longtime critic of “disastrous unfettered free trade deals,” said in a lengthy statement that “targeted tariffs can be a powerful tool to stop corporations from outsourcing American jobs… But Trump’s chaotic across-the-board tariffs are not the way to do it.”
“What Trump is doing is unconstitutional. Trump has claimed supposed ’emergency’ powers to bypass Congress and impose unilateral tariffs on hundreds of countries… This is another step toward authoritarianism,” the senator asserted. “And let’s be clear about why Trump is doing all this: to give massive tax breaks to billionaires.”
“These tariffs will cost working families thousands of dollars a year, and Trump plans to use that revenue to help pay for a huge tax break for the richest people in America. That is what Trump and Republicans in Congress are working on right now: If they have their way on the tariffs and their huge tax bill, most Americans will see their taxes go up, while those on top will get a huge tax break,” he added. “Enough is enough. We need a coherent trade policy that puts working people first.”
Trying to make sense of today’s tariff news. There’s some big news, some small news, and some easy-to-misinterpret news. So let’s chat. pic.twitter.com/jeyTvJnn6g
— Justin Wolfers (@JustinWolfers) April 9, 2025
Despite warnings that the costs of his planned tariffs would be passed on to consumers, Trump unveiled the duties last week, causing stocks to plummet and fueling recession warnings and speculation that he’s tanking the economy on purpose.
Trump’s tariffs took effect at midnight Wednesday. By the early afternoon, the president declared a partial pause via his Truth Social platform. He said that more than 75 countries have reached out “to negotiate a solution.”
In clarifying comments to reporters on Wednesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the 10% baseline tariffs will remain in effect, but higher duties targeting various nations are suspended. He also reiterated that the administration’s message is, “Do not retaliate, and you will be rewarded.”
The exception to the pause is China, which initially hit back by announcing 34% import duties on American goods last Friday. Faced with Trump’s 104% rate on Wednesday, China hiked that to 84% and imposed restrictions on 18 U.S. companies.
Trump wrote on social media Wednesday that “based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets, I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately.”
The Chinese government issued a travel advisory on Wednesday, saying in a statement, “Recently, due to the deterioration of China-U.S. economic and trade relations and the domestic security situation in the United States, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism reminds Chinese tourists to fully assess the risks of traveling to the United States and be cautious.”
The Hill reported that during a Wednesday press briefing, Lin Jian, China’s Foreign Affairs spokesperson, said that “the U.S. is seeking hegemony in the name of reciprocity, sacrificing the legitimate interests of all countries to serve its own selfish interests, and prioritizing the U.S. over international rules. This is typical unilateralism, protectionism, and economic bullying.”
“The abuse of tariffs by the United States is tantamount to depriving countries, especially those in the Global South, of their right to development,” he added.
Before Trump announced the pause, the European Union was planning to respond to Trump’s steel tariffs with “levies of up to 25% on a sweeping list of U.S. products,” The Washington Postreported. “There was no immediate comment from the European Union, and it was unclear how Trump’s latest announcement might affect the E.U. countermeasures approved Wednesday.”
Someone could have made a lot of money if they knew the timing of Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs. Just sayin. https://t.co/qR4dxQ80hZ
— Dean Baker (@DeanBaker13) April 9, 2025
Although stocks soared after Trump’s pause announcement, many experts remain skeptical and demanded transparency around the administration’s global trade talks.
“Absent transparency about what is being demanded, we could end up with the worst of all outcomes—a bunch of bad special interest deals, all of the economic damage caused by tariff uncertainty and no trade rebalancing, U.S. manufacturing capacity, or goods jobs,” said Lori Wallach, director of the Rethink Trade program at the American Economic Liberties Project, in a Wednesday statement.
“The Trump administration could be striking deals with dozens of countries, but absent transparency, the public will not know whether their interests or Trump’s billionaire Cabinet and friends on Wall Street or his family are being served,” she pointed out. “Deals must focus on addressing the mercantilist practices that some countries employ, which fuel the extreme global trade imbalances that have deindustrialized the United States and today deny the benefits of trade to numerous countries worldwide.”
Wallach emphasized that “the Trump administration must not use these talks to bully countries into gutting their online privacy and Big Tech anti-monopoly policies or undermining their food safety, health, or environmental laws.”
“The chaos of these whipsaw tariffs flip-flops is already causing economic chaos and losses, undermining confidence in America and our markets,” she added. “Cutting deals in secret only adds to that uncertainty and risks corruption, which won’t just hurt Trump’s stated goal of investment in U.S. manufacturing but the economy as a whole.”
While experts like Wallach call for transparency in the tariff process, many congressional Republicans are working to further empower Trump. Nearly all GOP members of the U.S House of Representatives voted Wednesday for a rule that blocks lawmakers’ ability to force a vote on repealing the president’s import duties for 90 days.
