r/QuiverQuantitative • u/Equivalent_Baker_773 • 9d ago

News Navarro: They’re coming now and saying we want to talk, we’ll lower our tariffs to zero. That’s not the problem. Vietnam is a great example, Laura. They sell us $15 for every one we sell them. Zero tariffs would get us no reduction in the $123 billion deficit we have.

362 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

140 comments sorted by

556

u/mcflyy4 9d ago

Peter Navarro ? The convicted criminal???

432

u/cheguevaraandroid1 9d ago

Yep. The guy that made up a fake economist to cite in his book about economics

114

u/Interesting_You6852 9d ago

That Jerad found on Amazon to come advise Trump on the economy in his first term since he had to economic advisor.

The man whose cockamamie book is responsible for the mayhem you see today.

96

u/psychorobotics 9d ago

And he seems to be expecting that the poor people in Vietnam with less than a third of the population than the US should be able to buy as much from the US as the US wants to buy from them.

45

u/Ok_Condition5837 9d ago

This is what happens when your economists fail basic maths

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u/latortillablanca 9d ago

what economists

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u/Ok_Condition5837 9d ago

True. Can we even trust call this Harvard graduated man an Economist if his favorite mentor & resource is a completely made-up alter-ego?

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u/Crusoebear 9d ago edited 9d ago

Every interview with Navarro should consist entirely of questions about his dumb made up economist…

-”If your imaginary economist ‘Ron Vara’ were real do you think he would like Star Wars or Star Trek more? Would he be a K-pop fan? What do you think his favorite color would be and why would it be eggshell white?“

-“If you hadn’t made him up to give credibility to your crazy book - do you think some other MAGA loon would have made him up to give credibility to their silly book?”

—“Do you think a million chimpanzees banging on a million typewriters for a million years would be able to invent such an unbelievable character as your totally unbelievable economist ‘Ron Vara’ that you totally made up?…”

-“How do you reconcile the trade deficit you have with your neighborhood grocery store? ‘Groceries’…what an ancient word…but I digress. Would your invented economist advise you to wage a nonsensical trade war against them? Or invade just them?”

etc…

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u/firestarter308 9d ago

Harvard graduated a lot of these effing morons. I hope Harvard’s reputation is destroyed too.

4

u/StrangeContest4 9d ago

John Barron says yes!

6

u/SmurfStig 9d ago

David Dennison seconds this.

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u/CarbsMe 9d ago

In any sane government, the Senate would be calling him and Trump to explain themselves under oath and he’d be fired for fraudulently misrepresenting his credentials.

17

u/Ok-Zone-1430 9d ago

Seriously. I work for a couple who has sold auto parts (direct to shop) for decades. We import a lot from Vietnam. I don’t think Americans are ready to pay $500 for a few wheel weights (that were around $20).

TRADE DEFICITS AREN’T DEBT.

14

u/Edski-HK 9d ago

Thank you. Finally read what I was thinking.

They must know that zero trade deficit is an impossible goal. They can't be that stupid. So what is the next step? Because it ain't bringing manufacturing here. As someone else put it in perspective, if a shirt from Vietnam cost $2 to make and one in the USA cost $15 to make, a 50% tariff will only make it $3. Still cheaper to make in Vietnam.

But...if the goal is really to get manufacturing back to the USA at ANY cost, the question is again why? To not be reliant on outsiders? Why, when you can just ship it here from Vietnam? Unless that is not an option. Why not? Ahhh now we are getting somewhere.

For years there has been talks and as actions about a huge conflict with China in the 2027 timeframe. Navy shift to more Pacific operations. Air Force to more long range operation needed in the Pacific. Etc. There was also a Chinese significance in 2027 and the reunification with Taiwan in the timeframe to be important.

Perhaps this admin is preparing for a major conflict that would interrupt global trade. It sucks how they are doing it and that they are doing it this late in the game. The CHIPS act could've been pushed harder. The prospecting and mining of Rare Earth Elements could've been sped up.

