Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts with the label negotiator

Trump's Hand-Altered Japan Trade Deal Card: $400B to $500B Edit vs. $550B Claim

  Key Takeaways Handwritten edits  on Trump’s trade deal note showed $400B crossed out, replaced with “500” , later became $550B in announcements . Tariff discrepancies : Card listed 10% general + 15% industry-specific rates; Trump declared flat 15% reciprocal tariff . No official explanations  from the White House on edits; Commerce Secretary Lutnick took credit for the board but ignored alterations . Japanese officials  framed the $550B investment as a  cap , hinting at slow implementation of non-beneficial projects . The Card Itself A photograph posted by Dan Scavino, Trump’s deputy chief of staff, showed a white note card on the Resolute Desk. The marker bled through the cardboard. “$400B” stood printed neatly. Someone had slashed through the “4” and scribbled “500” above it. Below that, two tariff figures: 10% across the board, 15% for cars, drugs, chips. Trump announced 15% flat hours later. And $550 billion. The math didn’t stick. No one explained the ga...