US pauses increased tariffs on China, inflation rate down, as Donald Trump disses European Union
Donald Trump’s tariffs and threats have resulted in a temporal pausing of increased tariffs to China:
Faisal Islam: US and China deal is significant, but not an end to the trade war
13 May 2025
It’s a ceasefire on the main front of the global trade war. Global markets are rising again, and container ships can set sail across the Pacific.
The progress made in US-China talks in Switzerland was far greater than expected. The prohibitive triple-digit tariffs are now down to just moderately high levels, at least for three months.
The details were a little complicated, perhaps by design to enable both sides to save face.
The bottom line is this: the retaliatory tit-for-tat rise in tariff rates has been cancelled, and the so-called “reciprocal” tariff rate of 34% is lowered for at least 90 days to 10%.
The rates applying now are 30% from the US (which includes an existing 20% component aimed at curbing the illegal trade in fentanyl), and 10% from China. …
It is not an end to the trade war, but it is a very significant truce.
China was facing a 2008-style factory shutdown and potential significant unemployment. It should be averted now.
At these tariff levels, prices will go up somewhat, but the trade will flow. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgv5n00e0jo
While many in the media expected major inflation rate increases for last month because of the tariffs and threats of them, that, officially, did not happen:
Inflation eased after Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs, defying fears
May 13, 2025
Consumer prices rose 2.3% in April compared to a year ago, cooling slightly from the previous month and defying fears of an inflation surge in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs last month. The reading — which marked the lowest inflation rate since 2021 — matched economists’ expectations.
Egg prices fell 10% in April compared to the previous month, offering some relief for shoppers, data showed. Still, egg prices stand much higher than they did a year ago.
By contrast, gasoline prices dropped 12% over the past year. The nationwide average price of a gallon of gas is $3.15, AAA data shows.
Trump’s tariff escalation, announced April 2, set off concern among economists and consumers about a possible burst of inflation, since importers typically pass along a share of such taxes in the form of price hikes.
Government data on Tuesday showed sharp price increases have not come to pass – at least for now. https://abcnews.go.com/Business/inflation-data-reveal-impacts-trumps-liberation-day-tariffs/story?id=121706453
The truth is that tariffs are inflationary in the sense that they cause the cost of goods to rise.
The other truth is that much of the mainstream despises Donald Trump so much that they repeatedly put forth “experts” who exaggerated the likely impact of Donald Trump’s trade policies.
That said, there will be many unintended consequences of Donald Trump’ tariffs, sanctions, and threats.
Like the mainstream media, Donald Trump often exaggerates. Notice the following:
President Trump said the “European Union is, in many ways, nastier than China,” during a news conference on Monday.
Why it matters: The stakes of a prolonged U.S.-EU standoff over Trump’s tariffs are high. With nearly a trillion dollars worth of trade last year, U.S. companies exported more than twice to the EU what they sent to China.
Driving the news: During the news conference, Trump announced an executive order aimed at cutting prescription drugs and pharmaceutical prices.
- He said that Europeans should have to pay more for health care and take on financial burdens.
- Trump said the U.S. has “all the cards” in trade deals with the EU.
What he’s saying: “The health care companies should make pretty much the same money,” Trump said. “I really don’t believe they should be affected very much because it’s just a redistribution of wealth.”
- “Europe’s going to have to pay a little bit more. The rest of the world is going to have to pay a little bit more,” he added. “And America is going to pay a lot less.”
- He said the U.S. has been “subsidizing” Europeans’ health care.
By the numbers: Trump, in his remarks Monday, insisted Europe sells the U.S. 13 million cars a year and the U.S. sells none in return.
- The European Automobile Manufacturers Association has said it’s not quite that stark, according to a March fact sheet.
- About 750,000 cars were exported from the EU to the U.S. last year, against about 170,000 cars exported from the U.S. to Europe. https://www.axios.com/2025/05/12/trump-european-union-trade-war-china-tariffs
Donald Trump continues to insult and push against the European Union (EU). Notice also:
Trump’s tariff deals send Europe to the back of the line
“Europe is not a priority for the U.S. I don’t think that in any field — be it trade or defense or anything else actually — Europe is a priority. And of course, that is a bit of a surprise for Europeans in [their] discussions with U.S. officials,” said Agathe Demarais, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
Trump struck a pact with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer late last week to reduce U.S. tariffs on U.K. auto and steel exports — the first such move since the U.S. president imposed a swath of tariffs in early April on goods from across the world.
And on Monday, China nailed its own breakthrough, with Washington and Beijing slashing their tariffs to 30 percent and 10 percent, respectively, on each other’s goods.
