The governor of California is going to call Trump’s bluff by ignoring the federal tariff and negotiate directly with other countries on tariffs. Seems like a decent strategy considering that the Trump tariffs are entirely dependent on the claim that the national debt has created a national emergency that gives the president the power to levy tariffs. In other words, the White House is likely violating the law and California is going to respond in kind.
Not an option, according to the Constitution.
Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution explicitly says, “The Congress shall have Power to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, … but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States.”
I strongly recommend reading the U.S. Constitution. Frequently. You can't preserve, protect, or defend, something you don't know.
LOL...are you aware of the infamous Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act? That was a bill that passed Congress and was signed by Hoover. Notice that it's CONGRESS that is levying the tariffs and not Herbert Hoover. Which means Trump doesn't have the power to levy tariffs under the Constitution either. The current administration is trying to claim that the national debt has created a national emergency that gives him the power to do it himself. But that is obvious b.s. considering Trump wants to make the $2 trillion tax cut from 2017 permanent + add trillions more in new tax cuts. All of that will explode the national debt to new heights.
Basically CA is saying "if you're going to pretend to have the authority to negotiate tariffs by yourself then we're going to pretend that we can do that as well".
First, "infamous" Smoot-Hawley tariff?
Second, everything I posted was accurate. No governor can negotiate with other countries on tariffs as per the Constitution. The Executive branch cannot implement the tariffs (as you noted), but it can enforce the laws/tariffs passed by Congress and approved by the Executive branch.
The current administration is trying to claim that the national debt has created a national emergency that gives him the power to do it himself. But that is obvious b.s.
True.
Basically CA is saying "if you're going to pretend to have the authority to negotiate tariffs by yourself then we're going to pretend that we can do that as well".
Well, that "two wrongs make it right and/or ok" approach is a bad and dangerous approach with respect to the Constitution. Also, the current regime has declared an emergency as per:
International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977. The act allows the president to declare an emergency under the National Emergency Act (NEA) and then use his extensive economic powers to regulate or prohibit imports. The CRS says that President Trump was the first chief executive to use this act in February 2025, when he announced tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico. The emergency stated by the president can be terminated at this request, or by a joint resolution of Congress. - https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/how-congress-delegates-its-tariff-powers-to-the-president
Improperly or not (it IS improper, objectively), Congress has the power to rescind the declaration. The current Republican controlled congress won't do that though. They've found a gap in the checks-and-balances between the 3 branches our Founders created, and are exploiting that to intentionally cause harm to the nation. Vlad couldn't be happier.
The governor of California is going to call Trump’s bluff by ignoring the federal tariff and negotiate directly with other countries on tariffs. Seems like a decent strategy considering that the Trump tariffs are entirely dependent on the claim that the national debt has created a national emergency that gives the president the power to levy tariffs. In other words, the White House is likely violating the law and California is going to respond in kind.
California is part of the country. If there is a federal tariff, California is the one in violation if they try to ignore it.
I believe the point is: Since there is no federal tariff until Congress ratifies it, California isn't violating shit until then.
The governor of California is going to call Trump’s bluff by ignoring the federal tariff and negotiate directly with other countries on tariffs. Seems like a decent strategy considering that the Trump tariffs are entirely dependent on the claim that the national debt has created a national emergency that gives the president the power to levy tariffs. In other words, the White House is likely violating the law and California is going to respond in kind.
Governor Newsom finally doing something lawful. That’s an odd one since he usually violates the federal laws he disagrees with.
“ According to CNN, the 54% tariff that China has responded to, was made by dividing a given country's trade deficit by its exports to the US. Then the resulting figure was divided in half.”
The governor of California is going to call Trump’s bluff by ignoring the federal tariff and negotiate directly with other countries on tariffs. Seems like a decent strategy considering that the Trump tariffs are entirely dependent on the claim that the national debt has created a national emergency that gives the president the power to levy tariffs. In other words, the White House is likely violating the law and California is going to respond in kind.
I question that. States Rights are one thing, but international trade, including treaties and tariffs are federal jurisdiction. I question if Cal can just go their own way, refuse to take part and negotiate their own agreements. That would be a Constitutional Law question, but it’s my impression that won’t stand scrutiny.
Didn’t you get the memo? The constitution no longer matters
Apple and much of the Tech sector have stock valuations that are unreasonably high. Apple's recent PE ratio is now closer to 30, which is likely sustainable (perhaps still too high). NVIDIA is at 50, MSFT. now down to 30-ish, ORCL now 30-ish. TSLA is about 115, while the likes of Toyota is at 7. Ford at 7. None of these stocks are a good buy yet. Much of the recent highs is speculation over the AI hype, which they'll continue to hype for a while yet.
