Companies Trying To Bribe Trump To Exempt Them From His Tariffs

Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs one nearly everything coming into the country has sent shockwaves through the business community, and now the companies that stand to pay the most are attempting to “bribe” Trump to exempt them from the tariffs. And this isn’t without precedent – most of the companies that are pouring money into Trump’s administration were actually exempted from the tariffs during his first administration. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins explains what’s happening. Link – https://www.rawstory.com/revealed-trump-donating-companies-dodged-tariffs-during-his-first-term/ Subscribe to stay connected to our stories: https://www.youtube.com/theringoffire Support us by becoming a member on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYWIEbibRcZav6xMLo9qWWw/join Or Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheRingofFire Buy Ring of Fire merch: https://www.buyrof.com/ Find us on social media! Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RingofFireRadio Twitter: https://twitter.com/RingofFireMedia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ringoffirenetwork/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ringoffiremedia *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos. If you're like me, you've been watching these news reports over the last two months now telling us that all these major companies, these big corporations, have decided to bow down to Donald Trump, kiss the ring, given money to his inaugural fund, giving money to his campaign even though his campaign doesn't need money 'cause they can't run again. But all of these big corporations who wanted nothing to do with Trump in the past, bowing down and giving him money. What's that all about? And my initial reaction, which I do still believe is part of the reason, is because they want to be on Trump's good side because they know he is gonna weaponize the government. He's threatened to go after some companies. They don't wanna be on that enemy's list. But apparently there is a bigger reason why these companies are giving Donald Trump money and basically saying, we love you. We'll do whatever you want. And it comes down to money. 'cause yeah, they're giving Donald Trump money, but they stand to make a lot of money by being on his good side. And here's how, according to a new report from The Guardian, which kind of sad that it had to come from a publication based out of another country as opposed to us reporting just shows you the sorry state of journalism here in the United States. These companies that are giving Donald Trump money are the same companies that when he enacted as tariffs during his first term, were exempted from the tariffs. The way that tariffs work here in the United States is the, that there is a list, like companies can actually apply for exemptions so that way they can import goods and they don't have to pay the tariffs. So they get put on the exempt list. And a lot of these com uh, companies, excuse me, that are giving him money now, are the same ones who were exempted last time. They want that exemption. So they're bowing down. They're playing nice. We're gonna be so good to you, Donald. Don't worry. Here's a million dollars for your inauguration, by the way, do you think you could make sure we end up on the list? You know, we, we don't want to have to pay the tariffs. To put it another way, these companies are effectively bribing the administration in a totally legal way. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to accuse anyone of breaking the law. It's totally legal and that's the problem. All corporate money going into politics is a form of bribery. It just happens to be a legal form of bribery. But here's what the Guardian reported us firms are bracing for impact. But an analysis of Trump's last presidency identified one way to boost their chances of avoiding the levies donating to the Republican Party. While the initial stage of the president-elect tariff agenda is designed to hit America's largest trading partners, Canada, Mexico, and China, it is US firms that pick up the bill paying duties imposed on the goods they buy from these markets. Such additional costs can prove devastating. The federal government typically allows a carefully selected group of businesses from paying such levies. Thousands of companies applied for exemptions and permission to import items without paying a new tariff during Trump's first presidency. So there's only a select number of exemptions. And last time thousands of companies applied, but thousands of companies didn't get it. So it's gonna come down to who can kiss Donald Trump's asked the most. Those are the people that'll be exempt. But don't worry, don't worry. That doesn't mean that they're not gonna pass higher prices onto you. They're still gonna do that because the same companies did the same thing. The Guardian reports back in the first Trump administration too.