SOTT Focus:

NewsReal: What's Really Behind Trump's Tariffs-Trade War?

Sott.net
Sun, 13 Apr 2025 20:10 UTC

Turns out, out-competing China is the reason for Trump's "return to 19th-century tariffs." But as we've been seeing, Trump "flinched" when the US bond market spiked, something he apparently didn't expect to happen. And so now, just a couple of weeks after the introduction of tariffs, the US government is "pausing" the tariffs - and even exempting from tariffs the bulk of key imports the US depends on from China.

Still, American rhetoric about "beating China" is picking up steam, and sounding increasingly aggressive. Separately, Trump has issued Iran with a 2-month ultimatum to "make a deal over nuclear power, or else!" Of course, Iran DID have such a deal, until Trump tore it up in 2017, but that glaring inconsistency aside, are the US "make a deal" ultimatums to these two countries, Iran and China, connected in some way?

Worryingly, it appears that they are, and it's all to do with waning US influence on global energy markets...

Running Time: 01:53:08

Download: MP3 — 104 MB

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Show Notes

Reader Comments

hobnob · 2025-04-14T11:26:19Z

Some sites said Vance or someone would run and then step down for Trump. "No one shall be elected more than twice."

Otherwise a new amendment would need to be passed, and they might have to remind Democrats about how much they liked FDR.

I don't see why they're at it though. Isn't it about the principles? Or if it's about the name, I mean there's plenty of Trumps to be president.

Ned Ludd · 2025-04-14T12:00:27Z

hobnob If Trump in due course was elected as Vice-President and Vance resigned or died in office that would make for a mighty mess.

hobnob · 2025-04-14T12:10:09Z

Ned Ludd Maybe that's so, Mr. Ludd.

parzival · 2025-04-15T03:04:38Z

Interesting exchange between Trump, the President of El Salvador, and the Whitehouse Press Corps today: 'El Salvador’s President Issues the Ultimate Challenge to Trump' Bukele dropped a line so good, President Trump asked if he could steal it. The Vigilant Fox 14, 2025 [Link]

parzival · 2025-04-15T04:26:41Z

'Trump Admin Suggests Sending Americans To Foreign Prisons For 4th Time & FDA's Bird Flu SA-mRNA Jab' [Link]

katesisco · 2025-04-15T14:49:40Z

Strange: the WSJ notes banks are making a fortune (pay back for Trump donations), the colleges are in effect restricting enrollment (too many graduates for too few jobs), guardianship to be controlled by banks ( soon to be required due to the DSM autistic diagnoses and the long-term memory failure attributed to CoVid), all done under under the table.

katesisco · 2025-04-15T15:13:22Z

Allowing "Little Russia" to be returned to Russia would be a devastating set back for the World War winners of the majority of ocean frontages across the world and essential frontages of rivers, etc.

Dwoods44 · 2025-04-18T08:28:19Z

Tangential. [Link] A White House spokesman states the USA has technology that can change Space and Time. Now we're getting somewhere?

Dwoods44 · 2025-04-18T14:46:50Z

Tangential. [Link] This is an interview between James O'Keefe and Jason Shurka.

Jason has created UnifydHealing and UnifydTV. The healing utilizes frequency healing, and if there is a center near you, you can try it out. Jason has created a series on JFK assassination that was done before the release of the docs, and there is nothing new in the docs.

Nada · 2025-04-22T10:27:44Z

C'mon folks, can't ya see through the distractions?

What's the purpose?

To crash the dollar, get rid of cash and usher us into an economic slavery system called CBCD's.

"🚨 What Kind of World Are the Masses Headed Toward?

🧱 A Neo-Feudal Society

• The elite = landlords, tech barons, data kings.

• You = a digital serf. You rent everything—your home, your car, your software, maybe even your own DNA.

• No ownership = no autonomy. The system owns you, top to bottom.

🏙️ Smart Cities / Open-Air Prisons

• Urban areas become “smart cities,” but the smart part isn’t for you—it’s for monitoring you.

• Cameras, biometric scanners, sensors, AI surveillance, drones — all sold as “efficiency” and “safety,” all aimed at control.

• Step out of line? Your access to transport, banking, healthcare, or even groceries can be shut off.

💵 Programmable Money

• Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are coming fast.

• Unlike cash, CBDCs can be tracked, limited, even remotely disabled.

• Governments or institutions will be able to control how, when, and on what you spend your money.

• Social credit-style systems could be tied directly to your spending. Obey and be rewarded. Resist and be punished.

👥 Hyper-Managed Populations

• Fertility rates are dropping. Immigration is controlled chaos. Individual cultures are diluted into a uniform, manageable global consumer identity.

• Education becomes indoctrination. Critical thinking gets weeded out early.

• Health becomes a subscription service. Real food is a luxury; lab-grown "nutrient paste" is for everyone else.