Hours later, Trump called the EU “nastier than China.” His vitriol is enduring: “The European Union was formed in order to screw the United States,” he said in March before launching his full-scale trade war.
As Washington cuts deals with friend and foe alike, the appeals for tariff relief from Brussels are going unanswered. The bloc — and the €1.6 trillion transatlantic trade relationship — are languishing at the back of the line. 05/12/25 https://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-tariff-deal-send-europe-back-line/
Last year, I wrote that Donald Trump would make a trade deal with the United Kingdom in my December 2024 article titled 25 items to prophetically watch in 2025:
Expect the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand to try to increase trade with each other.
Donald Trump feels that the USA and UK have a special relationship and he will look to make a more favorable trade deal with the UK than with the rest of Europe. https://www.swineweb.com/canada/canada-faces-growing-trade-tensions-with-u-s-diversification-becomes-key-priority/
Earlier this month, such a deal happened (see Donald Trump announces trade deal with UK, hence confirming another COGwriter prediction).
Why mention that again?
Donald Trump was perhaps the leading political figure, outside of the United Kingdom, that publicly pushed for the UK to leave the EU–Brexit.
That was an insult to the EU, as was the deal with the UK and the pause deal with China.
As far as trade and Europe go, notice something from my book available at Amazon Kindle: Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump’s Presidency: Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Greco-Roman Catholic, Buddhist, and other America-Related Prophecies? as well as Amazon print :
Trade
Historically, Donald Trump has called for “fair trade” and indicated that various nations, including several in Asia, are not engaged in fair trade, so he has proposed high tariffs.[i]
Donald Trump has called tariffs, “the most beautiful word in the dictionary” and even proposed massive tariffs (up to 2000%) on Mexico if it will not do what he wants.[ii] He has basically also proposed a minimum of 10% tariffs on goods from much of the rest of the world.
Some believe that Donald Trump’s positions on trade will lead to a global trade war.[iii] Europe has said it will hit back against Donald Trump’s tariff policies.[iv] It is my position that trade disputes will be a factor in Europe taking military action against the USA one day.
One of the unintended consequences of Donald Trump’s threats of tariffs and other trade matters is that it is motivating nations he has threatened to look to trade more with each other. … (pp. 51-52)
The USA itself, as well as Donald Trump specifically, have repeatedly shown the Europeans that it does not trust them, yet it sometimes will trust them too much. According to the Bible, the time will come when the USA will find that continental Europe will be an enemy (cf. Isaiah 10:5-11) and not an ally (Ezekiel 23:4,9-10; Lamentations 1:1-2). (p. 58)
The USA will be attacked by “friends” consistent with the following:
1 How lonely sits the city
That was full of people!
How like a widow is she,
Who was great among the nations!The princess among the provinces
Has become a slave!2 She weeps bitterly in the night,
Her tears are on her cheeks;
Among all her lovers
She has none to comfort her.All her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
They have become her enemies. cf. Lamentations 1:1-2).Notice the one who was “great among the nations” will be conquered by friends, who will become enemies. (pp. 140-141)
- Pushing tariffs and other policies that foreign nations do not like is contributing to other nations looking to bypass the USA dollar, as well as trade more with each other and less with the USA. This will further push various globalist’s moves forward without the USA. This is also helping set the stage for the coming European Babylonian Beast to dominate international trade. (p. 210)
[i] Trade: Donald J. Trump’s Vision. https://www.donaldjtrump.com/policies/trade accessed December 16, 2016
[ii] Pan J. Donald Trump calls tariff ‘the most beautiful word,’ threatens up to 2,000% tariff to block Mexican car imports. Yahoo News, November 3, 2024
[iii] Islam F. Will Trump’s victory spark a global trade war? BBC, November 7, 2024
[iv] Vella JH. EU’s game plan for Trump trade war: ‘Hit back fast and hard.’ Polico.eu, October 21, 2024
(Thiel B. Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump’s Presidency: Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Greco-Roman Catholic, Buddhist, and other America-Related Prophecies? Nazarene Books, 2025)
Yes, as I warned, “One of the unintended consequences of Donald Trump’s threats of tariffs and other trade matters is that it is motivating nations he has threatened to look to trade more with each other.” Another is that he is turning an ally into an enemy, which the Bible warned about.
So, what is the EU doing? Notice the following:
Let me add, that at least partially because of Donald Trump’s statements and policies, the EU has made, or at least accelerated, trade deals with Mexico (see Trade war escalates as European Union hits back against Donald Trump’s tariffs), Asia (see European Union’s reputation and influence growing with ASEAN and Central Asian nations), South America (see Donald Trump is end of ‘American Century’? The British ‘Century’ also ended. so what is next? Plus, EU makes Mercosur deal consistent with COGwriter prediction!), and India (see European Union seeks to improve trade ties with India as it faces Donald Trump’s tariff threats).
