Will Russia Come Out a Winner in Trump’s Trade Wars?

 https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/04/03/will-russia-come-out-a-winner-in-trumps-trade-wars-a88238

U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping global tariffs notably do not include Russia or its neighbor Belarus.

In the short term, Russia may be able to capitalize on the escalating trade war by replacing U.S. energy supplies to China. But the Kremlin is unlikely to significantly benefit from the tariffs in the longer term — especially as they may lead to a global economic slowdown that cuts into demand for Russian oil and gas.

US seems content to cosy up to Russia instead of imposing tariffs

 https://news.sky.com/story/us-seems-content-to-cosy-up-to-russia-instead-of-coerce-it-with-tariffs-13341300

Russia is the glaring omission from Donald Trump's tariffs list. Along with Cuba, Belarus and North Korea, it has been spared the sweeping measures, with America's foes apparently treated better than many of its friends.

The explanation given by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt to the US outlet Axios was that existing sanctions "preclude any meaningful trade" with Russia.

Lutnick says Trump tariffs on uninhabited islands prevent other countries from using ‘loopholes’

 https://thehill.com/policy/international/5234768-lutnick-trump-tariffs-uninhabited-islands/?tbref=hp

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Sunday defended President Trump’s tariffs even against uninhabited islands, saying they are intended to guard against loopholes.

In an interview on CBS News’s “Face the Nation,” moderator Margaret Brennan asked why uninhabited territories, like the Heard and McDonald Islands, were included on the list that Trump displayed in the Rose Garden, noting they “don’t export to the United States and are quite literally inhabited by penguins.”

“Why do they face a 10 percent tariff? Did you use AI to generate this?” Brennan added.

“No. No,” Lutnick said. “Look, the idea is that there are no countries left off.”

“What happens is, if you leave anything off the list, the countries that try to basically arbitrage America go through those countries to us,” he continued.

Trump Officials' Evolving Narrative on Russia's Exclusion from Tariffs

 https://www.newsweek.com/russia-trump-tarriffs-trade-2056152

Russia's involvement in Ukraine peace talks was the main reason why Moscow has not faced the painful trade tariffs President Donald Trump has imposed on most of the rest of the world.

That explanation by White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett appears to stand in contrast with the Trump administration's previous reason, voiced last week: namely that trade between the two countries is too negligible, due to sanctions over Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion.

The lack of impact on Moscow has been met with criticism in Ukraine. The Hope for Ukraine charity CEO Yuriy Boyechko has noted that the war-torn country, also party to the peace negotiations, has been hit with 10 percent tariffs while Russia was exempt.

'Black Monday' Fears Grow for Stock Market

 https://www.newsweek.com/black-monday-fears-stock-market-2056093

Major stock indexes plunged in Asia on Monday after Wall Street experienced the worst two days since the pandemic last week, the S&P 500 down 6 percent by market close on Friday while the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 5.5 percent. The Nasdaq composite dropped 5.82 percent.

CNBC host and market analyst Jim Cramer on Saturday warned of a repeat of the devastating "Black Monday" collapse of October 19, 1987, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw its worse single-day fall and plummeted 22.6 percent.

