Canadian transvestite cancels US music tour because of America's reality-affirming visa policy



Canadian singer Bells Larsen, a woman who pretends to be a man, announced Friday that she canceled all of the American shows on her spring tour, blaming the Trump administration's requirement that visa applicants state their actual sex on their applications.

The female singer, who planned to exclusively play in blue states, indicated that she received an email last week from the American Federation of Musicians "stating that I am no longer able to apply for a Visa because US Immigration now only recognizes identification that corresponds with one's assigned sex at birth."

Contrary to Larsen's suggestion, which was uncritically embraced by leftists online — including the United Musicians and Allied Workers union — the singer is entirely capable of applying for a visa. However, to do so successfully would require her acknowledgment that she is indeed a woman.

On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order rejecting gender ideology and instructing the government to recognize only two sexes, male and female.

The president directed Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to "implement changes to require that government-issued identification documents, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards, accurately reflect the holder's sex."

'I truly don't know which phrasing holds more truth.'

Rubio gave guidance in February instructing all visa-issuing posts to ensure that the sex listed on an issued visa corresponds to the visa holder's immutable biological classification as either male or female.

The guidance noted that:

generally, the sex listed on the foreign passport should be considered as prima facie evidence of the applicant's sex as defined in the E.O. However, there may be instances when a consular officer becomes aware that the sex listed on the foreign passport may not be the applicant's sex as defined in the E.O. In such cases, the adjudicator should confirm the applicant's sex as defined in the E.O., indicate that sex on the visa, and add a case note documenting any discrepancy between the passport and the visa to prevent issues at the [point of entry].

Canadian passports are unreliable when it comes to evidencing an applicant's sex because Canadian passport holders can request a gender identifier for the opposite sex and even for "another gender" besides male or female.

The request form winks at this unreliability, notifying Canadians that the sex identifier on their travel document "may not be universally accepted for entry or exit by border authorities of another country."

Larsen apparently failed to read the fine print.

"To put it super plainly, because I'm trans (and have an M on my passport), I can't tour in the States," wrote the female singer. "I hesitate to include a 'right now' or an 'anymore' at the end of my previous sentence, because — in this sociopolitical climate — I truly don't know which phrasing holds more truth."

Larsen suggested that her announcement was somehow ironic because her new album is about her adoption of a male persona following elective mastectomies and testosterone therapy, adding, "This new policy has crushed my dreams."

'President Trump promised the American people a revolution of common sense.'

After doing her best to use the manufactured controversy to promote herself, Larsen implored her fellow Canadians to vote in the upcoming federal election in which conservative populist Pierre Poilievre seeks to unseat as prime minister the self-identified "European" World Economic Forum frequenter Mark Carney.

Earlier this month, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced it was updating its policy manual to clarify that it recognizes only two biological sexes, male and female.

"President Trump promised the American people a revolution of common sense, and that includes making sure that the policy of the U.S. government agrees with simple biological reality," Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. "Proper management of our immigration system is a matter of national security, not a place to promote and coddle an ideology that permanently harms children and robs real women of their dignity, safety, and well-being."

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Look At Beef To Understand Why U.S. Trade Needs A Makeover

The imbalance within this industry illustrates the broader trade issues that leave the U.S. at a disadvantage.

What does Trump see in Canada's pro-China prime minister?



President Donald Trump seems wonderfully comfortable with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. He calls the Liberal leader “Mark” and “prime minister of Canada.”

Remember when it was “governor of the 51st state” for Trudeau?

Carney’s Jackson Hole speech flatly demanded that central banks collaborate and replace the US dollar to rectify its 'domineering influence' on trade around the world.

Trump has actually predicted that Carney will win the upcoming Canadian federal election and that he will be quite pleased with this result.

But the president is headed for a grim disappointment, because Carney is unlikely to do anything about an issue that Trump is viscerally concerned about: the fentanyl crisis.

Border disorder

Way back in late November 2024, Trump began to complain about Canada’s lax border security and the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. across that border and threatened to slap a 25% tariff on all Canadian products if these matters weren’t rectified.

Then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government responded with a laughable $1.3 billion border security plan that was spread over six years with most of the funding only being available in years four through six. Trudeau also appointed a fentanyl czar who had previously worked as security adviser to the prime minister.

