The tariffs unveiled by U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday are resulting in heated battles on social media, between those in favor and those against them.
Nassim Taleb, a renowned mathematician and statistician, and author of books The Black Swan, Antifragile, and Skin In The Game, got into one such tussle with Howard Lutnick, the United States Secretary of Commerce.
What Happened: When asked about his administration’s new tariffs and its impact on inflation in a CBS Mornings segment, Lutnick was quoted as saying ‘Foreign goods may become a little more expensive, but domestic goods do not.’
Lutnick went on to give an example of ‘Poland Springs Water Vs Fiji Water,’ stating that “Fiji water is going to get more expensive, but Poland Springs is not.”
This clip of the Treasury Secretary received a swift response from Nassim Taleb on X, who referred to Lutnick as ‘Lunatic Lutnick,’ before calling it ‘the most ignorant statement.’ Taleb further added that Lutnick “isn’t aware of substitution driving all prices up.”
Why It Matters: The Trump Administration is facing a lot of blowback on its monumental new tariffs that have far-reaching consequences for the global economy.
Jim Cramer, who came out in support of the tariffs last month, has criticized the haphazard way in which it has been implemented, calling it ‘bush league.’ Even Senate Republicans are now rebelling against the President, calling it ‘bad policy,’ and asking that the 25% tariffs on Canadian products be reversed.
There have, of course, been a few voices in favor of this, with some claiming that it is all aimed at getting America’s biggest trade partners to negotiate.
This includes Representative Andrew Clyde, who thinks the tariffs are mainly a tool for leverage, which was espoused by investor Bill Ackman, who asked world leaders to ‘just pick up the phone,’ as President Trump ‘is at his core, a dealmaker who sees the world as a series of transactions.’
Nonetheless, the President, his cabinet, and allies are under pressure from across quarters, with several leading economists, public figures, and intellectuals no longer mincing their words when attacking this administration.
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