Apple and much of the Tech sector have stock valuations that are unreasonably high. Apple's recent PE ratio is now closer to 30, which is likely sustainable (perhaps still too high). NVIDIA is at 50, MSFT. now down to 30-ish, ORCL now 30-ish. TSLA is about 115, while the likes of Toyota is at 7. Ford at 7. None of these stocks are a good buy yet. Much of the recent highs is speculation over the AI hype, which they'll continue to hype for a while yet.
Are you comparing past earnings with the current stock prices?
Future earnings are likely to drop which is why the share prices have dropped as they are anticipating a fall in earnings which will in turn push up the PE ratios again.
I am trying to make lemonade out the lemons that Trump gave us. Ok Looking at the bright side of the chaos…
Firstly - devices may be 80% of revenue but only about half of net profits. Services division is the best growing with 75% gross margin. Unlikely that tariffs will be as impactful to the services? Also potentially it may be possible to fairly quickly pivot services into a regional revenue model thus having the services “produced” in a local region and avoiding tariffs.
Apple exec team has one of the best logistics persons in the world - Tim Cook. Highly unlikely that Apple has not war gamed any and all scenarios around tariffs and Trump as the tariffs are not a surprise and have been telegraphed loudly and for a long time by the US govt.
The stock market kneejerk reaction is risk off which is not based on individual company fundamentals or ability to weather the storm.
Apple has a massive cash pile dedicated to share buybacks which will now achieve a lot more with the same cash. Apple is likely calmly retiring shares at a steep discount and lowering the EPS impact that tariffs may introduce.
Apple has a very tariff sensitive manufacturing strategy though compared to say Tesla that sources most of its components at its local manufacturing hubs in the US, Europe and China.
Apple has a high profile commitment to invest in the US which may now be at risk and Trump has used it as a case study of how his America First strategy is winning. Likely this gives Tim Cook some influence in agreeing better terms for Apple as a Presidential exception and Trump can sell it as similar to the Gold VIsa for 5 million USD.. i.e. invest X in the US and become tariff exempt.
I dont know if China considers the Apple phones manufactured in China to be caught by the tariffs. If not and the above deal with Trump works then the 2 largest markets for Apple are recovered and Europe will likely consider the Apple products as manufactured in China or India (?).
Chaos makes business hard to predict and there are many risks. There are some truisms though in classic thinking - China represents chaos as both danger and opportunity. Notable investors like Baron Rothschild paraphrased “on the sound of gunfire - invest”.
The company coming best out of all of this will be Berkshire Hathaway with 300 Billion USD of dry powder.
Btw i see a lot of questions on how people could vote for Trump.. well i ask myself that as well but consider also that likely a large chunk of his support base own no or small quantities of equities and thus likely do not give two flying quacks about the chaos in the markets. They will care when/if inflation kicks off though.
Sounds like a great time for Apple to do a massive stock buyback.
Mods... get rid of these political BS comments. If I want that, I'll go to CNN or Fox News.
Exactly how much cash you think Apple has on hand?
A lot. Is there point to your post?
The point is in math “a lot” could mean very different things. They could use 100% of their cash on hand to buy back stock and it would barely affect their stock price. Their cash on hand is about 5% or less of their current valuation today.
I believe that one vengeful element of these tariffs is to “put the tech giants in their place,” i.e., reduce their influence over not only the people, but the outsized influence they hold over the US economy in general. The sentiment is probably something like: “You think you are too big for me to tell you what to do, what to believe (e.g.,liberal vs new age conservative), what to deem as important (e.g., DEI), who to deem as acceptable (e.g., LGBT+), and how to run your business, who to partner with, etc.” Followed by “Who’s in charge now, Timmy?”
I believe a lot of the big corporate powerhouses saw a lot of this sentiment building and have tried to cow-tow to the new mob boss by tweaking their organizations to placate the beast. But what they’ve done is not enough to show blind loyalty to the master, and regardless of how much chump change they throw his way, they aren’t doing enough and still need to be taught a lesson.
All of these things make perfect sense if you put yourself in the mind of a 5th grade bully who has a rich dad. One should always be empathetic, I.e., walk in someone else’s shoes to understand where they are coming from. It works both ways though, not only when it comes to understanding the mindset of beleaguered souls but in understanding the mindset of a child-minded bully who believes that the entire world owes him something that he cannot obtain by engaging in civil discourse, trust, and humanitarian thinking. “Who’s gonna take away his license to kill?” - Bob Dylan.