Of course this was all a bit of window-dressing, since, as investigative journalist Sam Cooper has noted, shipments of fentanyl precursors continue to arrive at the port of Vancouver and the containers are ignored.

Trudeau part deux

If Trudeau has done nothing to stem the tide of fentanyl, why should we believe that Carney will do any differently, especially when he is even more beholden and more in awe of China than his predecessor?

Where Trudeau once infamously said that he admired the “basic dictatorship” of China because it could force its population to follow climate change policies “on a dime,” Carney is a constant acolyte of the People’s Republic and has been for years.

So why has Trump endorsed Carney as his choice to win the April 28 Canadian federal election? Does he really believe that Carney will either bolster border security or take the fentanyl crisis seriously? Does he not believe that Carney’s principal opponent, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, is not serious about rectifying border security and eradicating fentanyl abuse when he has made both part of his election policy package?

Just how beholden is Carney to China? The evidence continues to emerge during an election campaign that Carney has virtually walked through so far, ahead in virtually every poll after Trudeau took the Liberal Party to record lows before he announced his intention to resign on January 6.

Poilievre protests

Poilievre expressed outrage on March 26 that Carney had the gall to meet with Chinese central bank officials in October 2024 to negotiate a loan for the Carney-chaired Brookfield Assets Management.

Why the fuss? Carney was working as a special economic adviser to Trudeau at the time, and he was in Beijing to ostensibly represent Canadian interests, not personal or business ones. Carney left with a 1.96 billion yuan or $276 million (CDN) loan.

Poilievre called China “a hostile foreign regime that we have since learned executed four Canadians and took numerous Canadians hostage for a lengthy period of time” and wondered how Canadians could know if Carney was “not going to act against our interests in favor of his financial interests.”

The Conservative leader suggested it would be difficult for the new prime minister to “stand up to foreign interference when he is so financially compromised.” He described Carney as:

a weak, out-of-touch leader so terribly compromised and conflicted, whose interests go against our national interests. … Mark Carney will never be able to protect our national interests because he has massive financial conflicts of interest overseas. What we need now is not to give the Liberals a fourth term with a weak and compromised leader. What we need is a prime minister who will put Canada first for a change.

That was only the latest revelation of Carney’s double dealing.

Chinese democracy

Carney was the chairman of Brookfield when he announced that the company was moving its headquarters to New York City. That was just before he announced that he was running for the leadership of the Liberal Party.

Despite telling the Trudeau government to push net zero policies at the expense of Canada’s energy sector and to oppose the construction of pipelines, Carney operated Brookfield in an inverse fashion, investing billions in fossil fuels and pipelines not associated with Canada.

Carney has consistently promoted net zero policies while praising the environmental stewardship of China. As the United Nations special envoy for climate change and co-chair of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, Carney actually suggested that the world should look to China for climate change policy inspiration — and not look at the preponderance of coal-fired plants in that country.

"China has made a huge contribution to the fight against climate change, not only in terms of its massive investment in clean technologies and exporting them to other countries, but also in actively developing the financial system needed for the green transition," he said.

Yuan to grow on

It might also interest Trump that Carney has also been an advocate of the Chinese yuan replacing the U.S. dollar as the global currency. At the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium in 2019, Carney advocated for both the Chinese currency and also a "new synthetic hegemonic currency," to be used to replace the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency.

Carney’s Jackson Hole speech flatly demanded that central banks collaborate and replace the U.S. dollar to rectify its “domineering influence” on trade around the world.

In the same speech, Carney bemoaned the booming economy that America was experiencing under Trump. “Now that the United States’ economy is doing better than most, pushing the dollar higher, smaller countries are suffering more than they should. Trump’s tariffs on imports from China and elsewhere are adding to the dollar’s strength as well, making matters even worse.”

Carney went on to say:

And the most likely candidate for true reserve currency status, the Renminbi (RMB), has a long way to go before it is ready to assume the mantle. The initial building blocks are there. Already, China is the world’s leading trading nation, overtaking the US at the start of this decade. And the Renminbi is now more common than sterling in oil future benchmarks, despite having no share in the market prior to 2018.

So while Carney is campaigning in front of a podium that reads “Canada Strong” and is somehow satisfying a U.S. president who supports America First, it will be China Strong and China First under this globalist, environmental extremist central banker whose election this month would be toxic for both Canada and the United States.

