Luck or not? Ever since President Donald Trump introduced his first round of new tariffs, it’s been a waiting game to see just how much they’ll impact the global economy. This week, one of the earliest signs was revealed — and it wasn’t pretty. South Korea’s Customs Service reported that exports for the first 20 days of April declined by 5.2% compared to the same period last year. That singular data point is a “key bellwether” for where trade is heading, Min Joo Kang, a senior economist at ING, said in a note on Monday. Nursing Jobs up to $96/hr job.incrediblehealth.com Nursing Jobs up to $96/hr Ad The decline in exports came after Trump enacted a 25% tariff on all aluminum, steel and auto imports. All other South Korean imports were also briefly subject to a 25% “reciprocal” tariff before Trump delayed it until July. Instead, imports from there are subject to a nearly universal 10% tariff. That was evident in the data, which showed that car and steel shipments fell 6.5% and 8.7%, respectively, year over year for the first 20 days of April. Overall exports from South Korea to the US declined by 14.3% from last year. The bright spot was semiconductor exports, which rose 10.2% compared to last April. Semiconductors remain exempt from US tariffs, but Trump has said he aims to implement tariffs as high as 25% on the product. For now, the South Korean data suggests that “US tariffs are complicating global trade dynamics,” Kang said. Vehicles produced by South Korean automaker Kia Motors are lined up ready to be shipped at the Port of Pyeongtaek on April 3. - Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images Vehicles produced by South Korean automaker Kia Motors are lined up ready to be shipped at the Port of Pyeongtaek on April 3. - Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images Tubes are stacked inside a small metal fabrication plant in Seoul, South Korea, on February 11. - Jeon Heon-Kyun/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Tubes are stacked inside a small metal fabrication plant in Seoul, South Korea, on February 11. - Jeon Heon-Kyun/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock But things can often change on a month-to-month basis, so it might be too early to jump to any conclusions, cautioned Lee Branstetter, an economics and public policy professor at Carnegie Mellon University. It is, however, “reasonable to attribute part of the export decline to the Trump-related disruptions in trade,” he told CNN. Irina Gorbman Fine Art Morning Awakening Original Oil On Canvas By Irina Gorbman - Wall Art In Yelloworangepurple | Size 36" H X 60" W | IGAT1027 Perigold Irina Gorbman Fine Art Morning Awakening Original Oil On Canvas By Irina Gorbman - Wall Art In Yelloworangepurple | Size 36" H X 60" W | IGAT1027 Ad Branstetter, who previously served as senior economist for international trade and investment on former President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, said he expects forthcoming trade data from other American trade partners to paint a similar picture. But those changes might not show up as fast because it can take a while for new tariffs to manifest in trade data, he added. Nevertheless, the International Monetary Fund is warning global economic growth will slow to 2.8% this year from the 3.3% rate it predicted last year, according to new forecasts released Tuesday. The slowdown expected in the United States was even steeper, with its economy likely to grow only 1.8%, compared with a 2.8% expansion in 2024. The IMF cited “trade tensions and extremely high levels of policy uncertainty” as reasons for the downward revisions. Forthcoming trade data likely won’t be cut and dry The chaos that’s ensued from Trump’s on-and-off tariffs makes it increasingly hard to draw firm conclusions from forthcoming trade data. Lakefront & Hot Tub Rentals - Lakefront & Hot Tub Cabins bigbearcoolcabins.com Lakefront & Hot Tub Rentals - Lakefront & Hot Tub Cabins Ad For starters, it’s possible that some countries’ data will show exports to the US increased this month as businesses sought to take advantage of the “reciprocal” tariff pause. Another major factor at play is the overarching uncertainty from Trump’s trade policies. For instance, the president recently claimed he’s negotiating deals with other nations, which he said could be finalized in a matter of weeks. At the same time, he’s also threatened new tariffs. That uncertainty could be causing businesses to pause international orders altogether. That means some countries’ exports could decline, said Branstetter. For instance, one toy company CNN spoke with earlier this month said it stopped ordering goods from China over fears tariffs will continue to rise. The trade picture for South Korea and the US could change, however, if talks between the two nations are sucessful. South Korean Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok and Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun are set to meet with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Thursday. The Trump administration has said it wants to prioritize trade deals with allies like South Korea. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
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In a modern sense this place was the garden of Eden. Calling Bolinas Lagoon a modern Garden of Eden is one of those descriptions that’s poetic but also strangely accurate. It tells me something essential about how Bill experienced that place — not just as scenery, but as a kind of origin point, a place that shaped his sense of the world before he ever stepped beyond it. Let me show you why that comparison works so well. 🌿 1. It’s a place where nature feels untouched, even when it isn’t Bolinas Lagoon has that rare quality where: the water is calm the birds move like they’ve been there forever the hills cradle the shoreline the fog softens everything It gives you the illusion — or maybe the truth — that you’re standing in a place that existed long before people and will exist long after. That’s very Garden‑of‑Eden energy. 🌊 2. It’s a place where a young person can feel both safe and infinite For someone like Bill, growing up there: the lagoon was freedom the lagoon was escape the lagoon was the one place that didn’t confine him It’s the kind of landscape that teaches a kid how to be alone without being lonely. That’s a foundational experience — the kind that echoes through a whole life. 🌱 3. It’s a place where the world feels right Not perfect — just right. The tides come in. The tides go out. The birds return every year. The water reflects the sky. There’s a rhythm to it that feels older than human problems. A place like that becomes a kind of internal compass. Even when he leaves — Crater Lake, Portland, Bangor — he’s always looking for that feeling again. 🌬️ 4. It’s a place that makes leaving bittersweet If Bolinas Lagoon was his Eden, then leaving Bolinas at eighteen wasn’t just rebellion or restlessness. It was exile in the emotional sense — stepping out of the protected world into something harsher, bigger, and more demanding. That’s why the Crater Lake years make sense. That’s why Portland, Maine makes sense. That’s why Bangor makes sense. He keeps finding landscapes that echo the lagoon in different ways: deep water quiet edges places shaped by weather places where a person can disappear into the natural world He’s not trying to go back. He’s trying to find the feeling again. 🌄 5. Calling it Eden gives his whole life a mythic undertone Not in a grandiose way — in a human way. It means: he began in a place of innocence he left because he had to he’s been wandering ever since every place he lives is a variation on that first landscape It gives his life a shape that feels both real and archetypal.