Pesach Erev – Shabbos

Igros Moshe (OC I #155) Question What to do with chametz and matzah when Erev Pesach is on Shabbos “You wish to know my weak opinion on what to do when Erev Pesach is Shabbos Answer The Rishonim disagree whether the prohibition of eating matza is all day erev Pesach or just at the time when chametz is prohibited? Even though the prohibition of matza erev Pesach is only Rabbinic and according to the rules of psak of the Rema we should follow the lenient view that it is prohibited only from the time when chametz is prohibited, however we have explained that the understanding of the Yerushalmi is like the Ramban who prohibits it all day as do the Ran and the Baal HaMeor so it is appropriate to take the stricter view as the Ramban and Rambam and other Rishonim do. And prohibit it all day. And that is the accepted practice in our country. .  In practice for the morning meal even before the fourth hour of the day it is prohibited to eat matza since according to Rambam, Ramban and many other Rishonim it is prohibited the whole day. However for the evening meal, since most poskim hold there is no prohibition for the night of the 14th one should not protest against those who eat matza for the mitzva of Shabbos meal. Nevertheless it is proper to be strict and not ear matza as the Magen Avraham prohibits matza also the night of the 14th and this seems to be the virw of Ramban even though the poskim don’t mention it since no one disagrees openly against the Ramban.   Therefore it is best for those who don’t want to have chametz on Shabbos day because of the concerns with the problems that result from this, should have have the two meals with egg matza. Since you are making a Shabbos meal on it you need to say the beracha hamotzi and Berchas hamazone – this is the advice of the Bei Yosef. We see from the Beis Yosef that is appropriate to remove all chametz before Shabbos to avoid problems. However if you keep chametz for Shabbos you should at leat use egg matza for the third meal. Therefore for those who are able to have egg matza for two meals that is preferable.  It is best to eat two meals with egg matza but only within the time it is permitted to eat chametz according to our custom of not eating egg matza on Pesach or Erev Pesach after the time when it is permitted to eat chametz.  

College – learn in summer

Igros Moshe (YD IV 34) Question Is it permitted for a yeshiva student to learn in college in the summer? Answer The issue of college is not a simple matter. Don’t protest about this since it is known that it doesn’t have any influence for many students because of the attitude of the majority of their parents. In addition there are those who go for parnossa while there are others who are not actually learning anything in yeshiva. Nevertheless it is important that every yeshiva student even those already learning in college that it is not a black and white issue to allow college. In contrast in the summer when the students are on vacation and they go to college instead, even if they think this is for good reason that in a relatively short time they can complete a lot and thus have more time to learn in yeshiva. But there are significant problems with college even in the summer such as the large number of women who attend then and are not modestly dressed and this arouses prohibited lust. In addition sometimes the yeshiva is physically very close to the college and this causes unfortunate violations as the result of minimizing sexual sins and this can not be permitted at all. In short the good intent does not outway the problems. Therefore you have done the right thing by prohibiting the yeshiva students from going to summer college. Therefore even those who have reason to go to college should not go in the summer. 

Trump posts video of himself golfing on Truth Social

 https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5234982-trump-golfing-video-truth/?tbref=hp

“While the American people are trying to put food on the table, I see that Donald Trump’s out there playing golf,” Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) said to The Associated Press. “The president should be listening to people across the country. Maybe he should go into a grocery store, do some walking, talking to folks.”

“I think long ago he stopped caring about certain optics and he’s made very clear in this presidency he’s going to do what he wants,” New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman said in response to CNN host Anderson Cooper about the president’s decision to hit the course.

Meet the controversial Jewish billionaire driving Trump’s tariff policy

 https://www.ynetnews.com/business/article/skzrf4eajg

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, seen as the architect of Trump’s tariff policy, is under fire from allies who say he lacks basic economic knowledge and misunderstands how tariffs work, raising concerns about his growing influence on trade decisions

Putin’s TV Goons Jump for Joy at Trump’s Tariff ‘Buffoonery’

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-tariff-buffoonery-elates-russian-tv-propogandists/

While the mood in Moscow has soured, Trump’s ill-conceived decision to impose tariffs on “Liberation Day” Wednesday—Russia excluded—brought joy and delight to state television. During Thursday’s broadcast of The Evening With Vladimir Solovyov, pundits marveled at the “buffoonery” of the Trump administration’s decision to disrupt global trade and undermine the American economy.

“This is the Swan Lake; Trump is playing the Black Swan,” political scientist Dmitry Kulikov said, adding that Trump wants “to break everything” and preside over the destruction. “It looks like the end of the global system is coming, the global system that is about fifty years old.”

Solovyov added that “Trump destroyed the trust” while undermining America’s economy.

