• fizzle@quokk.au
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    5 days ago

    To be fair, getting the best outcome for your citizens is usually achieved by sucking up to Trump with gifts.

    It sucks but the reality is that he controls a lot of power and he absolutely will use it to punish millions of people if they don’t fellate his ego sufficiently.

    • MartianSands@sh.itjust.works
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      5 days ago

      Like fuck it is.

      All sucking up to trump achieves is making yourself more vulnerable to his next mood swing. The smart leaders have been scrambling to insulate themselves from the USA, not make themselves more dependent

      • fizzle@quokk.au
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        5 days ago

        Sorry mate 6 months ago there was a parade of leaders handing over unique unobtainable gifts.

        Of course theyre also trying to strengthen alternative relationships but most leaders tried to avoid the worst of the tariffs by giving gifts to Trump.

    • Kn1ghtDigital@lemmy.zip
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      5 days ago

      If you give an abuser what they want, they just realize their bullying works and will get worse. You have to be so much work for a narcissist that they believe it’s not worth it and will turn their attention to easier targets.

      • fizzle@quokk.au
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        5 days ago

        How exactly should a world leader be “too much work” for Trump?

        He will just slap a 20% tarif on your entire country because it amuses him.

        • NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io
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          5 days ago

          I mean, China did it, and while one European country probably couldn’t pull off what China did the whole EU absolutely could have.

          • fizzle@quokk.au
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            5 days ago

            LOL.

            Did what exactly?

            Their products were taxed to fuck. They’re just big enough and have enough control over constituents to ignore it.

            • NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io
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              5 days ago

              That’s a different thing. During the tariffs debacle China was noteworthy for raising tariffs on American goods and restricting exports until Trump chickened out.

              • fizzle@quokk.au
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                5 days ago

                Yes. However, they still ended up having their products taxed at a much higher rate than anyone else.

                They could just ignore it because they have a very large economy. The middle powers like Italy, England, Germany, and australia just couldnt play that game.

                • NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io
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                  5 days ago

                  However, they still ended up having their products taxed at a much higher rate than anyone else.

                  Source? I only know about the EV tariffs, and those were coming anyway for other reasons.

                  • fizzle@quokk.au
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                    4 days ago

                    Sorry chief this is one of those things that’s so universally observed and understood it’s a bit ridiculous to ask for a source. The first search result says:

                    Average US tariffs on Chinese exports now stand at 47.5 percent and cover 100 percent of all goods. China’s average tariffs on US exports are at 31.9 percent and cover 100 percent of all goods. US tariffs have risen by 26.8 percentage points since the second Trump administration began on January 20, 2025. Chinese tariffs have risen by 10.7 percentage points over the same period.

                    Average US tariffs on imports from China had increased to 127.2 percent in early May 2025, before later being reduced. The second Trump administration had reached those heights by increasing tariffs on imports from China through a number of different actions, not all of which were China-specific.

                    https://www.piie.com/research/piie-charts/2019/us-china-trade-war-tariffs-date-chart

        • Kn1ghtDigital@lemmy.zip
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          5 days ago

          That’s a good question. Good thing I’m not a world leader :S.

          Generally id assume it’s as simple as just outmaneuvering with various other levers of power. You don’t fight this narcissist directly, you make them irrelevant.

          • fizzle@quokk.au
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            5 days ago

            Well i guess you’d start by observing what has and hasn’t worked for other world leaders.