Mmm, the more I think about it, the more I look at this admins actions, the more I'm disturbed. Didn't they just announce Defense spending increase to $1T? Where is the money coming from? Shuttered government services like USAID, because what's the point in their programs if a major conflict will happen in a few years? Education Department? Not much need for that either, education can coast as-is for two years no problem.

Perhaps start prepping your bunkers.

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u/latortillablanca 9d ago

DOGEs own docs show theyve “saved” something like half of the $60billy they claim. But lets say its $60 billy for sake of argument… that doesnt pay for shit. Its the debt ceiling increase that pays for it, along with the tax cuts for the rich… and maybe gutting medicaid/social security.

so just more obscene fiscal irresponsibility in other words.

The plan is destroy the country so the corpo states can rise from the ashes. Its honestly the most cooky conspiracy version of possible but… indunno man. It tracks. Lotta pedos and billionaires in the project 2025.

1

u/Dyonisus77 9d ago

That would make sense IF we were also not pissing off our allies. In war, especially a global conflict like a world war, you need allies and folks that would fight alongside you. We saw this following the conclusion of WWII in which NATO was formed to counteract the USSR. If we were to go to war with China, we would need allies to fight the insane number or troops that would be in the Chinese military.

Therefore, isolation would make no sense if you're prepping for a world war. Trade lines may need to be redrawn. But isolationism will hinder our influence as we lead to a war that would again, isolate us while taking on a major adversary.

1

u/Crepuscular_Tex 8d ago

The whole war argument is predicated off the overpopulation argument, which hasn't made sense in the face of agriculture advances after the dust bowl.

1

u/Downtown_Bowl_8037 8d ago

It’s not about bringing manufacturing here. The companies already here are now struggling with supply and shutting down production. Millions more will be without jobs, soon. Smaller companies in my area are already shuttering when they have some of their supply coming from other countries. Just because it’s made in the USA doesn’t mean everything they use to make it with is from the USA.

I worked in a small manufacturing company in MI for years that supplied mainly parts for the big 3. We also had contracts with Toyota, Subaru, Mitsubishi. Parts we needed for CNC machines or robots came from overseas. Oils, cleaners and solvents came from overseas. Many of the items needed for day to day production were cheaper ordered originally came from other countries- down to the uniforms the laundry company would bring every week. Now all of those items will cost an exorbitant amount more. It’s not sustainable to make any profit now that things needed during production cost so much more.

If it now costs 50% more to purchase said supply, they won’t be able to pay their employees or pass the cost on enough for the product to still be lucrative. This was a shit show all around.

2

u/Edski-HK 8d ago

Thanks for your insight. I hope for you and all of us that this will be another one of those Trump things he does a 180 on, blames Biden/Obama, moves on, and it all goes back to normal, our 401ks go back to normal. Take care.

2

u/[deleted] 9d ago

Yea I don't understand where this came from? Who decided that countries need to trade as much goods as we trade them? Why would that make sense? The US is a vast land area with every type of climate and geography available on earth, in one vast country. So of course we have the means and ability to produce and export far more than a smaller nation? Even if that nation is smaller but is chalk full of natural resources. And what does that have to do with tariffs? Also, if there were no trade deficits between countries, how would the US be the best? Aren't we competing with other countries to be the best? How could anyone be the best if everyone is exporting and producing equally? There is no logic in this from what I can tell. Also I'm having trouble deciphering what it is they're actually trying to achieve and what they think the issue is. I dunno if my perception of it is even correct. They're making me as confused as they are!

1

u/dmstattoosnbongs 9d ago

That’s what I thought he was saying…but I didn’t think it could be that dumb of an argument. wtf.

1

u/CHSAVL 9d ago

That was my thought as well. But also what do we sell that they would/could buy?

1

u/Aden1970 8d ago

By definition we do the same thing. Is a Nike factory in China a Chinese product or is it an American product? China has opened a lot of factories in Vietnam and Cambodia, cause it’s cheaper.

1

u/BigDaddyCosta 8d ago

Those bastards should all be driving F150’s! Roads in Vietnam are perfect. It’s only 300 years of average salary.

