Geopolitical Economy Report

The US military is preparing for war on China, and has missile systems in the Philippines aimed at major Chinese cities. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the USA is making "Japan into a war-fighting headquarters". Ben Norton discusses the extremely aggressive policies of Trump, Biden, and beyond. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4f43dPOWgo Trump's nuclear trade war targets China - but will blow back on USA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9k7132Iyeo US Defense Secretary Hegseth wants to overthrow China’s government, in ‘crusade’ against left (and Islam): https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/03/07/us-defense-secretary-hegseth-overthrow-china-crusade/ Topics 0:00 USA prepares for war on China 0:54 US missile systems in Philippines 2:01 Cuban missile crisis 2:59 Bipartisan warmongering 3:47 Economic war 4:51 Trump boosts military budget 5:05 (CLIP) Trump: $1 trillion military budget 5:36 Deficit, DOGE, & Elon Musk 6:24 Pete Hegseth: an imperial "crusader" 7:04 (CLIP) Hegseth promises "lethality" 7:18 Hegseth's "American crusade" 8:16 Pentagon memo on war with China 9:01 Heritage Foundation 9:46 Pentagon memo on war with China 11:57 Trump's goal with Ukraine 12:27 (CLIP) Trump: divide Russia & China 12:42 Pentagon dubs China top "threat" 14:37 China's challenge to US hegemony 16:40 Taiwan as US imperial outpost 18:25 US troops & weapons in Taiwan 18:53 US-China three communiqués 20:47 USA backs Taiwan separatism 21:16 (CLIP) Marco Rubio on Taiwan 21:49 Taiwanese authoritarianism 22:56 Polls on Taiwan separatism 24:17 Taiwan's semiconductors 25:47 Hegseth's trip to Japan 27:16 USA promises peace through war 28:03 Trump admin's top 3 military goals 28:18 US aggression 30:31 Hegseth's trip to Philippines 31:26 (CLIP) USA has "real war plans" 32:12 Philippines as US imperial proxy 34:31 Silicon Valley prepares for war 35:11 Billionaire Palmer Luckey 38:54 Pentagon contractor Anduril 39:35 CIA-backed Palantir 40:02 Oligarch Peter Thiel 40:57 Venture capital & military-industrial complex 42:35 USA is an oligarchy 43:45 US war on China 45:02 Outro

Will US President Donald Trump be the tipping point for the dollar system? Even Western financial outlets now warn of the beginning of the end of dollar dominance. To discuss, host Radhika Desai is joined by economist Michael Hudson and economic geographer Mick Dunford. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGZXDzmL10k This is part of the program Geopolitical Economy Hour. You can watch other episodes of the show here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP

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

After Donald Trump imposed 145% tariffs on China, he was forced to issue exemptions for Chinese made cellphones, computers, semiconductors, and other electronics, because the deindustrialized US can't make them. Trump's huge trade war immediately failed, demonstrating that China is much stronger economically than the USA thinks. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6t1oQ5G668 Topics 0:00 Trump's trade war 0:45 Exemptions for Chinese electronics 1:56 China's trade with USA 2:27 Myth of US reindustrialization 3:26 Goals of tariffs 4:40 Lack of industrial policy 5:49 Trump's tariff exceptions 9:14 Trump begs Xi Jinping to call him 9:56 (CLIP) Howard Lutnick on China 10:12 China and Vietnam boost ties 11:28 China's economic strength 13:51 Airliners 16:05 Semiconductors 19:15 AI 20:47 China's technological development 22:43 Backfiring on US economy 23:43 Luxury goods 25:09 China's exports 27:13 China holds more cards than USA 29:22 US Treasury securities (bonds) 30:35 US unipolarity is over 31:20 Multipolarity 32:24 Outro

Donald Trump's trade war went nuclear, hitting China with 145% tariffs, aimed at economic decoupling. This is already backfiring on the US economy, which is heavily reliant on Chinese imports. The volatility also fueled a crisis in the bond market, with Treasury yields rising. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9k7132Iyeo Trump advisor reveals tariff strategy - Force countries to pay tribute to maintain US empire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnajhDMAWVA Topics 0:00 Economic war 0:51 Tariffs of 145% on China 1:56 China defends itself 2:41 Decoupling 3:49 (CLIP) Howard Lutnick attacks China 4:14 Scott Bessent on China 4:48 US trade with China 7:05 USA will lose trade war 8:02 China's manufacturing dominance 9:47 China's trade 10:33 High risk 11:35 Trump's arrogance 12:06 (CLIP) Trump: countries are "kissing my ass" 12:18 Mafia behavior 13:02 US empire demands tribute 13:35 (CLIP) Stephen Miran: US demands tribute 13:59 Threatening the world 15:55 China stands up 16:34 Trump admin's China hawks 17:47 (CLIP) Marco Rubio on new cold war 18:30 Biden admin targeted China too 20:01 US bond market shock 21:39 Treasury note yields 25:01 Interest payments on US national debt 26:05 Hedge fund margin calls 28:35 Trump's billionaires 28:53 Elon Musk 29:42 Bill Ackman 29:59 Jamie Dimon 30:35 Market manipulation? 32:21 Trump meme coins 32:58 Outro