The governor of California is going to call Trump’s bluff by ignoring the federal tariff and negotiate directly with other countries on tariffs. Seems like a decent strategy considering that the Trump tariffs are entirely dependent on the claim that the national debt has created a national emergency that gives the president the power to levy tariffs. In other words, the White House is likely violating the law and California is going to respond in kind.
Not an option, according to the Constitution.
Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution explicitly says, “The Congress shall have Power to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, … but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States.”
I strongly recommend reading the U.S. Constitution. Frequently. You can't preserve, protect, or defend, something you don't know.
LOL...are you aware of the infamous Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act? That was a bill that passed Congress and was signed by Hoover. Notice that it's CONGRESS that is levying the tariffs and not Herbert Hoover. Which means Trump doesn't have the power to levy tariffs under the Constitution either. The current administration is trying to claim that the national debt has created a national emergency that gives him the power to do it himself. But that is obvious b.s. considering Trump wants to make the $2 trillion tax cut from 2017 permanent + add trillions more in new tax cuts. All of that will explode the national debt to new heights.
Basically CA is saying "if you're going to pretend to have the authority to negotiate tariffs by yourself then we're going to pretend that we can do that as well".
First, "infamous" Smoot-Hawley tariff?
Second, everything I posted was accurate. No governor can negotiate with other countries on tariffs as per the Constitution. The Executive branch cannot implement the tariffs (as you noted), but it can enforce the laws/tariffs passed by Congress and approved by the Executive branch.
The current administration is trying to claim that the national debt has created a national emergency that gives him the power to do it himself. But that is obvious b.s.
True.
Basically CA is saying "if you're going to pretend to have the authority to negotiate tariffs by yourself then we're going to pretend that we can do that as well".
Well, that "two wrongs make it right and/or ok" approach is a bad and dangerous approach with respect to the Constitution. Also, the current regime has declared an emergency as per:
International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977. The act allows the president to declare an emergency under the National Emergency Act (NEA) and then use his extensive economic powers to regulate or prohibit imports. The CRS says that President Trump was the first chief executive to use this act in February 2025, when he announced tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico. The emergency stated by the president can be terminated at this request, or by a joint resolution of Congress. - https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/how-congress-delegates-its-tariff-powers-to-the-president
Improperly or not (it IS improper, objectively), Congress has the power to rescind the declaration. The current Republican controlled congress won't do that though. They've found a gap in the checks-and-balances between the 3 branches our Founders created, and are exploiting that to intentionally cause harm to the nation. Vlad couldn't be happier.
Yes, Smoot-Hawley is "infamous" because it was a key factor that led to the Great Depression. And I think your approach to what is proper/improper for states to be doing in response to a largely lawless administration is naive at best. This is a federal administration that is consistently losing in federal court and ignoring federal court orders. The courts are a co-equal branch of government. IMO, once the executive goes rogue and ignores a co-equal branch then you have a Constitutional crisis and the states should be using every tool available to protect themselves. If anything, CA saying that they want to do an end-around on the tariffs is much more responsible from a governing perspective than what the federal government is currently doing. CA's state government is trying to protect the residents of the state from lawbreakers, i.e., the current federal administration.
And note that the GOP/Trump use of IEEPA started with countries that were following the trade agreements that had been negotiated by the 1st Trump administration. That can't possibly be considered an "emergency". There is literally video of Trump saying how great those agreements were compared to NAFTA and TPP. But now it's an "emergency" for Canada, Mexico and China to be following them. Totally insane. The IEEPA also requires the president to be in regular consultation with Congress which is obviously not happening. Another violation.
The rest button has been pressed. The system is powered down, but will power up with a fresh set of memory banks.
Of course things are rough the day after. But let’s give it time to do what it’s going to do. There’s no arguing the USA has been unfairly treated in the world trading stage. Giving them some of their own medicine is necessary to level tje playing field. It’s not okay for us to pay sn ram dnd a leg to sell iverseas while they have it easy here. Or to be barred from selling there while they take over here.
With the US being the world's wealthiest nation, and with the strongest economy on earth, "leveling the playing field" may not be the phrase you're looking for.
Lots of people — including Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden — have supported targeted tariffs on adversarial countries combined with other measures, like the CHIPS Act, to support strategically important industries.