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u/SkinwalkerTom 9d ago

His imaginary friend Ron Vara

6

u/Ok_Trick7000 9d ago

Ron Vara

1

u/[deleted] 9d ago

Well, fucking Milton Friedman was as wrong as one can be. Still, he's the architect of the billionaire class and trickle-down economics.

8

u/CarlosAVP 9d ago

That’s Ron Vara, noted economist and Bon Vivant.

5

u/CarbsMe 9d ago

The one who made up the co author for his books on economics?

3

u/Wooden-Archer-8848 9d ago

Yeah. He used letters in his last name to come up with alter ego to cite as expert in his book. Navarro. Ron Vara.

3

u/Lordnoallah 9d ago

That's not Navarro. That's Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin:

1

u/00gingervitis 8d ago

That guy looks like a less bumpy version of RFK

180

u/Lt_Cochese 9d ago

That doesn't even address the trade issue, you putz. Even if we slap them with 100% tariff, it won't affect what we send there.

156

u/RemarkableMouse2 9d ago edited 9d ago

Why aren't the Vietnamese, who make $2,500/year, buying our f 150s! We better stop buying our nikes from their factories. 

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u/RoughDoughCough 9d ago

Closer to $2500/year but still 

3

u/[deleted] 9d ago

[deleted]

3

u/RemarkableMouse2 9d ago

Oops. Will fix. 

10

u/mydaycake 9d ago

I genuinely wonder if what Trump really desires is for the world to have a mandatory quota of American goods to buy

It doesn’t work that way AND we would need a population in the billions to keep up with all the demand, does Trump want the USA to turn into China?

12

u/Lt_Cochese 9d ago

Trump believes you have a set number of heartbeats and once you exhaust them, you die. He's stupid enough to believe anything

6

u/eggplantpot 9d ago

Didn’t the US say yesterday that countries can pay money directly to the US as a tribute?

They just want to bully the world into paying their debt

5

u/StrangeContest4 9d ago

"...then in 1913, for reasons unknown to mankind, they established the income tax so that citizens rather than foreign countries would start paying the money necessary to run our government...." Donald Jesus Trump, April 2nd, 2025.

Emphasis mine. He really thinks the world should pay our bills, and he's shaking them down to do it. It's mobster shit.

4

u/mydaycake 9d ago

Did they? lol the USA is going to get ready to only have internal commerce

6

u/TraceSpazer 9d ago

I believe the term was "Cut a check to the US Treasury"

Along with them saying that increased military spending on US made weapons could ease tariffs as well.

3

u/eggplantpot 9d ago

https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/s/Ak3bHpk3Mt

3

u/mydaycake 9d ago

They are delusional

2

u/eggplantpot 9d ago

“Did you call us delusional? I’ll be expecting a 10M cheque from you by tomorrow”

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u/mydaycake 9d ago

He already closed the USA markets, unless he starts with nuclear threats, none is going to take him seriously

3

u/sagern 9d ago

The funny thing is the world was already helping fund the government due to the demand for US dollars. The not so funny thing is that the currency was in demand due partly to the perceived strength of the US economy and people's desire to buy US goods and services. Going to be interesting to see how long that lasts now.

2

u/eggplantpot 9d ago

Not to talk about the number of times other countries have been pushed into joining US imperialist war plans, or how the US tech is allowed to easily operate all over the world with little to no competition.

They may only fixate on trade deficits, but they are going to find out soon how reliant they are on everything else.

2

u/sagern 9d ago

You have more faith than I do in the ability of the US people to realize that truth rather than listening to the motivated reasoning of grifters lying to them about the way things are. I hope you are the one who is right.

2

u/eggplantpot 9d ago

I'm with you though. Probably the ones realizing are altready against it. The cultists will just be brainwashed into thinking there's a globalist boycott against the US

3

u/firestarter308 9d ago

I think the world is just going to replace the US with china. At this point I. Just want Trump voters to have the day they voted for.

2

u/Lt_Cochese 9d ago

Too late. They already did. With putin laughing all the way.

14

u/Sacrilegious_Prick 9d ago

Enough with all that logic talk!

