00:00this week we'll discuss about the fallout from the tariff impacts on wu says melissa idris
00:07discusses this with professor emeritus datuk dr wu wingtai the letter is very interesting the
00:15letter starts like i'm just paraphrasing the letter starts off with it is my great honor
00:21to write to to you about the relationship we have with your great country the relationship
00:30with the extraordinary economy of the united states of america the number one market in the world
00:37and it says but unfortunately you've been running trade deficits we have been running trade deficits
00:45with you in the case of malaysia we will put only 25 percent tariff on you and well and then he goes on
00:56to say this tariff rate can be adjusted upward or downward depending on the relationship between
01:04the two countries and you will not be disappointed in the united states of america that's how the letter
01:12ended now when he talks about the tariff would depend on the state of relationship between the
01:21our two countries it means that it is more than just the size of the trade deficit between us
01:27it means that if you are too close to china if you allow chinese factories to be set up
01:37and export to the united states well then we're going to put up higher tariffs on you and if you do not
01:47vote with us in the united nations well then we may put up higher tariffs against you so that letter is
01:57i think i think it should be required reading for everybody of how to write
02:06non-diplomatic letter in the most bombastic manner possible
02:15with it reeking of insincerity throughout the letter basically it's a threat
02:22that that was quite amazing that's why i think that this is has to be a temporary phase
02:31in u.s history no normal country would that's not normal diplomatic communications so that's why i think
02:45it is very important for the rest of us to keep the world together until the u.s gets over its populist
02:56face gets over its present bad mood and then it will be a lot you can then be a member of the council of elders
03:06in running the world but until then we the rest of us have to hang together
03:17in order to fight climate change
03:22maintain global prosperity by keeping free trade
03:27and help to keep the peace
03:31in other places in other places of the world that's what is important and you could see that
03:38donald trump is very conscious of that what he's doing might
03:44cause people to gang up against him which is why he has reacted
03:51uh yesterday very strongly against brazil he imposed 50 percent tariff
04:00on brazil uh yesterday but on april 2nd he had only imposed 10 percent
04:09but yesterday this is one of the few cases where the number actually jumped
04:16in almost every case the number that he announced is smaller than the number he had come up with
04:23on april 2nd for the case of brazil it jumped from 10 to 50
04:27so what has happened and the amazing thing is
04:31what is the trade balance between brazil and the united states
04:36the united states runs a trade balance
04:40surplus of 68 million dollars against brazil the united states sells more to brazil
04:50than buying coffee from brazil
04:54so by donald trump's definition since brazil is running
05:01a trade deficit against the u.s that means that the u.s has been ripping brazil off
05:08catch the full conversation of this on all awani international social media accounts at powerfest
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