>>>>“The Trump administration could be striking deals with dozens of countries, but absent transparency, ….” she pointed out.
In the “reciprocal tariffs” debut, along with certain obviously important base inputs like tungsten and insulin, books and globes (yes, like the ones in your high school library) were excepted from the tariffs. https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Annex-II.pdf
Clearly, someone in the West Wing had their hands involved in crafting this list—or maybe ChatGPT really loves reading, but hate French wine, lol.
Of course, no one in mainstream media noticed or cared because everyone was refreshing their 401k balance every 45 seconds.
This is how the sausage is made….in plain legalese daylight.
Are the poor bond hedge funds going to be ok today?
Pour one out for the PE managers that had to liquidate treasuries yesterday
According to the Unusual Whales twitter account, it appears that someone knew about the tariff pause before it was announced.
https://x.com/unusual_whales/status/1910033260975165836
Another source: https://x.com/SpencerHakimian/status/1910120891637186965
someone always knows.
and even if you don’t know for sure…. if you run $5 billion, buying $50m of the riskiest derivatives (after the president gave a pretty big hint on social media) is a rounding error and “reasonable” bet
Petty and childish through and through.
Speaking of petty – I’m still annoyed about that announcement poster in default Excel colors. So ugly and lazy.
I hope Trump will demand Germany give him Neuschwanstein Castle next. The original is as inauthentic as the Disney version and Trump would love it. Bavarian weather is probably a little chilly for him but the views are to die (or slowly go crazy) for. It’s pretty close to Slovenia so it could work as a winter ski spot for the kids.
The bit about Ludwig II reminded me of my first Krautrock album, Made in Germany.
https://genius.com/Amon-duul-ii-blue-grotto-lyrics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1av_-cpJkCU
Dean Baker makes the essential point.
Public Citizen has a good critique here but this from Lori Wallach raised an eyebrow –
“Deals must focus on addressing the mercantilist practices that some countries employ, which fuel the extreme global trade imbalances that have deindustrialized the United States and today deny the benefits of trade to numerous countries worldwide.”
I hadn’t heard of the American Economic Liberties Project but they seem legit from checking their website. They are anti-monopoly and Zephyr Teachout is on their board. So they should know better. It isn’t other countries’ tariffs that deindustrialized the US – it was US industrialists trying to make a quick buck through labor arbitrage that did it.
Matt Stoller is at the American Economic Liberties Project.
Other countries do have mercantilist practices as part of their industrial policy; it’s just the US unilaterally disarmed and has a de facto industrial policy of financialization and asset stripping.
And now the US has re-armed.
There is no rhyme or rhythm with Trump and a lot of it seems to be his own personal feelings. He was with a group of coal miners yesterday as he had just made an executive order boosting coal usage in the US when he came out and said that Oz sends a lot of coal to China. I suppose that we could ship it to the US but it would put all those coal miners out of work. Is he sore that we ship coal to our biggest trading partner and thinks that we should forego the several billion that we make from it? It seems that for him, everything is personal.
I got the impression that he was implying that the US coal shipments to China would replace OZ coal shipments. And don’t forget, the first payment on the submarines is due.
I would have thought that all that coal would be needed to power those data centers – for AI – but have no idea how Trump feels about them or even if they are a priority for him. And our government here is made up of idiots – both parties. We give billions for subs that won’t be delivered for decades – if ever? Or maybe they will be US Navy subs in the end that we will be – kinda – leasing?
“Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,And then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,Signifying nothing.” (W. Shakespeare)
Or; insane POTUS advised by moronic advisors is temporarily reined in by oligarchs before obliterating the US economy while the people cheer him on. In the next act, Roi Bibi will be let loose to further destroy the bond and futures markets.
Wear nomex, the world will be in flames.
A PERFECT metaphor for yesterday: “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour on the stage……..”
The word is, one second after the announcement of stopping Tariffs, WHAT did Washington, D.C. politicians do: they ASAP’d their Stock Brokers to invest in the upswing to earn even more profits.
The Top 10% of the Wealthy, are Tragic Figures on that Stage. .
the problem with the right for the global south to develop, is a giant misunderstanding of free trade.
everyone is trying to make the same stuff except protectionist china. which realizes that free trade is a dead end, its why they protect their economy, and pump billions into R&D to keep their technological advantage.
here is a fellow that says no country ever got rich by free trade.
https://www.exploring-economics.org/en/discover/ha-joon-chang-bad-samaritans-the-myth-of-free-trad/
Ha Joon Chang exposes the main ideas of his book Bad Samaritans, namely that historically states have developed and industrialized by making policy interventions related to industry protection, tariffs and subsidies and not by opening their markets to free trade. Chang elaborates on the examples of JapaHa Joon Chang exposes the main ideas of his book Bad Samaritans, namely that historically states have developed and industrialized by making policy interventions related to industry protection, tariffs and subsidies and not by opening their markets to free trade. Chang elaborates on the examples of Japan, the US, Singapore and Germany amongst others to show that an interventionist path to development has been the regularity and not an anomaly. In the end of the lecture, he argues that they idea of a level playing field should be replaced by a trade order that accounts for differences in power and economic capacities of different countries. The last 20 minutes are questions and answers.n, the US, Singapore and Germany amongst others to show that an interventionist path to development has been the regularity and not an anomaly. In the end of the lecture, he argues that they idea of a level playing field should be replaced by a trade order that accounts for differences in power and economic capacities of different countries. The last 20 minutes are questions and answers.