Trump tariff boosting Trudeau's successor, Conservatives warn ahead of fed election



As the campaign to determine Canada's new prime minister continues, one issue remains at the forefront: President Donald Trump and the United States.

Locked in a close race with the Conservative Official Opposition, the governing Liberal Party got a vote of confidence from Trump himself, posted Friday, March 28, on X and Truth Social that he had phoned Carney and had “an extremely productive call.”

'I am now off to the US yet again to try and speak to Americans ... to convince their president to change course on tariffs against Canada.'

“I just finished speaking with Prime Minister Mark Carney, of Canada. It was an extremely productive call, we agree on many things, and will be meeting immediately after Canada’s upcoming Election to work on elements of Politics, Business, and all other factors, that will end up being great for both the United States of America and Canada. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Liberal leader Mark Carney, who only became prime minister just over a week before calling a snap federal election for April 28, was initially highly combative toward Trump as the president continued to threaten to impose a 25 % tariff on all Canadian products with the exception of oil and gas, which will be subject to a 10 % tariff.

However, Canada was not subject to any new tariffs when Trump expanded his program on April 2.

Dropped call?

Initially, Carney said that Trump wouldn’t talk to him. The confession was apparently inadvertent because Carney almost immediately tried to walk back the statement.

“The president is waiting for the outcome of the election and to see who has a strong mandate from Canadians or who has a mandate from Canadians. Is it someone … who is in sync with him, or is it someone who is going to stand up for Canadians? I am going to stand up for Canadians. I hope Canadians will back me, and then we'll have a discussion,” Carney told reporters on March 24.

“Did you say that President Trump is waiting to talk to the prime minister of whoever wins this election?” one reporter responded.

“Well, that's an interpretation, but I think it's a reasonable interpretation. I'm available for a call, but you know, we're going to talk on our terms as a sovereign country, not as what he pretends we are and on a comprehensive deal,” Carney said, not adding that Trump has said he would prefer to deal with a Liberal government under Carney than a Conservative one under Poilievre.

'Unjust and unfair'

The escalating trade war has divided provinces from the federal government, with Alberta’s Conservative Premier Danielle Smith, who was invited to the Trump inauguration, asking the president to hold off on the tariffs because the conflict is helping Carney and the Liberals to overtake the Conservatives in the election.

Smith, who has reached out to much of conservative U.S. media, recently told Breitbart that the “unjust and unfair tariffs” have “actually caused an increase in the support for the Liberals. And so that's what I fear, is that the longer this dispute goes on, politicians posture, and it seems to be benefitting the Liberals right now,” she said.

“So I would hope that we could put things on pause, is what I've told administration officials, let's just put things on pause so we can get through an election. Let's have the best person at the table make the argument for how they would deal with them, and I think that's [Conservative leader] Pierre Poilievre.”

Smith went on to say that Poilievre “doesn’t believe in any of the woke stuff” and that his perspective “would be very much in sync with, I think, the new direction in America.”

Pot calls kettle black

Liberals castigated Smith for asking the U.S. to “interfere” in the Canadian election — an ironic accusation since the Liberals have clearly been campaigning more against Donald Trump and the perceived American menace than even their Conservative Party opponents.

Smith appeared on Ben Shapiro’s podcast almost two weeks ago, and before leaving, the popular and populist premier defended that decision in the Alberta legislature.

“I am now off to the U.S. yet again to try and speak to Americans, this time through the second-largest podcaster in the world, whose audience is made up of exactly the people we need to persuade, to convince their president to change course on tariffs against Canada," Smith said. "And what does Team Carney want me to do? They want me to abandon my post, remain in Alberta, and do absolutely nothing to defend our province."

“They want me to cower in the face of eastern media pundits and politicians who favor political grandstanding to effective diplomacy. I'm fiercely criticized for going into the lion's den to change the hearts and minds of the very Americans that we need on Canada's side to avoid a trade war with the most powerful economy on Earth,” she continued.

Smith resolved that “this lady” may be expected to “just sit down and shut up” but that she is resolved to do otherwise.

“I will not be silent. Alberta will not be silent. We will not be pushed around and called traitors for merely having the courage to actually do something about our nation’s and province’s predicament, other than merely indulging in self-righteous tantrums.”