“In reality, a monument should be erected to him,” Solovyov said. “This was a major blow to the system of capitalism.”

“After the blow Trump delivered against the global economy and global capitalist economy, I think he deserves at least a Sutulov medal,” he added.

Bill Ackman warns Trump to call a timeout on trade war: ‘This is not what we voted for’

 https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5235232-ackman-warning-trump-tariffs/

Billionaire hedge fund investor Bill Ackman, who endorsed President Trump last year, is offering a stark warning about the risks of the White House’s tariff plans, arguing they could cause the economy to collapse while hurting Trump supporters the most.

“Business is a confidence game. The president is losing the confidence of business leaders around the globe. The consequences for our country and the millions of our citizens who have supported the president — in particular low-income consumers who are already under a huge amount of economic stress — are going to be severely negative,” he wrote.

Ackman began a lengthy post on the social platform X by praising Trump’s strategy, arguing the nation is “100%” behind Trump on fixing a trading system that disadvantages the country.

But while Trump has elevated the issue and gotten everyone’s attention, “by placing massive and disproportionate tariffs on our friends and our enemies alike and thereby launching a global economic war against the whole world at once, we are in the process of destroying confidence in our country as a trading partner, as a place to do business, and as a market to invest capital,” Ackman wrote.

In Matter of Days, Outlook Shifts From Solid Growth to Recession Risk

 https://www.wsj.com/economy/in-matter-of-days-outlook-shifts-from-solid-growth-to-recession-risk-027eb2b4?mod=hp_lead_pos3

The economy was chugging along. Then came Trump’s dramatic tariff increase.

The stock market went off a cliff last week after President Trump announced the highest tariffs in more than a century, vaporizing more than $6 trillion of wealth in two days.

Whether the real economy will follow is impossible to know. But the risks are tilting in that direction. 

Donald Trump's Tariff Formula 'Based on an Error'—Conservative Think Tank

 https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trumps-tariff-formula-based-error-conservative-think-tank-2055893

As President Donald Trump's tariffs spark alarm and criticism from across the political spectrum, analysts at conservative think tank the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) believe the formula used to calculate the import levies is "based on an error."

"However, the elasticity of import prices with respect to tariffs should be about one (actually 0.945), not 0.25 as the Trump Administration states. Their mistake is that they base the elasticity on the response of retail prices to tariffs, as opposed to import prices as they should have done. The article they cite by Alberto Cavallo and his coauthors makes this distinction clear. The authors state that 'tariffs [are] passed through almost fully to US import prices,' while finding 'more mixed evidence regarding retail price increases.' It is inconsistent to multiply the elasticity of import demand with respect to import prices by the elasticity of retail prices with respect to tariffs."

Polling analyst Nate Silver shared the report on Friday on X, formerly Twitter, and wrote: "OMG they applied their stupid f***ing formula incorrectly?!?"

In a separate X post, Silver wrote that the administration "dramatically increased the chance of a recession, wiped out trillions on wealth, and delivered a COVID-magnitude shock to the global economy...because they applied their stupid f***ing formula incorrectly?"

'Hands Off!' Protesters on Why They Are Rallying Against Trump and Musk

 https://www.newsweek.com/hands-off-protesters-why-they-are-rallying-against-trump-musk-2055931

Thousands of protesters packed Manhattan's Fifth Avenue on Saturday in a sweeping show of opposition to the Trump administration, joining the nationwide "Hands Off!" movement targeting President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk.

The protests were among more than 1,200 coordinated across the United States on Saturday, organized by "Hands Off!" a grassroots movement supported by civil rights groups, labor unions, and advocacy organizations.

Protesters primarily targeted the president and Musk for actions taken during the early months of the second Trump administration, criticizing mass federal layoffs, immigration crackdowns, and U.S. involvement in the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.

In addition, hundreds of people in European cities—including Frankfurt, Berlin, London, Lisbon and Paris—took to the streets in solidarity with American protests.