Regarding how the international trade situation will end up, the The Continuing Church of God put together the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel discussing various views and scriptures about that:
Trade Wars – and the Winner will be …
US President Trump imposed tariffs on a global scale. Those tariffs were imposed on friend and foe alike. It seems as if President Trump is no respecter of nations. But how will this work out for the United States? Will these tariffs result in other nations drawing closer together that have had rather cold, and even not so cold, relations in the past? Will global tariffs result in trade wars? Were the events which are happening predicted by any in the Continuing Church of God? Is Europe drawing closer to China? Is Europe drawing closer to Latin and South America? With the exception of a few of America’s allies, is the net result of these tariffs a worldwide scramble to create new alliances and new trading partners to the exclusion of the United States? What will be the future result of these new alliances? Many of the nations that are now seeking new alliances were just recently America’s allies. They were her friends. Dr. Thiel brings to light the fate of America and her allies at the hands of her former friends, as revealed in the book of Lamentations. As we rapidly approach the end times listen in as Dr. Thiel brings to light world events. Then listen as he shines the light of Bible prophecy directly on the questions raised from these world events.
Here is a link to our video: Trade Wars – and the Winner will be …
Church of God warnings on trade are coming to pass.
In the Continuing Church of God:
19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: (2 Peter 1:19, KJV)
We continue to see international affairs that are aligning with properly explained biblical prophecies.
Some items of possibly related interest may include:
Trade Wars – and the Winner will be … US President Trump imposed tariffs on a global scale. Those tariffs were imposed on friend and foe alike. It seems as if President Trump is no respecter of nations. But how will this work out for the United States? Will these tariffs result in other nations drawing closer together that have had rather cold, and even not so cold, relations in the past? Will global tariffs result in trade wars? Were the events which are happening predicted by any in the Continuing Church of God? Is Europe drawing closer to China? Is Europe drawing closer to Latin and South America? With the exception of a few of America’s allies, is the net result of these tariffs a worldwide scramble to create new alliances and new trading partners to the exclusion of the United States? What will be the future result of these new alliances? Many of the nations that are now seeking new alliances were just recently America’s allies. They were her friends. Dr. Thiel brings to light the fate of America and her allies at the hands of her former friends, as revealed in the book of Lamentations. As we rapidly approach the end times listen in to this video as Dr. Thiel brings to light world events. Also listen as he shines the light of Bible prophecy directly on the questions raised from these world events.
Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”? Is an emerging European power “the daughter of Babylon”? What is ahead for Europe? Here is are links to related videos: European history and the Bible, Europe In Prophecy, The End of European Babylon, and Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European? Here is a link to a related sermon in the Spanish language: El Fin de la Babilonia Europea.
25 items to prophetically watch in 2025 Much is happening. Dr. Thiel points to 25 items to watch (cf. Mark 13:37) in this article. Here is a link to a related sermon video: 25 Items to Watch in 2025.
Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America? Where did those people come from? Can you totally rely on DNA? Do you really know what will happen to Europe and the English-speaking peoples? What about the peoples of Africa, Asia, South America, and the islands? This free online book provides scriptural, scientific, historical references, and commentary to address those matters. Here are links to related sermons: Lost tribes, the Bible, and DNA; Lost tribes, prophecies, and identifications; 11 Tribes, 144,000, and Multitudes; Israel, Jeremiah, Tea Tephi, and British Royalty; Gentile European Beast; Royal Succession, Samaria, and Prophecies; Asia, Islands, Latin America, Africa, and Armageddon; When Will the End of the Age Come?; Rise of the Prophesied King of the North; Christian Persecution from the Beast; WWIII and the Coming New World Order; and Woes, WWIV, and the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump’s Presidency: Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Greco-Roman Catholic, Buddhist, and other America-Related Prophecies? Is Donald Trump going to save the USA or are there going to be many disastrous unintended consequences of his statements and policies? What will happen. The link takes you to a book available at Amazon.com.
Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump’s Presidency: Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Greco-Roman Catholic, Buddhist, and other America-Related Prophecies? Kindle edition is available for only US$3.99. And you do not need an actual Kindle device to read it. Why? Amazon will allow you to download it to almost any device: Please click HERE to download one of Amazon s Free Reader Apps. After you go to for your free Kindle reader and then go to Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump’s Presidency: Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Greco-Roman Catholic, Buddhist, and other America-Related Prophecies?
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