Pregnant Tesla passenger 'injured by flying rock,' police in Canada say — and observers have field day with cops' word choice



The Vancouver Police Department in British Columbia used the following heading to lead a recent report it posted on X: "VPD investigates after Tesla passenger injured by flying rock."

That's right: A "flying rock."

'"[F]lying rock." You’re hilarious. The rock flew into the pregnant woman’s TESLA. All by itself. Sigh.'

Before we unpack the responses the department received due to its word choice, let's have a look at what police found out.

Police said a woman — who is pregnant — "was struck and seriously injured by a large rock that smashed through the windshield of her Tesla in East Vancouver" on March 30.

The woman was a passenger during the incident, which took place around 8:45 p.m., police said.

The driver of the grey 2022 Tesla was traveling north on Nanaimo Street, and as it passed East 27th Avenue, the two-pound rock "smashed through the windshield and struck the woman before ending up on the floorboard of the vehicle," police said.

“We are working to determine whether this was a criminal act, and if someone intentionally targeted this Tesla,” Sgt. Steve Addison said. “This very serious incident could easily have resulted in someone’s death, but for a few inches.”

Police said the victim "sustained a serious but non-life-threatening injury and is recovering."

Police also said they "don’t yet know where the rock came from or what caused it to strike the vehicle." Police added that witnesses or those with dashcam video taken on Nanaimo Street between East 29th and East 22nd between 8:40 and 9 p.m. on March 30 are asked to contact VPD at 604-717-4021.

It also isn't clear if the incident was politically motivated. Vancouver police deployed 130 additional officers over the weekend the incident occurred to help keep the peace at various Tesla Takedown events, Global News reported.

Leftist attacks against Tesla vehicles — and even Tesla owners — have occurred in well over 20 American states to date, and all of it appears motivated by anger at Tesla CEO Elon Musk for aligning with President Donald Trump and running his administration's cost-cutting DOGE department.

How are observers reacting?

As noted previously, responders to the police department's X post took issue with its "flying rock" reference, among other things. To wit:

  • One commenter replied, "'[F]lying rock.' You’re hilarious. The rock flew into the pregnant woman’s TESLA. All by itself. Sigh."
  • "Truck drivers? Bad," another user noted sarcastically, presumably in reference to the 2022 Canadian truckers' Freedom Convoy. "Flying rock? Protected speech."
  • "Hint: Self-flying rocks are not a thing," another commenter wrote.
  • "So rocks hate Tesla?" another user asked. "Is that your argument[?]"
  • "Not a criminal act? Does Canada have large rocks flying on its own?" another commenter wondered. "Tesla related or not, it's a crime."
  • "They better be charged with attempted murder," another user said. "Knowing Canada, it will be nothing."
  • "Knowing how the Vancouver police and courts are reluctant to take left-wing political violence seriously, it's unlikely much will come of this," another commenter stated.
  • "Magical 'flying rocks' are targeting Tesla drivers?" another user asked with tongue firmly in cheek. "We all know what happened. When will the VPD start cracking down on domestic terrorists in Vancouver?"
  • "You are doing f**k all," another commenter replied. "We know the talking points by now. You will never find the culprit (but you can find freedom protesters in no time), or he will get out on bail within 12 hours and never be seen again until the next criminal act. Don't bother …. You cops are broken."

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Trump’s tough-love tariffs: Pain now, prosperity later



The latest economic numbers don’t look good. The inflation rate, which had inched down in the last two months, started to rise again. Moreover, stock prices continue their downward trend as the market faces ongoing uncertainty and volatility. And then there are tariffs.

The short-term impact of tariffs may be painful. If the 25% tariffs stick, your favorite European cars will be more expensive — as will all Canadian goods and possibly many Mexican goods. Nearly all American-made cars contain components manufactured elsewhere, meaning their prices will rise too.

Americans will see a vast increase in their standard of living.

A tariff is just like a tax: It increases the cost of producing a product and, therefore, its price. The key question is how much of that increase will be passed on to consumers through higher prices and how much the producer will need to absorb. That largely depends on how much consumers want the product and whether they can easily find alternatives.

