Irish Examiner view: 'Wired' helps expose the absurdity of Donald Trump's weird tariff list
The Wired article is succinct: 'Do you know why the US has a trade deficit with Madagascar? They produce vanilla; we don’t. Unless we’re suddenly setting up vanilla assembly lines in Ohio, that’s not changing.' Picture: iStock
There has been widely-shared jollity over how some of Donald Trump’s tariff targets found themselves on the naughty step.
Norfolk Island, for example, in the Pacific 1,600km north-east of Sydney, is a small volcanic outcrop with 2,188 residents who have been put in the same 29% band as major economies in Asia and Europe, despite being part of Australia (10%) and importing nothing apart from some rodent poison. Their small export, worth less than $1m annually, is Kentia palm seeds, mostly shipped to Europe.
It’s a poser for Australian premier Anthony Albanese, who is seeking re-election early next month. The separate, higher, tariff for some of his territories is “somewhat unexpected and a bit strange”, he said.
While it is tempting to ascribe such decisions to gaps in American knowledge — meaning we should soon expect customs barriers for the likes of Inisherin, Craggy Island, and Inis Óg — the Australians of Norfolk Island are more inclined to generosity.
“It was just a mistake” they said.
The truth, of course, could lie between the two.
What if the selections were carried out by one of Silicon Valley’s much-vaunted algorithms or artificial intelligence (AI)?
Let us hope and pray that they are more accurate when they come to deploy the stealth bombers, drone squadrons, and hypersonic missiles of the future.
Despite contrary evidence, there is alleged science behind the list of locations selected for inclusion in the tariff war which, lest anyone forgets, was clearly signalled by Mr Trump during his election campaign.
The methodology can be found online at the office of the US trade representative and is articulated through an equation, the extensive use of the Greek alphabet, various formulae, and certain assumptions governing price elasticity.
The accompanying blurb proclaims: “Weighted by imports, the average across deficit countries is 45%, and the average across the entire globe is 41%. Standard deviations range from 20.5 to 31.8 percentage points.”
It takes people who communicate in plain text to cut through this nonsense.
, one of the bibles of the digital economy, and no friend to either Donald Trump or Elon Musk, has been happy to oblige.
“The rationale has all the weight of a soap bubble,” it says. “There isn’t a world where the US suddenly manufactures all the items the country has decided to target. There’s a 47% tariff on Madagascar now.
This weekend a decision is due on the future ownership of the TikTok social media app as it divests from Chinese ownership or gets banned in the US, where it has 170m users.
Potential investors include asset fund Blackstone, business software company Oracle, Amazon, a crypto foundation, and the founder of OnlyFans, an internet subscription service used by sex workers, fitness gurus, and content creators of various kinds.
ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, says it has no plans to sell the app.
On Friday, as China announced retaliatory tariffs of 34% on American goods, Wall Street investment managers JP Morgan issued an advisory note to clients headed “There will be blood” while raising the odds on a global recession to 60%
Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner in Gilbert and Sullivan’s , boasted that he “had a little list” of people “who never would be missed”.
Many of those finding themselves on Donald Trump’s list, would happily reciprocate those sentiments this weekend.
• You can read the 'Wired' article by clicking here: The Trump Tariffs Are How Everything Works Now.
As our correspondent Ruby Walsh thoughtfully reminded us recently, today’s Grand National is one of only two horse races in the world — the other is the Melbourne Cup — which have serious political overtones and reputational implications for the sport.
This is largely because those people who watch these events aren’t serious racing fans. They are casual followers of a blue riband chase who like an occasional flutter.
Today’s 177th running of the legendary jumps race will be watched live by an estimated TV audience of 600m.
The noise they can generate when something goes wrong — 88 horses have died since 1839 — is a powerful attraction for all those protest groups who would wish to see the removal of horses, indeed any animals, from sport. Aintree’s Grand National is one of those events which is a high water mark for their campaigning and attempts to influence public opinion.
For this reason, the industry has to tread warily. In recent years it has brought forward the start time; reduced the number of participants; lowered jump heights; shortened the distance to the first fence, and ceased the pre-event parade of the field. No horses died last year, although five have lost their lives since 2012.
There are old-school types who complain that these modifications have reduced the “edge”. But as Walsh pointed out, every sport has to move with the times to reflect prevailing values.
Players can’t go in with studs up in soccer and the tackle height has been reduced in rugby, and may be again. Hurling has a well-defined and constantly reviewed set of rules.
The National is one of the world’s great spectacles, with a myriad of fascinating back stories, and deserves to remain so.
Eighteen of the 34 runners today are Irish-trained. Whether you are an observer or a punter, let’s hope this year, like last, delivers a race which is both thrilling and safe.
It is a sign of increasing desperation about Government commitments to resolving the nation’s housing crisis that restrictions on the tourist rental of homes in towns and cities may be even more swingeing than originally planned.
The crackdown will prevent homeowners from renting out properties for more than 90 days in a year if they live in an area with a population of more than 10,000 and will particularly affect those who invest in order to run Airbnb businesses separate to their principal residences.
Tánaiste Simon Harris says that there is no desire to force Airbnb out of this country but it is difficult to see how these proposals will make it any more attractive for users of the platform to operate or stem the exodus of landlords from the rental market.
Tourism minister Peter Burke, in charge of a sector which has performed dismally in recent months, has been asked to bring forward legislation which would regulate short-term lets.
It is expected that the Government will align with the enactment of new EU regulations.
In other parts of the EU the situation is even more dire.
In less than a decade, 10% of Spain’s housing stock has been taken up by investment funds or tourist rental companies driving locals out of working class areas and pushing up prices.
In cities such as Barcelona, the challenge has become particularly acute — leading to civic unrest and political leaders declaring that housing “must be a right, not a business”.
A federation of leading cities, including it number Amsterdam, Budapest, Paris, and Rome, is urging Brussels to declare that the crisis is as urgent as the need to help Ukraine.
In Ireland, home prices have continued to rise in the first three months of 2025, with Sherry FitzGerald stating that the stock of second-hand homes reached a historic low in January.
Landlords continue to leave the market, further reducing rental vacancies.
Another pressure point is highlighted in figures obtained under Freedom of Information by the Irish Examiner showing that 2,538 student beds were under contract with the Department of Integration as of last August to provide emergency accommodation for international protection applicants or beneficiaries of temporary protection.
If these are not returned to the market then students could face significantly increased rents.
The Government says two thirds of that total have been identified for replacement.
This needs to take place as soon as possible.
Every little helps.
