Donald Trump's tariffs are benefiting rich elites at the expense of the majority of the population, argues economist Michael Hudson. He explains how the US trade war on China is isolating the United States and encouraging countries to seek alternatives. Ben Norton hosts the interview.
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGsLDQQuzU0
Read Michael Hudson's report "Return of the robber barons – Trump’s distorted view of US tariff history": https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/04/14/michael-hudson-robber-barons-trump-tariffs/
Topics
0:00 Intro
1:11 Michael Hudson highlights
2:09 Interview starts
2:41 Replacing income tax with tariffs
5:40 Government industrial policy
9:22 Reaganomics 2.0
11:29 Gilded Age
14:54 China's model
17:50 (CLIP) JD Vance calls Chinese "peasants"
18:12 Public finance
22:57 Trade war on China
25:12 (CLIP) Trump demands tribute
25:42 US attempt to isolate China
26:30 USA doesn't have many cards
28:55 Import substitution
30:16 Trump is isolating the US
34:58 US dollar system in crisis
38:03 Reindustrialization
40:06 Trump's bullying strategy
43:26 Destroying the post-WWII system
49:06 Global South vs the West
50:58 Democracy or oligarchy?
56:05 Billionaire oligarchs
56:56 Corruption
58:25 Outro