The consumer will bear most of the tariffs' cost for essential products. For products where consumers say, “I like the product if the price is right,” they will pay a smaller portion. Either way, the price of imported products in the United States will rise.

That’s the short term. In the long term, Americans will see a vast increase in their standard of living — the most critical outcome of economic policy.

Short-term pain, long-term gain

Since January 2021, prices have increased rapidly. However, personal income has not kept pace, meaning households have been forced to buy less and opt for lower-quality goods, leading to a decline in their standard of living. Over the past 50 months, this steady decline has worn on the average American.

This needs to stop. Right away.

The United States must restore domestic manufacturing, especially for critical goods like steel, aluminum, and medical devices. These products are often made overseas simply because it costs less.

Americans have long believed they should buy goods wherever they are cheapest. But that mindset has caused serious economic harm.

Each year, about $1.2 trillion leaves the country through imports. That wouldn’t pose a problem if U.S. exports matched that amount. Instead, exports total less than $400 billion annually, creating a trade deficit of more than $800 billion.

Only two solutions exist: import less or export more.

Removing high tariffs and quotas on American-made products would give U.S. manufacturers better access to foreign markets. More exports could help close the trade gap.

That’s Trump’s preferred approach — open global markets to American producers. If U.S. companies can shrink the $800 billion deficit, free and fair trade will benefit everyone.

If that approach doesn’t work, then the U.S. must import less, leading to the second long-term gain.

For decades, U.S. manufacturers moved production overseas to meet consumer demand for lower prices. As a result, the country lost much of its industrial base.

In some cases, producing goods abroad makes economic sense. But the United States must bring back a strong commitment to "Made in America" products.

The only way to make that happen is to lower the relative cost of American-made goods. Tariffs can help by raising the price of foreign imports, making U.S. products more competitive at home.

Buckle up!

This shift will lead to a massive increase in U.S. manufacturing, creating more opportunities for American workers. In turn, this increase in U.S. manufacturing will lead to higher wages, stable prices, and a higher standard of living. Americans will be proud to say “Made in America” is best.

But in the short term, it will lead to more inflation.

Trump’s plan to combat inflation includes increasing domestic energy production, lowering energy prices and reducing overall inflation. Energy directly accounts for about 7% of the Consumer Price Index and indirectly nearly 30% of it. Though this will buffer some of the effects of inflation, it won’t absorb all of it, and we have to buckle up for some tougher times before we reap the rewards.

However, though we will have some short-term pain, the long-term gain will be well worth it.

Blaze News original: Trump's reciprocal tariffs — and decades of devastating fees the world pushed on America



President Donald Trump has repeatedly scorched decades of unfair trading practices for hindering the United States' economy. He dubbed Wednesday, April 2, "Liberation Day" for America, unveiling a sweeping list of new tariffs targeting nations — both friends and adversaries — that have long burdened the U.S. with far higher fees than it has placed on them in return.

The administration had previously announced that it planned to roll out "reciprocal tariffs," explaining that the U.S. would begin imposing balanced fees. Trump left room for some exceptions to this rule, noting that countries fueling America's illegal immigration and drug crisis would face significantly higher tariff rates.

‘They charge us; we charge them.’

While Trump and his Cabinet have maintained that increasing tariffs will boost the U.S. economy, his Democratic critics and their corporate media allies contend it will have the opposite effect — passing the increased costs of imports on to American consumers. Everything from vehicles to everyday necessities, including gas and groceries, will skyrocket, according to Trump's detractors.

The fierce backlash and potential economic uncertainty of the unprecedented tariff hikes appeared to influence Trump to dial back his initial plan to implement across-the-board equal tariffs. Instead, on Wednesday, he revealed that most of the increases, while still reciprocal, are capped at about half the levels other nations currently slap on the U.S.

The new reciprocal tariffs

On Wednesday afternoon, Trump announced the administration's final decision on tariffs while highlighting how America has been treated unfairly.

Trump held up a chart listing the new "discounted reciprocal tariffs" next to "tariffs charged to the U.S.A.," which he noted factored in currency manipulation and trade barriers, not tariff rates alone.

— (@)

The chart listed China as charging the U.S. 67%.

"We're going to be charging a discounted reciprocal tariff of 34%," Trump said, referring to China. "They charge us; we charge them. We charge them less, so how can anybody be upset?"