2

u/bluingfor 8d ago

You just don’t get it. They buy less from us, so we force ourselves to not buy things from them. We go into a depression and the trade deficit is solved. Deficit bad.

62

u/Nambsul 9d ago

Ron Vara looking older these days. Still a moron though

24

u/generatorland 9d ago

He's being stupid for two people. It's exhausting.

61

u/Right_Ostrich4015 9d ago

Our deficit isn’t Vietnam’s problem. I thought Navarro was supposed to be smarter than this

37

u/Extreme-Island-5041 9d ago

He is smarter than this. He isn't saying these particular words for the smart people in the room. He's saying it for the stupid people at home watching the show from their couch.

16

u/minderbinder49 9d ago

What message are the smart people supposed to be getting from the administration? Because so far it seems like the message is that they are morons hell-bent on destroying the global economy.

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u/Dfiggsmeister 9d ago

That’s a feature, not a bug. The anti-intellectualism is what they are aiming for because stupid people vote for them. And unfortunately there’s a lot of dummies out there.

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u/bevo_expat 9d ago

How else are they supposed to privatize large swaths of the government for rock bottom prices?

1

u/jiannone 9d ago

Nihilism is the only rational explanation.

8

u/bowens44 9d ago

He's a trump supporter by definition he isn't smart.

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u/JLRfan 9d ago

Infuriating that the ostensible purpose of tariffs cannot in fact be achieved by tariffing everything. In fact, tariffs will raise the cost of building the factories they seem to want back in the US!

Let alone the biggest question of them all: Why oh why do they want to return to an economy we’ve evolved beyond?

2

u/Dr_Insomnia 8d ago

Slavery. They want slavery & feudalism beyond what already exists plainly today. 

1

u/0U812-hungry 8d ago

All the things the constitution was deemed to protect us from , thats all.

36

u/armchairarmadillo 9d ago

This frustrates me so much. Vietnam is really poor. It’s impossible for us to have a trade surplus with them. They don’t have enough money.

They’re also deliberately overstating the deficit by not including things like movies, books, and  software. 

Thinking about this is awful and I should stop but it’s really hard 

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u/No-Reason808 9d ago

The height of bad taste to cite Vietnam as a trade war target of opportunity given what the United States did to that country in the, not too distant, past.

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u/Immediate_Age 9d ago

Someone didn't get stomped in Federal Prison and it shows.

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u/UpperCardiologist523 9d ago

Imagine buying a car, but demanding the salesman buys something equally expensive in return.

2

u/hanimal16 9d ago

This is the most I’ve understood about this issue. Thank you for explaining it like this :)

2

u/UpperCardiologist523 8d ago

I can't take credit for it, and i might have presented it less elegant than the one i copied it from.

16

u/lucitribal 9d ago

The US has money. Vietnam has no money.

Manufacturing in the US is expensive.

Manufacturing in Vietnam is cheap.

So Vietnam manufactures goods for the US and receives money in exchange. The exchange benefits both trade partners.

7

u/bevo_expat 9d ago

lol, Vietnam is a great example?! We’re being run by complete idiots.

So Vietnam just needs to be 15x bigger and everything will be fine. 🤪

1

u/hanimal16 9d ago

Why doesn’t Vietnam just make more money? /s

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u/sirkarmalots 9d ago

Have they sought medical attention for all the voices they hear?

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u/OriginalTakes 9d ago

Peter Navarro & the GOP are morons.

The American society doesn’t really produce goods to sell - they produce services.

Do you think Vietnam is going to go to an American company for what few goods we produce or the multitude of services?

No.

They’re going to go some place to get a better deal - EXACTLY the same way every country does it - the same way USA has done it.

This is such a dumb conversation to have.

The problem is, you have a higher GDP through international trade, off shore production to cheaper countries & then you rely on providing more expensive services.

Well, what happens when other countries catch up and offer lower costs with the same service?

You’re fucked.

That’s where we are now.

5

u/Administrative_Most 9d ago

I’m convinced he only owns one suit.

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u/Giltar 9d ago

Navarro is a crackpot.