————————
now sanders is right, trump is wrong, and trade deals are unconstitutional because in reality, they are a treaty, and you never oked by 2/3rds of the senate.
as far as madness is concerned. what was the antics of bill clinton. trump is merely the inevitable response the the madness of bill clinton.
bill black called the W.T.O. kangaroo courts. thank god we got Truman instead of Wallace, Wallace was for kangaroo courts.
Lori Wallach is correct. but to use anything mr. free trade wyden says, is unconscionable. he has helped to create the dollar store, tattoo parlor, pawn shop, food bank, stock price economy.
you simply can’t make this stuff up.
https://fortune.com/2025/04/10/ron-wyden-us-economy-envy-laughingstock/
Ron Wyden says the U.S. economy ‘has gone from the envy of the world to a laughingstock in less time than it took to finish March Madness’
BYStuart Dyos
April 10, 2025, 7:05 AM EDT
—————–
obviously, he does not get out much, and lives a very shielded life.
shills like him are the reason for trump.
I’m 67 years old. I have voted in every election I could. Always as a registered democrat.
From Clinton on I voted third party. I knew Barack Obama was a fake. Hilary Clinton is the personification of evil. I knew that Biden was a monster (I remember Anita Hill and bought her book). A two-minute internet search Is enough to show anyone, Biden was an awful man.
I knew by the age of 17 that I was living in the belly of the beast. Loas, Vietnam, Cambodia,1953 Iran, etc.
I’ve read everything I could. Newspapers, blogs, books. I read the full spectrum, I’ve always wanted to hear all sides. I used to donate to the so-called liberal sites (common dreams, counter punch…etc.). I no longer do that because they always end up supporting the democrats.
I just voted in the Wisconsin billionaire supreme court election. I will never vote again! It’s pointless.
Our politicians and judiciary take bribes.
You can’t vote your way out of tyranny.
Even the churches are silent. (I remember during the Iraq war, there were prayers for our soldiers. None to end the wars. I wouldn’t be able to sit through that now).
I remember the riots in the 60’s. There were hundreds…
I expect much worse than that in the near future. If i were a young man and faced today’s world, I’d want it to BURN ! It won’t just be the big cities….
Every month people at the bottom, are being pushed out of the economy.
Wars, genocide, bribery, never ending bank bailouts, for profit health care, for profit prisons, homelessness, elite tax cuts, inflation, and trillions in debt with nothing to show.
Liberals have been pissed on for years, I hope the MAGA people get their lesson and react.
I can’t imagine what the average person is thinking. Most people don’t think we are facing societal collapse, but I do…
I may just be crazy…but
Wallace would not have dropped the atom bombs.
Riffing further on Dean Baker’s “just sayin’ ” item within this post, I am seeing posts strongly suggesting that Trump’s advice to “buy stocks . . . some people are going to become unbelievably rich” followed by his ” 90 day tarriff suspension notice” may really be a dump-and-pump scheme designed to enrich his personal self and some of his personal class-comrade friends.
https://www.reddit.com/r/skeptic/comments/1jvxify/after_years_of_incessant_crying_over_corruption/
https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/1jvv8a9/trump_admin_faces_insider_trading_investigation/
https://www.reddit.com/r/MurderedByWords/comments/1jvydiw/if_it_looks_like_a_duck_quacks_or_insider_trades/
“But absent transparency the public will not know whether their interests, or Trump’s billionaire cabinet and friends on Wall Street or his family are being served….”
Lets reflect for a moment on the label Mad Ludwig Syndrome and the Donald.
One of the things about many intellectuals in the U.S. and particularly those in or associated with the academy, is that they have lived in or presently live in a cultural environment where they can’t get much respect. For at least a couple of hundred years, American culture remained quite enamored by the intellect, especially when applied to the process of making big bucks in successful businesses. Yet this same culture seemed to largely reject or remain skeptical of any concept of learning that involved giving significant deference to experts. Maybe this was because of the powerful strain of egalitarianism running through our history.
Is it conceivable that the label Mad Ludwig Syndrome is less a reflection of insight into the nature of the Donald and more of an example of the psychological state of resentment–of the suppressed feelings of hatred and envy of the Donald for the high level of societal status and power he presently enjoys among the common man.