"They will be because we never charge anybody anything," he added.

Trump continued down the chart, stating that the European Union has been "very tough traders."

"They rip us off," the president declared.

‘For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped, and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike.’

Trump noted that most of his administration's reciprocal tariffs would amount to about half the rates foreign countries currently levy against the U.S. However, he stated that the administration would implement a 10% minimum baseline. For example, according to the chart, the U.S. will match the United Kingdom's and Brazil's 10% rate.

The administration rolled out the new tariff rates to address the U.S.' $1.2 trillion trade deficit. According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, 15% of countries compose America's most significant trade deficits. He dubbed those nations the "dirty 15" in a March interview with Fox Business.

In its reasoning for the baseline rate, the White House cited a 2024 economic analysis that found a global 10% tariff would generate $728 billion and 2.8 million new jobs.

High tariffs against the US

Trump highlighted instances when foreign countries imposed steep tariffs against the U.S., pulling data from the U.S. Trade Representative's 2025 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers.

"For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped, and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike," he claimed.

"Let me offer just a few examples of the vicious attacks our workers have faced for so many years," Trump continued. "The United States charges other countries only a 2.4% tariff on motorcycles. Meanwhile, Thailand and others are charging much higher prices, like 60%. India charges 70%. Vietnam charges 75%. And others are even higher than that."

Trump also explained that the U.S. charged only 2.5% on foreign-made automobiles, while the European Union imposes over 10% tariffs with 20% VAT fees, and India charges 70%.

"Perhaps worst of all are the non-monetary restrictions imposed by South Korea, Japan, and very many other nations," he added. "Toyota sells 1 million foreign-made automobiles into the United States, and General Motors sells almost none. Ford sells very little."

As a result of the "horrendous imbalances," Trump revealed that the U.S. would impose a 25% tariff on all foreign vehicles.

Trump stated that Canada imposed a 250% to 300% tariff on dairy products.

"China charges American rice farmers an over-quota, it's called, tariff rate of 65%," he stated.

‘Official trade data appears to show that China fell far short of implementing its commitments to purchase US goods and services.’

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a tariff quota, or a two-tiered tariff, allows countries to impose a lower rate for initial imports and a higher rate for later ones.

Trump also noted that South Korea charges American rice farmers rates between 50% and 513%, while Japan imposes 700%.

A White House fact sheet from Wednesday highlighted several more "unfair tariff disparities," stating that the U.S. sets a 0% tariff on networking switches and routers, while India charges 10% to 20%.

"Brazil (18%) and Indonesia (30%) impose a higher tariff on ethanol than does the United States (2.5%)," it read. "Apples enter the United States duty-free, but not so in Turkey (60.3%) and India (50%)."

Trump's critics have claimed that his recent increased tariffs will result in higher costs for American consumers, with some countries imposing their own retaliatory fees. However, the administration argued that the U.S. has been mistreated for decades — long before Trump hiked any rates.

While Democrats continue to paint a picture that Trump's increases will spell disaster, a 2018 report from the Pew Research Center stated that U.S. tariffs were "among the lowest in the world."

"In 2016, according to the World Bank, the average applied U.S. tariff across all products was 1.61%; that was about the same as the average rate of 1.6% for the 28-nation EU, and not much higher than Japan's 1.35%," the report read.

However, it noted that the "average rates are weighted by product import shares with all of each nation's trading partners, and don't necessarily reflect the provisions of specific trade deals."

In other words, these averages include all trade with every nation, so the actual tariffs imposed on the U.S. could be lower or even much higher depending on the product and the partner country.

China

The USTR's latest annual foreign barriers report, cited by Trump, further exposed unequal trade practices between the U.S. and other nations, dedicating a significant portion of the document to detailing obstacles with China.

It stated that China has failed to follow through on implementing some of the "more important commitments" from its January 2020 economic and trade agreement with the U.S. The report specifically pointed to agriculture-related provisions and intellectual property and technology agreements.

"In addition, official trade data appears to show that China fell far short of implementing its commitments to purchase U.S. goods and services, which covered the years 2020 and 2021," it read.

Prior to China joining the World Trade Organization, an international group dealing with trade rules and agreements, it imposed notoriously steep tariffs on the U.S. China was charging an average of 22.1% on all general imports and up to 100% on vehicles.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has historically imposed a 2.5% tariff on imported foreign vehicles before Trump took office.

