Tea Leaves - Monday 7th April 2025

The New York Times’ Thomas Friedman explains the futility of tariffs in a world which has not only become so interdependent as to be near-impossible to unravel, but also where that interdependence needn’t be a problem. Friedman shares field notes from his recent visits to China and argues that it is mutually beneficial for the USA and China to aim for strategic partnership rather than the current conflict and animosity.

In another repudiation of Trump tariffs, The Wall Street Journal’s Norbert J. Michel dismantles the populist argument that tariffs will see a return of American manufacturing. Michel lays out evidence that America now manufactures more, and to a higher quality, but with fewer people. As Michel puts it: ‘blame technology, not trade’.

For a lighthearted but no less hard hitting analysis of Trump tariffs, stand up Dave Chapelle. And in case the you haven’t had enough memes or puns on ‘Liberation Day’, Teaboy has been keeping notes:

• Liquidation Day

• Hibernation Day

• Ruination Day

• Obliteration Day

Our final word on tariffs goes to Howard Marks and a few fun memes / charts to round this section up.

Curating these links on a weekend where DC saw its most significant protests yet against the Trump administration, there are still plenty of people looking for any kind of meaningful opposition to MAGA. The Rest Is Politics US’ Anthony Scaramucci described the genealogy of MAGA’s economic stance beautifully:

‘It’s almost like the Occupy movement and the Tea Party had a baby, and the baby is MAGA.’

Lighter than air

In a lighter trade story (excuse the pun), the BBC had a brilliant long read about the global importance of helium and the problems caused by increasing shortages to helium supply.

Depressed yet?

This wonderful poem by David Whyte may help raise your mood after all this talk of Trump, trade and tariffs.

Also, at a time when the world seems to be heading backwards rather than making progress, this quote from Superagency (Reid Hoffman and Greg Beatto) might help:

‘In 1990, Encyclopedia Britannica had its best year of sales: 120,000 copies sold in the USA. Wikipedia gets 4 billion page views per month in the USA alone.’