H O W A R D S B E N D

This is no time to be a passive observer of world events, especially as they involve the world. Leaders from around the world need to take immediate action.

Trump went to war with Iran without consulting Congress or any of the US traditional allies. Trump has now gotten the US in a standoff with Iran in the Persian Gulf with each side waiting for the other to blink. Trump keeps repeating that we (the USA) can outlast the Iranians….meaning that our economy can withstand the short-tern economic shock better than the Iranian economy. What Trump refuses to acknowledge is that this standoff in shipping through the Stair of Hormuz is affecting the world’s economy. And the world’s economy is close to the breaking point.

We all know that 20% to 25% of the world’s oil reserves travel through the Strait daily. A significant portion of that oil goes to Southeast Asia. We also know that significant amounts of LNG, fertilizer, plastic resins, helium, sulfur and aluminum also travel through the Strait on a daily basis. Right now, the world leaders wait passively as the shortages are running up prices worldwide and soon the shortages will affect the quality of life in countries around the world. These leaders need to take action to block Trump’s “bully” international policies.

First, the EU needs to declare a 50% tariff on all new cars coming out of the US. In 2024, the USA exported close to $9 billion is cars to the European Union. This action will put pressure on Trump by the US auto industry to backoff the blockade. China needs to declare a 100% tariff on soybeans exported from the US to China. This was approximately $15 billion in trade in 2024. This will cause US farmers to put a lot of pressure on Trump to open the Strait. India needs to declare a 100% tariff on precious stones shipped to India estimated at close to $4 billion annually and a 50% tariff on machines shipped to India which is also a $4 billion annual market. South Korea, also a large user of oil products that travel through the Strait, needs to declare a tariff of 50% on machinery, nuclear reactors and electrical equipment, a market totaling close to $13 billion annually. In fact, ALL countries affected by the blockade should put retaliatory tariffs on all imported US products. Collectively, these international tariffs will put pressure from US manufacturers and exporters on Trump to end the standoff in the Persian Gulf.

Trump understands the power of tariffs. The world needs to place Trump and the US economy in the same stranglehold Trump was willing to impose on the world at the beginning of his second term. Once the blockade is lifted, the US and Iran can sit down and negotiate a restraint on their nuclear ambitions. We did it before and we can do it again.