Upon joining the WTO in 2001, China consented to bring auto tariffs down to 25% over a six-year period and farm products to 15% or less.

A 2010 USTR report noted that China had made significant progress in lowering its tariffs after joining the WTO. However, it maintained "high duties on some products that compete with sensitive domestic industries." According to the report, China imposed 30% tariffs on large motorcycles.

"Likewise, most video, digital video, and audio recorders and players still face duties of approximately 30 percent. Raisins face duties of 35 percent," the report read.

India

In 2016, the USTR called India's tariff system "complex and characterized by a lack of transparency in determining net effective rates."

India, also a part of the WTO, reportedly had significant disparities between its Most Favored Nation rates and its bound rates, which are fees that generally cannot be exceeded for other WTO nations.

"India's average bound tariff rate was 48.6 percent, while its simple MFN average applied tariff for 2014 was 13.5 percent," the report stated.

At the time, the WTO listed India's bound rate at 114%.

"India also maintains very high tariff peaks on a number of goods, including flowers (60 percent), natural rubber (70 percent), automobiles and motorcycles (60 percent to 75 percent), raisins and coffee (100 percent), alcoholic beverages (150 percent), and textiles (some ad valorem equivalent rates exceed 300 percent)," the USTR report read.

European Union

The USTR reported in 2017 that the EU's tariffs were "generally low for non-agricultural goods" but listed several higher fees, including 26% for fish and seafood, 10% for vehicles, 22% for trucks, 6.5% for fertilizers and plastics, and 14% for bicycles.

The 2025 updated USTR report revealed that tariffs remained at those same rates.

Brazil

A 1996 UTSR stated that Brazil's maximum tariff level was 70%, which was down from 105% in 1990.

The USTR's 2016 report revealed that despite Brazil being a part of the WTO, its maximum tariff rates were steep, including 55% for agricultural goods and up to 35% on industrial products.

"Brazil imposes relatively high tariffs on imports across a wide spread of sectors, including automobiles, automotive parts, information technology and electronics, chemicals, plastics, industrial machinery, steel, and textiles and apparel," the report found.

The response

The Trump administration anticipates that some countries will respond to the tariff increases by implementing their own retaliatory fees. However, officials remain confident that the U.S. price hikes will bring more economic growth and not less.

Last month, Trump warned, "It's going to be very costly for people to take advantage of this country. They can't come in and steal our money and steal our jobs and take our factories and take our businesses and expect not to be punished."

‘A long-overdue shift away from a harmful economic framework that has devastated the working class.’

"And they're being punished by tariffs. It's a very powerful weapon that politicians haven't used because they were either dishonest, stupid, or paid off in some other form," he stated.

Trump committed to removing tariffs for foreign companies that build their products in the U.S. He rattled off a list of businesses that have already agreed to make significant investments in the U.S., including Apple, SoftBank Group, OpenAI, Oracle, Nvidia, Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly and Company, and Meta. Trump also noted that several automakers are ramping up American investments.

United Auto Workers members applaud as President Donald Trump announces new tariffs during a Make America Wealthy Again trade announcement event in the Rose Garden on April 2, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Trump pledged that Liberation Day would go down in history as the turning point that would "make America wealthy again," stating that "jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country."

The United Auto Workers, a union that endorsed Trump's challenger, Vice President Kamala Harris (D), in the 2024 presidential election, has expressed strong support for the president's foreign automobile tariffs, calling it "a long-overdue shift away from a harmful economic framework that has devastated the working class."

During his Wednesday address, Trump highlighted how the imbalanced trade market has also harmed American farmers and ranchers.

The National Cattlemen's Beef Association backed Trump's decision to impose higher tariffs.

"For too long, America's family farmers and ranchers have been mistreated by certain trading partners around the world. President Trump is taking action to address numerous trade barriers that prevent consumers overseas from enjoying high-quality, wholesome American beef. NCBA will continue engaging with the White House to ensure fair treatment for America's cattle producers around the world and optimize opportunities for exports abroad," said Ethan Lane, the association's president of government affairs.

