Signs of the Times #90
Apr 06, 2025
“To me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariff.” Donald Trump, Bloomberg News Economic Club of Chicago,
Quotes of the Times:
“It (Trump’s tariff announcement) marks a seismic change in the global order. The era of rules-based globalization and free trade is over. We are entering a new phase…” Lawrence Wong, Singaporean, Prime Minister.
“It (Trump’s tariff announcement) marks a seismic change in the global order. The era of rules-based globalization and free trade is over. We are entering a new phase…” Lawrence Wong, Singaporean, Prime Minister.
“I am a tariff man, standing on a tariff platform.” President William McKinley, assassinated in office, Sept. 6, 1901.
“I am in favor of a national bank...in favor of the internal improvements system and a high protective tariff.” President Abraham Lincoln, assassinated in office, April 14, 1865.
Historically, the United States of America was made great because of tariffs. As soon as the United States of America became a nation, they erected tariffs against cheap British goods, in order to protect their own developing manufacturing industries. Britain became great because it was the first nation to industrialize. The industrial revolution enabled Britain to produce the maximum amount of goods at the cheapest price. Britain could ship goods around the world and sell them cheaper almost everywhere – but Britain could only do this if the whole world practiced ‘free trade.’ But free trade is not fair trade. Strong nations were able to erect protective tariffs against cheap British imports, weaker nations were not able to (because of British pressure). There has always been a trade war over this issue of free trade verses fair trade. Nowhere has this war been more intense than in the USA - Some US administrations were pro-tariff, others were at best ambivalent, or at worst anti-tariff. When Abraham Lincoln began his political career, in his very first speech, he made it clear that he was pro-tariffs. Lincoln’s opposition in the American Civil War were all anti-tariff. Lincoln was assassinated – and all pro-tariff US presidents, throughout the history of America, were either assassinated or were victims of attempted assassinations.
About forty years ago, Donald Trump was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey. During the interview Trump complained that Japan was dumping their manufactured products into the American Market, whilst at the same time making it almost impossible for America to export its products to Japan (he recently said the same thing about China). He was expressing the view that America was being disadvantaged by a lopsided trading arrangement with the rest of the world. It would appear he has not changed his mind, since the time of that interview forty years ago. It is because of his belief that America is a victim of a lopsided trading arrangement that he announced ‘liberation day’ on April 2, when he imposed reciprocal tariffs on all the nations that had tariffs against American imports. The result was a collective meltdown around the world - stock markets crashed, the US dollar fell, and the globalists tore their hair out.
The Singaporean Prime Minister, Lawrence Wong, is right, this is the end of an era and the beginning of a new era. It is somewhat analogous to Aug.15, 1971, when Richard Nixon announced he was ‘closing the gold window’ which heralded the end of the Bretton Woods era of international finance and ushered in the ‘rules-based’ international era – which in effect meant rules for thee but not for me.
There will be many consequences as a result of Donald Trump’s Liberation Day announcement – some foreseen others not foreseen. Whether this gambit will Make America Great Again depends on many different factors - will manufacturing return to America? - Will the other nations retaliate with tariffs of their own? – Will tariffs produce enough revenue so that income tax rates can be lowered? – (one of Trump’s stated goals is to abolish income tax) etc. etc.
One consequence we can be sure of, is that this is a severe blow to Globalization. The trend ever since WWII has been a steady tread towards more and more globalization. However, Donald Trump’s Liberation Day has rained on that parade. Globalism will be fatally wounded as each nation retreats behind a wall of tariffs to protect their own interests at the expense of every other nation – this is the very antithesis of Globalization.
However, as any serious Bible student knows, the prophecies of the last days tell us that the Beast from the Sea, the Beast form the Land, the Woman riding the Beast and the Ten Kings, all together form a kind of globalized amalgamated world government, in order to oppose the Kingdom of God. The Signs of the Times are telling us that God has interrupted the momentum of the march towards globalism – allowing his people precious time to prepare for what is coming upon us.
Note:
The reason why America allowed nations to erect tariffs against America, and America did not retaliate by erecting tariffs against them, is because of the aftermath of WWII. After WWII the world found itself in the Cold War between the capitalist West and the communist East. The only nation that was not devastated by the war was America. Therefore, America was willing to allow its largesse to be used by the nations on their knees to stand up again – so that America would have effective allies in its competition with communism. Therefore, the non-communist nations erected tariffs against American imports, in order to protect the revival of their industries and their economies, and America actually endorsed and approved of it – for its own geo-political and national security interests. But those days are now over – long ago the nations of the world recovered from WWII and some of them are so great again they are serious rivals to the US, militarily, economically and financially. This is why Donald Trump has done what he has done. It probably should have been done a long time ago – but ever since WWII every US president has been a globalist – and then along came Donald.