Lots of people — including Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden — have supported targeted tariffs on adversarial countries combined with other measures, like the CHIPS Act, to support strategically important industries.
Thats not what Trump is doing.
Especially considering the 1st Trump administration withdrew the United States from NAFTA and TPP and did new trade agreements with Canada, Mexico and China...trade agreements which Trump then declared to be an "emergency" in his 2nd term.
Watching the absolute meltdown people are having is really something. Those who didn’t support Trump to begin with are the loudest. But the center right is up there as well.
I would just say this. I wouldn’t bet against Trump. I don’t know whether or not this tariff strategy will work, but I’d give it better than 50-50 odds. He’s trying to reset the playing field and get countries to renegotiate. If you will look at what he’s doing compared to his past behavior, it’s exactly what he always does. He takes a maximalist position, then is happy when he gets some of what he wants. There was no way to do this on trade without short-term pain. We’re certainly seeing that now.
There is a bigger picture here. It involves lower energy prices, reduced fraud and waste, and lower interest rates. One of the ways of achieving that is to force money into US treasuries, which is exactly what is happening right now. One problem Trump faced upon ansduming office is the stock market was overvalued from a P/E perspective. It was due for a correction. I have to wonder if they just decided to take the bath now.
So we’ll see what happens, as the orange man likes to say. Contrary to popular belief, he doesn’t have a bunch of idiots around him and isn’t just doing these things willy-nilly. Hopefully, they work.
The governor of California is going to call Trump’s bluff by ignoring the federal tariff and negotiate directly with other countries on tariffs. Seems like a decent strategy considering that the Trump tariffs are entirely dependent on the claim that the national debt has created a national emergency that gives the president the power to levy tariffs. In other words, the White House is likely violating the law and California is going to respond in kind.
Not an option, according to the Constitution.
Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution explicitly says, “The Congress shall have Power to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, … but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States.”
I strongly recommend reading the U.S. Constitution. Frequently. You can't preserve, protect, or defend, something you don't know.
The governor of California is going to call Trump’s bluff by ignoring the federal tariff and negotiate directly with other countries on tariffs. Seems like a decent strategy considering that the Trump tariffs are entirely dependent on the claim that the national debt has created a national emergency that gives the president the power to levy tariffs. In other words, the White House is likely violating the law and California is going to respond in kind.
Not an option, according to the Constitution.
Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution explicitly says, “The Congress shall have Power to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, … but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States.”
I strongly recommend reading the U.S. Constitution. Frequently. You can't preserve, protect, or defend, something you don't know.
LOL...are you aware of the infamous Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act? That was a bill that passed Congress and was signed by Hoover. Notice that it's CONGRESS that is levying the tariffs and not Herbert Hoover. Which means Trump doesn't have the power to levy tariffs under the Constitution either. The current administration is trying to claim that the national debt has created a national emergency that gives him the power to do it himself. But that is obvious b.s. considering Trump wants to make the $2 trillion tax cut from 2017 permanent + add trillions more in new tax cuts. All of that will explode the national debt to new heights.
Basically CA is saying "if you're going to pretend to have the authority to negotiate tariffs by yourself then we're going to pretend that we can do that as well".
First, "infamous" Smoot-Hawley tariff?
Second, everything I posted was accurate. No governor can negotiate with other countries on tariffs as per the Constitution. The Executive branch cannot implement the tariffs (as you noted), but it can enforce the laws/tariffs passed by Congress and approved by the Executive branch.
The current administration is trying to claim that the national debt has created a national emergency that gives him the power to do it himself. But that is obvious b.s.
True.
Basically CA is saying "if you're going to pretend to have the authority to negotiate tariffs by yourself then we're going to pretend that we can do that as well".
Well, that "two wrongs make it right and/or ok" approach is a bad and dangerous approach with respect to the Constitution. Also, the current regime has declared an emergency as per:
International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977. The act allows the president to declare an emergency under the National Emergency Act (NEA) and then use his extensive economic powers to regulate or prohibit imports. The CRS says that President Trump was the first chief executive to use this act in February 2025, when he announced tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico. The emergency stated by the president can be terminated at this request, or by a joint resolution of Congress. - https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/how-congress-delegates-its-tariff-powers-to-the-president
Improperly or not (it IS improper, objectively), Congress has the power to rescind the declaration. The current Republican controlled congress won't do that though. They've found a gap in the checks-and-balances between the 3 branches our Founders created, and are exploiting that to intentionally cause harm to the nation. Vlad couldn't be happier.