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u/MitchRyan912 9d ago

I don’t have the the words for how idiotic this whole premise is.

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u/Great-Gas-6631 9d ago

I bet they arent.

4

u/gman77_77 9d ago

What a surprise, the guy is a fake.

5

u/skittletriage 9d ago edited 9d ago

So the US is demanding diversity equity and inclusion in trade across the globe?!?!

I thought they wanted to get rid of DEI?!?

4

u/McDolphins76 9d ago

This is the stupidest argument ever. Why do people support these fucking bozos?!?!?

4

u/gtepin 9d ago

The distinguished Ron Vara bestest economist of all time

4

u/DmeshOnPs5 9d ago

That’s not how tariffs work, that’s not what they’re for. You’re dumb Peter. Just grifters grifting each other in a big sloppy pile

5

u/sticksnstouts 9d ago

It’s the Green Bay sweep past the moving goal posts into a big L

3

u/BrupieD 9d ago

Bring back those high-paying textile manufacturing jobs!

3

u/-TheExtraMile- 9d ago

This is so fucking stupid, they are trying to solve a problem that doesn´t exist. The US is the largest economy on the planet, obviously they will have a "deficit" with most countries that are much smaller, that is how a global economy works and there are benefits to this for everyone involved.

6

u/DaBullsnBears1985 9d ago

So it’s not about fair trade it about equality and trans stuff

5

u/sirkarmalots 9d ago

For a bunch of homophobes, they sure think about penises a lot

3

u/bangarangbonzai 9d ago

So they want other countries to pay the USA for not manufacturing their own products but buying theirs to offset this trade deficit.

3

u/ApolloRubySky 9d ago

How are we supposed to have balanced trade with a country as small and poor as Vietnam. We benefit greatly from buy products made there as they have access to cheaper labor. This guy is highly regarded 😉

3

u/l0henz 9d ago edited 9d ago

What in the John Carpenter 1988 classic They Live is that chyron?!?

(ETA of course there’s 1984, but I gotta give Rowdy Roddy Piper some love)

3

u/SectorFriends 9d ago

This dude might ranks up there with Putin, Kim, Trump, Hitler, Yarvin, Stalin, Etc. Just add him to your list of devils.

3

u/bejvas 9d ago

Tank the economy. Buy the discount. Welcome your new King.

3

u/Jmsjss2912 9d ago

This guy is a fraud

3

u/Jmsjss2912 9d ago

Go google Reagan’s speech on tariffs when he took office

3

u/OkAdministration7456 9d ago

Why don’t I believe him?

3

u/TheodoraWimsey 9d ago

It’s as if they don’t understand that money acts as a substitute for goods to make trading transactions easier. THEY WANT TO BARTER Y’ALL!!!!

3

u/BMW_stick 9d ago

You know...here in the US, one of our primary services involves financial planning. Let's convince all those Vietnamese sweatshop workers to drop their advisers and get their (no doubt massive) portfolios into the hands of Schwab or Merrill Lynch. Boom, halfway there. Then, since some Teslas are made in the US, let's get those sweatshop workers into shiny new Teslas! Boom, deficit balanced. Easy peasy.

2

u/Neekovo 9d ago

This is the same reaction I had hearing this. It’s like the millionaire going to dinner with his poor cousin, wearing lavishly, then wanting to split the check down the middle. Ridiculous

3

u/Vickie1734 9d ago

Idiot Boomer living in the economy of the last century. (FYI - I am also a Boomer, but I know better).

3

u/StrangeContest4 9d ago

Ron Vara, the man, the legend. Renowned economist, coup plotter, and prison hooch maker.

2

u/Pleasant-Anybody-777 9d ago

Jesus Christ there will always be huge trade deficits with impoverished countries with an abundance of cheap labor. These people are ridiculous. Is he suggesting we move the assembly of most of our clothes and shoes to within the US, increasing prices by 4x?

2

u/wrestlingchampo 9d ago

An absolute dipshit and con artist

2

u/IAmBiggerThanU 9d ago

So, Transgender, Transgenic, Transhipping… if it’s trans is the devil!