Note:
Donald has repeatedly said that he is for peace and not war. He has stated repeatedly that during his first presidency he never started a war. However, the Signs of the Times are indicting that he will start a war with Iran very soon. Unfortunately for Trump he is not just a president, he is also the emperor of an empire. And an empire requires the subjection of all its vassal states otherwise it is not an empire. Worse, an empire cannot tolerate blatant opposition, such as an Iran with nuclear weapons. Therefore…
“I am in favor of a national bank...in favor of the internal improvements system and a high protective tariff.” President Abraham Lincoln, assassinated in office, April 14, 1865.
Historically, the United States of America was made great because of tariffs. As soon as the United States of America became a nation, they erected tariffs against cheap British goods, in order to protect their own developing manufacturing industries. Britain became great because it was the first nation to industrialize. The industrial revolution enabled Britain to produce the maximum amount of goods at the cheapest price. Britain could ship goods around the world and sell them cheaper almost everywhere – but Britain could only do this if the whole world practiced ‘free trade.’ But free trade is not fair trade. Strong nations were able to erect protective tariffs against cheap British imports, weaker nations were not able to (because of British pressure). There has always been a trade war over this issue of free trade verses fair trade. Nowhere has this war been more intense than in the USA - Some US administrations were pro-tariff, others were at best ambivalent, or at worst anti-tariff. When Abraham Lincoln began his political career, in his very first speech, he made it clear that he was pro-tariffs. Lincoln’s opposition in the American Civil War were all anti-tariff. Lincoln was assassinated – and all pro-tariff US presidents, throughout the history of America, were either assassinated or were victims of attempted assassinations.
About forty years ago, Donald Trump was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey. During the interview Trump complained that Japan was dumping their manufactured products into the American Market, whilst at the same time making it almost impossible for America to export its products to Japan (he recently said the same thing about China). He was expressing the view that America was being disadvantaged by a lopsided trading arrangement with the rest of the world. It would appear he has not changed his mind, since the time of that interview forty years ago. It is because of his belief that America is a victim of a lopsided trading arrangement that he announced ‘liberation day’ on April 2, when he imposed reciprocal tariffs on all the nations that had tariffs against American imports. The result was a collective meltdown around the world - stock markets crashed, the US dollar fell, and the globalists tore their hair out.
The Singaporean Prime Minister, Lawrence Wong, is right, this is the end of an era and the beginning of a new era. It is somewhat analogous to Aug.15, 1971, when Richard Nixon announced he was ‘closing the gold window’ which heralded the end of the Bretton Woods era of international finance and ushered in the ‘rules-based’ international era – which in effect meant rules for thee but not for me.
There will be many consequences as a result of Donald Trump’s Liberation Day announcement – some foreseen others not foreseen. Whether this gambit will Make America Great Again depends on many different factors - will manufacturing return to America? - Will the other nations retaliate with tariffs of their own? – Will tariffs produce enough revenue so that income tax rates can be lowered? – (one of Trump’s stated goals is to abolish income tax) etc. etc.
One consequence we can be sure of, is that this is a severe blow to Globalization. The trend ever since WWII has been a steady tread towards more and more globalization. However, Donald Trump’s Liberation Day has rained on that parade. Globalism will be fatally wounded as each nation retreats behind a wall of tariffs to protect their own interests at the expense of every other nation – this is the very antithesis of Globalization.
However, as any serious Bible student knows, the prophecies of the last days tell us that the Beast from the Sea, the Beast form the Land, the Woman riding the Beast and the Ten Kings, all together form a kind of globalized amalgamated world government, in order to oppose the Kingdom of God. The Signs of the Times are telling us that God has interrupted the momentum of the march towards globalism – allowing his people precious time to prepare for what is coming upon us.
Note:
The reason why America allowed nations to erect tariffs against America, and America did not retaliate by erecting tariffs against them, is because of the aftermath of WWII. After WWII the world found itself in the Cold War between the capitalist West and the communist East. The only nation that was not devastated by the war was America. Therefore, America was willing to allow its largesse to be used by the nations on their knees to stand up again – so that America would have effective allies in its competition with communism. Therefore, the non-communist nations erected tariffs against American imports, in order to protect the revival of their industries and their economies, and America actually endorsed and approved of it – for its own geo-political and national security interests. But those days are now over – long ago the nations of the world recovered from WWII and some of them are so great again they are serious rivals to the US, militarily, economically and financially. This is why Donald Trump has done what he has done. It probably should have been done a long time ago – but ever since WWII every US president has been a globalist – and then along came Donald.
Note:
Donald has repeatedly said that he is for peace and not war. He has stated repeatedly that during his first presidency he never started a war. However, the Signs of the Times are indicting that he will start a war with Iran very soon. Unfortunately for Trump he is not just a president, he is also the emperor of an empire. And an empire requires the subjection of all its vassal states otherwise it is not an empire. Worse, an empire cannot tolerate blatant opposition, such as an Iran with nuclear weapons. Therefore…
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