Based upon the section in the constitution shouldn’t that be a lawsuit, if one hasn’t been filed it soon will be….
Comments
Second, everything I posted was accurate. No governor can negotiate with other countries on tariffs as per the Constitution. The Executive branch cannot implement the tariffs (as you noted), but it can enforce the laws/tariffs passed by Congress and approved by the Executive branch.
True.
Well, that "two wrongs make it right and/or ok" approach is a bad and dangerous approach with respect to the Constitution. Also, the current regime has declared an emergency as per:
International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977. The act allows the president to declare an emergency under the National Emergency Act (NEA) and then use his extensive economic powers to regulate or prohibit imports. The CRS says that President Trump was the first chief executive to use this act in February 2025, when he announced tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico. The emergency stated by the president can be terminated at this request, or by a joint resolution of Congress.
- https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/how-congress-delegates-its-tariff-powers-to-the-president
Improperly or not (it IS improper, objectively), Congress has the power to rescind the declaration. The current Republican controlled congress won't do that though. They've found a gap in the checks-and-balances between the 3 branches our Founders created, and are exploiting that to intentionally cause harm to the nation. Vlad couldn't be happier.
Future earnings are likely to drop which is why the share prices have dropped as they are anticipating a fall in earnings which will in turn push up the PE ratios again.
Ok Looking at the bright side of the chaos…
Firstly - devices may be 80% of revenue but only about half of net profits. Services division is the best growing with 75% gross margin. Unlikely that tariffs will be as impactful to the services? Also potentially it may be possible to fairly quickly pivot services into a regional revenue model thus having the services “produced” in a local region and avoiding tariffs.
Apple exec team has one of the best logistics persons in the world - Tim Cook. Highly unlikely that Apple has not war gamed any and all scenarios around tariffs and Trump as the tariffs are not a surprise and have been telegraphed loudly and for a long time by the US govt.
The stock market kneejerk reaction is risk off which is not based on individual company fundamentals or ability to weather the storm.
Apple has a massive cash pile dedicated to share buybacks which will now achieve a lot more with the same cash. Apple is likely calmly retiring shares at a steep discount and lowering the EPS impact that tariffs may introduce.
Apple has a very tariff sensitive manufacturing strategy though compared to say Tesla that sources most of its components at its local manufacturing hubs in the US, Europe and China.
Apple has a high profile commitment to invest in the US which may now be at risk and Trump has used it as a case study of how his America First strategy is winning. Likely this gives Tim Cook some influence in agreeing better terms for Apple as a Presidential exception and Trump can sell it as similar to the Gold VIsa for 5 million USD.. i.e. invest X in the US and become tariff exempt.
I dont know if China considers the Apple phones manufactured in China to be caught by the tariffs. If not and the above deal with Trump works then the 2 largest markets for Apple are recovered and Europe will likely consider the Apple products as manufactured in China or India (?).
Chaos makes business hard to predict and there are many risks. There are some truisms though in classic thinking - China represents chaos as both danger and opportunity. Notable investors like Baron Rothschild paraphrased “on the sound of gunfire - invest”.
The company coming best out of all of this will be Berkshire Hathaway with 300 Billion USD of dry powder.
I believe a lot of the big corporate powerhouses saw a lot of this sentiment building and have tried to cow-tow to the new mob boss by tweaking their organizations to placate the beast. But what they’ve done is not enough to show blind loyalty to the master, and regardless of how much chump change they throw his way, they aren’t doing enough and still need to be taught a lesson.
All of these things make perfect sense if you put yourself in the mind of a 5th grade bully who has a rich dad. One should always be empathetic, I.e., walk in someone else’s shoes to understand where they are coming from. It works both ways though, not only when it comes to understanding the mindset of beleaguered souls but in understanding the mindset of a child-minded bully who believes that the entire world owes him something that he cannot obtain by engaging in civil discourse, trust, and humanitarian thinking. “Who’s gonna take away his license to kill?” - Bob Dylan.
And note that the GOP/Trump use of IEEPA started with countries that were following the trade agreements that had been negotiated by the 1st Trump administration. That can't possibly be considered an "emergency". There is literally video of Trump saying how great those agreements were compared to NAFTA and TPP. But now it's an "emergency" for Canada, Mexico and China to be following them. Totally insane. The IEEPA also requires the president to be in regular consultation with Congress which is obviously not happening. Another violation.
Thats not what Trump is doing.
So does that mean Congress has the ultimate authority and not the president? If so, they better get to work…..