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Watch: Comedian Danny Polishchuk predicted Trump's tariff strategy months ago: 'He's going to tariff every f**king country'



Stand-up comedian Danny Polishchuk accurately predicted the bulk of President Trump's tariff plan months before it happened.

The president shocked the world on Wednesday when he revealed his "Liberation Day" plans to slap reciprocal tariffs — which he detailed were the combined rates of tariffs and deficits — on dozens of countries across the globe.

Trump's large, now-controversial chart included new penalties on most of America's major trading partners apart from Canada, such as the European Union, United Kingdom, China, Japan, Vietnam, and Taiwan.

Back in January, though, Polishchuk predicted how Trump would apply the sweeping policies to global trading partners and was even able to accurately suggest some of the terminology that would be used in the media.

What were his predictions?

Polishchuk dedicated a segment on his podcast "Low Value Mail" to explain what he thought the president's strategy would be and how he felt the administration had plans to reshape the world's financial system in America's favor.

"He's gonna tariff every f**king country on earth," Polishchuk began. "[Trump] is trying to just totally redo the entire global financial system to benefit America, because the way that it's currently designed was to not benefit America," he continued. "America set it up specifically that way following World War II and wanted to help all these countries rebuild, especially after the Cold War and whatnot. [The policy] was not in the benefit of America. But at the time, America had something like 40-plus percent of the world's GDP, so it made a little more sense to do."

The comedian, who revealed he has a degree in economics, said that the best weapon the United States could deploy would be "tariffing every f**king country on earth."

He added, "If this works — this only applies to the Americans — if you live anywhere but America, it is gonna suck for you. But if you live in America, taxes are going way lower."

"Nobody's ever seen such winning. The winning will be exponential," the comedian went on, channeling his inner Trump.

The comic also stated that the term "Mar-a-Lago Accord" would start popping up in to the news, which referred to policy plans from the administration relating to reforming global trade and economic imbalances.

"You're gonna be hearing this term, the Mar-a-Lago Accord. You're gonna be hearing this. ... He is going to literally rewrite the entire global financial system."

— (@)

Trump announced on Wednesday that the United States could no longer continue with its "policy of unilateral economic surrender" and pay other countries' deficits. The president blamed military funding, theft of intellectual property, and the manipulation of U.S. currency.

Currency manipulation is exactly what Polishchuk was referring to, which includes foreign investors buying U.S. Treasury securities to sway the American dollar.

As for the Mar-a-Lago Accord, the term was virtually unused back when Polishchuk referred to it in January. Google Trends showed that interest in the term was a flat line until mid-March, when outlets like Investing.com, Bloomberg, and others started to catch on.

Even Chinese outlet the South China Morning Post described the accord in April as one that had the potential to "reshape America’s role in the global economy."

'It's out there for anybody who wants to find it.'

How did he know?

Polishchuk attributed his predictions to a document called "A User’s Guide to Restructuring the Global Trading System" by Stephen Miran.

Miran, Trump's top financial consultant as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, was appointed by the president-elect in November 2024. Miran was a Treasury Department adviser during Trump's first term and previously worked for Hudson Bay Capital, where he published the aforementioned document last November.

"The craziest thing is everybody for the last three months has been speculating, trying to figure out what Trump has been doing. It's been in this paper the whole time," Polishchuk told Blaze News. "It's out there for anybody who wants to find it."

The stand-up comedian said he fully expected the document to be pulled down, but was shocked that even as Trump's tariff plan was being widely discussed in the media, he did not see many outlets citing it.

Polishchuk said he now expects, based on the blueprint, for the Trump administration to start charging "user fees" on U.S. Treasuries to prevent currency manipulation in the coming months.

As for results, Polishchuk said the tariffs already seemed to be working.

For example, Reuters reported on Thursday that General Motors had already planned to increase production in Indiana after Trump added a 25% tariff on auto imports.

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Yale Professor Flees US for Canada, Citing Trump

Yale University professor Jason Stanley said in an interview that he is fleeing the United States, describing the country as a "fascist regime" under President Donald Trump. He will take a job just north of the border, in Toronto.

The post Yale Professor Flees US for Canada, Citing Trump appeared first on .

EXCLUSIVE: John Thune Comes Out Swinging Against Dem Effort To Block Trump’s Canada Tariffs

'Combat the flow of fentanyl from all directions'