Art of the Steal: Trump's EU Tariff Deal Helps the Rich at Expense of the Poor

Donald Trump’s tariffs have long been seen as a sneaky way to shift the tax burden to the poor and middle class, and that is what his brutal EU “deal” did. It also got the media off the Epstein Files.

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President Donald Trump’s tariffs have long been seen as a sneaky way to shift the tax burden to the poor and middle class, and that is what his brutal EU “deal” did as well.

“A better way to think about tariffs is as a key tool to achieve the core of Mr. Trump’s economic agenda: He wants to shift the tax burden away from the well-off and toward the poor and middle class — while consolidating his power,” Kimberly Clausing, a professor of tax law and policy at the U.C.L.A. School of Law, explained in a guest essay for the New York Times in February.

Well, he did it again, and is now being accused of feeding MAGA talking points that are a “flim-flam for suckers.”

Former speechwriter for George W. Bush David Frum is not impressed with MAGA talking points about Trump’s EU tariff deal, which he says will impose a new tax on those least able to pay, shifting the tax burden from the richest to those least able to pay:

Trump trade deal: The United States will impose a stiff new tax on those Americans least able to pay in exchange for the European Union not imposing a stiff new tax on those Europeans least able to pay.

The EU negotiators were trying to protect Europeans from Trump's trade aggression. The Trump negotiators were trying to shift the US tax burden from the richest Americans to those least able to pay. That's the deal. The MAGA talking points are flim-flam for suckers.

A flim-flam for suckers. Suckers.

VP JD Vance appeared on X to push the propaganda to the suckers: "The entire European press is singing the president's praises right now, amazed at the deal he negotiated on behalf of Americans. Tomorrow the American media will undoubtedly run headlines like 'Donald Trump Only Got 99.9 Percent of What He Asked For’.”

Of course, the EU deal was not actually singing Trump’s praises, amazed by the supposed deal he got for Americans.

And in fact, small Irish businesses say the tariffs will “hurt US consumers the most”:

Trump’s TACO reputation precedes him, as a former Irish politician questioned if the deal will even stick and noted it will mean higher prices for Americans in response to a former Ambassador saying it doesn’t look like a good deal for the EU:

Daniel Mulhall, who served as Ireland’s ambassador to the United States from 2017 until 2022, posted on X that the deal “does not look like a great outcome for the EU”.

In response to his post, former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the deal will mean “fewer EU exports to the US and higher prices for Americans”. He added: “The only thing it’s better than is no deal at all and that’s only if it sticks.”

Sky News Australia claims the EU has been humiliated:

It’s all such a huge win for Donald Trump! Why isn’t everyone happy?

Isn’t the very most important thing that Donald Trump is allowed to change the narrative from why he is hiding the Epstein List, that his name is all over? Vance wants us all to feel that a win for Trump is a win for us.

However, that’s not exactly how the EU tariff deal is shaking out. Yes, I’m sure you’re shocked to hear that the deal is yet another huge theft of the poor to benefit the rich. In other words, YAY, 99% of Americans just got screwed again, in case the high cost of eggs, gas and the looming threat of inflation isn’t enough.

Trump knows he’s got his base by throat on all issues other than Epstein, and can lie to them with impunity, so Trump and his oligarchs see them as suckers.

The EU isn’t that happy, either, but gone are the days when negotiating with our allies meant taking their needs and wants into account. Now we just bulldoze our way in and take what we want. Kind of like a sexual predator.

"The EU was in a weak position, I'm afraid. It had no choice. Trump was not going to back down and it settled for 15%, so it's a bad day for international trade, frankly. But it could have been worse," former EU trade negotiator John Clarke told the BBC.

Reuters summed up the deal, which is still not complete, saying “The trade deal announced on Sunday imposes a 15% import tariff on most EU goods. After an initial rally on relief that some sort of deal had been reached, shares of carmakers and alcohol firms fell… The falls reflect how the deal is being seen as lopsided, more a win for U.S. President Donald Trump, as well as ongoing uncertainties about the fine print of the final agreement.”

Their bullet points:

• EU-US trade deal imposes broad 15% tariff, below 30% threat

• Deal helps temper trade uncertainty

• Aircraft parts, some chemicals, semiconductors among exemptions

• Rate for spirits and wine still being negotiated

So yes, it’s a big win for Donald Trump, who can say he beat up our allies and left them bruised, battered, and heaving a sigh of hopeful relief that the attack is over.

This is not the work of a diplomat, but the work of an abuser. That Trump and his enablers see this as a win for Trump is telling.

What if we need our allies in the future? Perhaps Trump et al figure we won’t need any help, since the only reason we had these allies was to shore up western democracy and that’s not their goal. Western democracy might even be antithetical to their goal.

But as we all know with TACO, this is not the conclusion of this “deal.” Trump will take and give based on personal favor to himself and his family as it suits him, given his Me First doctrine.

Rich people get another handout that poor people will pay the most for, and this is the fundamental reason why Donald Trump has not been kicked out of office by his own party yet. He’s doing service for the elites, attacking the have-nots at every turn from his OBBB to his tariffs, which are taxes that are often passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices.

When is the last time an American business sucked up any cost without passing it on to the consumer? Most big businesses are doing business in the greediest way possible.

These are not the days of business even trying to be seen as a Good Samaritan; rather, they are gleefully modeling themselves after the president, who has given them permission to be their worst selves. To be fair, big corporations have been being their worst selves for decades, under administrations of both parties. But only one party even tries to constrain them. (We almost had protection from Big Tech and many big businesses, but then President Biden was kicked out of the running by his own party to serve some of those interests, though they said it was because he stuttered and was old, neither of which Donald Trump is or does.)

ME FIRST

This is mostly a win for Me-First Trump because it knocked his Epstein controversy off the front pages for a moment.

Though it’s still making a showing on overpasses in Ohio according to a Reddit post yesterday: