For non-flag enthusiasts, those three countries in order are: China, Heard and McDonald Islands, and Russia. Admittedly, Heard and McDonald Islands is an uninhabited island populated largely by penguins that does not have a flag so I used a penguin emoji instead.

Now I know there are going to be a lot of people Rushin’ to the defense of 0% tariffs on Russia for some reason, so I’d like to pre-respond to most of their comments here:

• “We don’t trade with Russia, so there are no tariffs necessary!”. Since sanctions were placed on Russia, trade is way down, but in 2024 according to the USTR the total US goods trade was $3.5B including a $2.5B trade deficit. According to Trump’s recent tariff formula it would imply a 41% tariff should be placed on Russia.
• “Ok, but that amount of trade is so small it’s not even worth putting on a tariff”: Uh… did you see the penguins? New tariffs were added to 185 countries, almost all of them, including such trade powerhouses as Tuvalu, Mayotte, and Svalbard and Jan Mayen.
• “No Russia already has tariffs on it!!!” So do other countries, but those countries weren’t omitted from the list of NEW tariffs like Russia was. This post is pointing out the strange omission from these new tariffs that were reportedly to correct trade deficits.
• “But we’re trying to negotiate a peace agreement with Russia!” Uh… is that how you negotiate? By giving them things they want BEFORE they do what you want? And why did we tariff Ukraine then?!

Anyway, it’s a silly example pointing out what apparently is a recklessly implemented trade policy. If you don’t believe this random guy on instagram, just look at how the markets are responding. THEY ARE VERY UNCERTAIN.

But as always, the wise, disciplined long term investor is going to stay out of the day to day speculation and continue investing early and often!

As always, reminding you to build wealth by following the two PFC rules: 1.) Live below your means and 2.) Invest early and often.

-Jeremy