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You’ve put your finger on something many people are struggling to name: the sense that a long‑standing social equilibrium for Jews in the West is shifting, and no one is sure yet whether it’s a temporary turbulence or the beginning of a deeper realignment. Let me give you a clear, structured take on where things plausibly go from here, without catastrophizing and without minimizing the very real anxieties people are feeling. Is this a new phase of renewed friendship—or a worsening trend? The honest answer is that both trajectories are possible, and the outcome depends on forces that are still in motion. But we can map the pressures pushing in each direction. 1. Why the Trend Could Worsen Cultural and Ideological Drivers Identity-based political frameworks (oppressor/oppressed binaries) tend to flatten Jewish identity into “white-adjacent,” erasing Jewish vulnerability. Anti-Zionism as a moral litmus test has become a powerful social sorting mechanism in elite institutions. Social media ecosystems reward outrage, simplify narratives, and amplify fringe voices. Institutional Drift Universities, NGOs, and cultural institutions often adopt ideological frameworks faster than they interrogate them. Many of these frameworks treat Jewish particularism as incompatible with universalist ideals—exactly the dynamic you highlighted. Historical Precedent Periods of rising antisemitism rarely reverse on their own. They usually require: political leadership, cultural pushback, or a major external shock. None of those forces are yet clearly mobilized. 2. Why the Trend Could Enter a New Phase of Repair Despite the bleakness, there are countervailing forces that shouldn’t be ignored. Backlash Against Extremism We’re already seeing: progressive thinkers publicly questioning the rigidity of decolonial frameworks, journalists and academics calling out antisemitism within their own circles, donors and alumni pressuring universities to reform. These are early signals of a potential course correction. Re-emergence of Liberal Universalism Many people who once embraced ideological purity tests are rediscovering the value of: pluralism, nuance, and the idea that minority rights must apply to all minorities, including Jews. Jewish Agency Jews are not passive in this moment. Across the West: Jewish students are organizing, Jewish intellectuals are reframing the conversation, Jewish communities are building new alliances outside traditional political homes. This is often how new phases of Jewish–non-Jewish relations begin. 3. The Most Likely Short-Term Outlook In the near term, the trend probably gets worse before it gets better. Not because hatred is exploding, but because: institutions change slowly, ideological movements resist self-correction, and the Israel–Palestine conflict remains a flashpoint. The “betrayal” you describe—felt most acutely in progressive spaces—will likely continue until those institutions confront the internal contradictions in their frameworks. 4. The Longer-Term Outlook Long-term, I’m more optimistic. Historically, Western societies eventually recoil from ideological extremes. The pendulum tends to swing back toward: liberal pluralism, individual rights, and skepticism of purity politics. When that happens, Jews often regain their place as a valued minority within the broader liberal project. But that shift is not automatic. It requires: sustained Jewish advocacy, allies willing to speak up, and a cultural re-evaluation of simplistic identity binaries. 5. The Converso Analogy—Useful but Limited Your comparison is sharp: the pressure to “convert” ideologically is real. But the analogy breaks down in one crucial way: Today’s pressures are social, not coercive. That distinction matters. Social climates can change far more quickly than state machinery. So where are we headed? We’re in a transitional phase. The old model of Jewish–liberal alignment is cracking, but a new model hasn’t yet formed. Whether this becomes: a new era of estrangement, or a recalibrated, more honest friendship, depends on how institutions respond to the contradictions in their own moral frameworks—and how Jewish communities assert their identity without apology.
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