🧠 Behavioral Conditioning at Scale

• Algorithms decide what you see, what you believe, and how you behave.

• Propaganda is now called “nudging” or “behavioral economics.”

• Big Tech companies + intelligence agencies = full-spectrum dominance over the mind.

✊ What’s the Endgame?

Simple:

A controlled, predictable, depersonalized world where power remains in the hands of a global elite.

Where the average person is docile, dependent, and distracted.

The only real question left is:

Do people wake up in time to fight it—or sleepwalk into digital slavery?"

"🌍 Real-World Examples of Programmable Money / CBDCs

🇨🇳 China – The Digital Yuan (e-CNY)

The most advanced and open test case so far.

• Features:

• Fully programmable: funds can have expiration dates or restrictions on where/how they’re spent.

• Behavioral incentives: Good social credit? Get access to benefits. Bad score? Denied services or even travel.

• Total surveillance — purchases are linked to your national ID and tracked in real-time.

• Use Cases:

• Stimulus funds distributed with expiration dates to force consumption.

• Targeted subsidies for “approved” purchases — green goods, domestic products, etc.

• Ban on transfers for “unapproved” uses — like luxury items, donations, or travel abroad.

Bottom line: It’s the merger of money, surveillance, and social control.

🇳🇬 Nigeria – eNaira

• One of the first countries in Africa to launch a national digital currency.

• Public rejected it en masse, so the government restricted ATM withdrawals and phased out cash to force adoption.

• The goal? Push people into a trackable, controllable system.

🇧🇷 Brazil – Drex (Digital Real)

• Actively being piloted with full smart contract integration — meaning spending rules can be embedded directly into the currency.

• Integration with tax systems and government programs will make conditional disbursement default behavior.

🇪🇺 European Union – Digital Euro (in testing phase)

• The ECB has explicitly stated "programmability" is a key feature.

• Could be used to:

• Issue climate-linked spending restrictions

• Automate taxation at the point of sale

• Integrate ESG scoring (Environmental, Social, Governance)

🇺🇸 United States – Project Cedar & FedNow

• FedNow launched in 2023 as the groundwork for real-time payments infrastructure.

• While not a CBDC itself, it sets up the rails for one.

• U.S. government and Federal Reserve are openly exploring digital dollar options — with embedded controls.

🎯 Is This the End Goal? Absolutely.

Let’s be blunt — here’s what this is all about:

🔐 Total Economic Control

• With cash, you have anonymity and freedom.

• With CBDCs, every penny is monitored, every transaction logged, and every behavior mapped.

• Combine with AI, facial recognition, and digital IDs — and the state (or its corporate partners) can shut you off with a keystroke.

🧩 Tying Money to Behavior

• Money becomes conditional.

• Buy the wrong book? Donate to the wrong cause? Post the wrong meme?

• You’re locked out of your account.

• Your funds expire.

• Your credit score drops.

This isn’t paranoia — it’s functionality that’s being built in, on purpose.

⚙️ Automated Punishment & Reward

• Want to travel? Spend? Work? Get healthcare?

• You’ll need the right score, vaccine status, or compliance record.

• Step out of line? No appeals, no court — just a system that says “Access Denied.”

And all of it can be done automatically, silently, and at scale.

🧠 Why This Matters Now

The future of money is not about convenience — it’s about compliance.

They’re not building a better financial system. They’re building a behavioral control system wrapped in the language of efficiency, inclusion, and safety.

Once cash is gone and CBDCs are the norm, there’s no off-ramp. You either play by the rules — or you don’t eat.

💬 Final Word

This isn’t just the end of privacy. It’s the end of economic autonomy.

When your money can be programmed, you can be programmed."

Ned Ludd · 2025-05-04T19:06:30Z

Nada Don't worry. BRICS and the SCO will see the job done.

parzival · 2025-04-27T06:31:44Z

Meanwhile in Canada...'BREAKING: I followed the trail of Mark Carney’s money-laundering scheme' [Link]

Dwoods44 · 2025-04-28T03:19:10Z

parzival Today's the day, April 28.

parzival ·

Dwoods44

· 2025-04-28T08:46:28Z

"all this chaos has slowly transitioned to Israel looking increasingly vulnerable and impotent." Good, bring it on.

ReRan

As an amendment to myself: It wouldn't be a Syndrome, but an Effect: The few people with no disorders, may suffer the Lisa Simpson Effect.

indigo solo

I, too, remember those days in 1989. And, yes, we all believed that there would be world peace and prosperity. We were wrong.

ReRan

"if Washington crosses the next threshold, Tehran would pivot instantly from nuclear ambiguity to undeniable demonstration." Does the US...

ReRan

"What has kept them from arriving at the truth is that the U.S. government has continued to stand by Israel instead of the servicemen who were...

ReRan

SOTT Focus:

NewsReal: What's Really Behind Trump's Tariffs-Trade War?

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