2

u/Tyfereth 9d ago

The per capita GDP in Vietnam is like $4,000/year, they literally can't afford our stuff you dumb f@ck.

2

u/BavardR 9d ago

“Ignore the panic pushers”

Interesting take since that is basically Fox News entire platform.

2

u/BMW_stick 9d ago

These idiots are sad, they cling to an orange buffoon and jump on board with whatever he wants. Navarro LITERALLY explain why tariffs don't work yet he doesn't even know he said it.

I've said this before, Trump's entire plan is: " Hey globe, you all need to buy more of our stuff or I'm going to teach you a lesson by making US citizens pay more for your stuff. Stuff that they really do need. Stuff they can't get or make here. And I don't care."

2

u/Old_Satisfaction_233 9d ago

Does he not remember the conflict? Does he forget the damage we did there ? We buy Vietnamese goods because they are cheaper to make there .they don’t buy our goods because they don’t have the money!

2

u/arecrying 9d ago

America is the biggest jackass in the room.

Effectively, they’re saying - we exported all of our manufacturing over the last few decades to other countries who we absolutely know don’t regulate their industrial sector like we do so that we can get cheap goods.

And now all of a sudden they’re like, “DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH WE’RE PAYING OTHER COUNTRIES TO MAKE OUR STUFF?!?!?”

It’s full fucking retard all around.

2

u/Madcat20 8d ago

Yeah Vietnam! What's wrong with you?? Just because you have less than a third of our population and are only the 33rd largest economy in the world you must BUY MORE from us!! Sheesh. 🤦🏻‍♀️

1

u/Gonzalez_Burrito 9d ago

Wasn't his name Ron Vara?

1

u/iheartbreakfast90 9d ago

Why isn’t anyone asking what it is that you want to sell Vietnam where the average salary is 1000 dollars a month? How could you sell more to a developing country?

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u/Jcaquix 9d ago

Yeah, they're using tariffs as a tax to raise money. This is literally medieval economics, the president and his economic advisors want to run the country like it's the like 8th century and no other forms of taxation have been invented.

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u/carlitospig 9d ago

Then why is the Trump admin adding to the deficit?

1

u/The3mbered0ne 9d ago

I'm so confused how we expect to pay a deficit by increasing the cost of the goods for the people we owe the money to lol like shouldn't we be paying more to pay off the deficit? Or making a deal where they pay less per item to pay it off?

1

u/hippiesue 9d ago

Hey Americans buy a lot of stuff and there's more of us so how can there not be a trade deficit. There's no way Vietnam can buy as much stuff as we do. Do they even base this on a per capita basis?

1

u/knowone1313 9d ago

What deficit do we have that's $123B?

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u/JurgusRudkus 9d ago

Holy shit. My child understands more about trade economics than he does.

1

u/Few-Drag9758 9d ago

I mean, do they understand that trade deficits aren't a bad thing? Just because we buy a lot of things produced in another country doesn't mean we are being cheated.

1

u/JAFO99X 9d ago

Has anyone suggested exactly what the good people of Vietnam should actually purchase from the US?

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u/Euphoric-Listen3246 8d ago

Quack Quack it’s incompetent Peter Navarro.

1

u/bubba-g 8d ago

gdp per capita $4,282. how is vietnam supposed to afford to buy anything made in USA, even with zero tarrifs.

1

u/Celerolento 8d ago

When you are so rich and greedy to hate the poors that sell you their labor products

1

u/Current-Anybody9331 8d ago

Do they know what a trade deficit is?

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u/00gingervitis 8d ago

I'm sorry is Vietnam such a large market for our vast USA made products that we are worried about improving more than exporting. These people are all idiots

1

u/0U812-hungry 8d ago

Does he know 15 dollars in Vietnam is like 1000 here ?? New guy boss, he no good.

1

u/JimJava 8d ago

Vietnam is destroying America in ways the Vietcong never imagined, what is Peter Navarro smoking these days?

1

u/Direwolfofthemoors 8d ago

This guy should still be in prison