Bulletins and News Discussion from April 14th to April 20th, 2025 - The Lamentations of a Levy-Loving Leader

Image is of Trump's initial set of reciprocal tariffs. Source is CNN and Reuters.

It's difficult to keep up with the news around the tariffs; they get instated, then dropped, then reinstated... for example, on Friday, Trump said that certain electronics like smartphones would be exempt, causing markets to rally a great deal, but now the Commerce Secretary has said that they might not be exempt? The state of play right now, if you haven't been keeping up this week, is that the US recently announced a 90-day global pause on implementing the tariffs he had planned (that is, 25% on certain Canadian and Mexican goods, and at least 10% on every other nation) but nonetheless increased tariffs on China to 145%.

Meanwhile, China has been - quite remarkably - standing their ground, increasing tariffs on the US to 125%, and putting restrictions on rare earths. Xi Jinping has been in Vietnam and has made statements against a tariff war there, saying that it would have no winners. Meanwhile, a Chinese spokesperson has essentially said that China can endure the tariff war due to the increasing demand from its domestic market in combination with its growing economic ties with other countries.

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From the NYTimes live thread on the hearing of Kilmar Abrego Garcia:
Forcing the administration to reveal what it has done behind the scenes is an interim step on the way toward Judge Xinis figuring out if officials are in contempt of court. The judge also notes that this could be an uncomfortable process as the administration is compelled to answer specific questions and officials are possibly made to sit for depositions. She says she envisions the discovery process taking about two weeks. Suggesting how expeditiously she intends to move, Judge Xinis tells Drew Ensign, the Justice Department lawyer, that he should clear his calendar in order to arrange the discovery information she intends to request. “Cancel vacation,” she says. “Cancel other appointments. I’m usually pretty good about this in my courtroom, but not this time.”
Look at that, only two short weeks until they've legally figured out if the government didn't "facilitate" Garcia's return.
- deeply unserious, why wait? just give them contempt now and get Garcia back home. others judges have given people contempt for less.
  
  Due process of law/no due process of law cheatsheet.
- This dude will be dead before the procedure is followed
  
  But at least the rights of the perpetrators will have been respected.
  
  Better to deport a million innocent people than convict just one poor and innocent white collar criminal