Skip to content

Trump creates federal department that already exists

Donald Trump is blabbering about tariffs again:

Fine. Call it anything you want. But I wonder if Trump really believes he's creating something new. Does he know that we already have an agency that collects tariffs? It's the C in CBP, Customs and Border Protection. Speaking of which, here's what they have to say about who pays customs duties:

A foreigner can't pay tariffs even for a birthday gift. You, the recipient, have to pay it. How? By writing a check payable to "U.S. Customs and Border Protection."

It hardly seems possible that even the MAGA sycophants surrounding Trump haven't told him this, but he keeps claiming that other countries pay US tariffs anyway. And, sure, it's Trump. Who knows what happens in that chunk of gray matter he uses for a brain? But it's still weird as hell.

52 thoughts on “Trump creates federal department that already exists

    1. kkseattle

      Right?

      He’s gonna buy Greenland, annex Canada, and repossess the Panama Canal.

      And build a wall, and make Mexico pay for it. And implement a fantastic health care plan that covers everyone at a fraction of the cost.

      It’s all idiotic bullshit. He’s gonna sit on his fat ass, golf, whine, dial into Fox, lie, and babble about bleach and horse dewormer as hundreds of thousands of corpses pile up. He’s Nero. Except without the talent to play an instrument.

      The man has shit for brains. As Fran Lebowitz said, “You do not know anyone as stupid as Donald Trump. You just don’t.”

      He blew through the half billion dollars his daddy gave him (including extorting his siblings out of their share) within a decade because he’s a moron.

      His only talent is being a world class asshole, and finding enough rubes who as kids cowered behind the playground bully. Plus, of course, the billionaires who have always slavered over truly awful people like Nixon, Reagan, and W. Bush, each of whom crippled our country and destroyed the middle class.

    1. Srho

      Remember the SNL sketch with Charlton Heston, "The President Has Mustard on His Chin"?

      That. Except "The President Is a Dipshit."

  1. kenalovell

    I propose making the EXTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE an agency within the DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY. It will provide DOGE with an independent source of funds so its vital work can continue even if Democrats steal the 2026 mid-terms.

  2. iamr4man

    If you asked Trump he would probably say “Customs” means whether to shake hands, salute, bow, or kiss on the cheek to greet a foreign dignitary.

  3. ProgressOne

    If I buy a light bulb at Lowes, and the sales tax is paid, in my mind did I pay the tax or did Lowes really pay it? Psychologically, it sure feels like I paid it, not Lowes. And of course, factually speaking, I did pay it, not Lowes.

    1. kkseattle

      Well, that’s different. Because you actually do pay the tax, although Lowe’s collects it on your behalf.

      With imports, it’s the importer who is required to pay the tax. Just like with landlords, they pay the property tax. The point is that it all ultimately gets paid by the consumer. And it certainly isn’t paid by the foreign manufacturer.

      1. PaulDavisThe1st

        All taxes and tariffs are basically just ways for a government at some level to capture some fraction of overall economic activity going on within their jurisdiction. It might be very narrowly focused (a specific tax on a particular behavior or product or service) or very widely cast (like an income tax).

        But in the end, it's all just a way to try to collect revenue without destabilising the system you're collecting from.

        Tariffs have the additional property of creating an incentive for in-jurisdiction production, if properly managed. Of course, they will not be.

  4. Anonymous At Work

    The problem with The Convicted Felon is deciding when he's lying, he's bluffing, or he's serious. He keeps coming back to tariffs like he's serious but it would blow up so many things, there has to be a line of people telling him not to.

    1. Austin

      The line is comprised of CEOs willing to write Trump a check to get their companies an exemption to tariffs, screw everybody else including their smaller competitors who can’t afford bribes/tips to get an exemption of their own.

      There is no line of publicly-minded people arguing against tariffs overall. America doesn’t do collective action under Republican rule - it’s going to be every company for itself when it comes to tariff (and employment visa granting and government contract awarding and so many other) policies.

  5. D_Ohrk_E1

    If you're going to respond to his statements, you have to do it in a certain way that reflects not just his capriciousness but also reveal his self-contradiction wrapped up in ignorance:

    Convicted felon Trump has proposed expanding government spending to duplicate work done by Customs, at a time that Musk's DOGE is seeking to slash wasteful spending. And why? Because he has to fill in the cracks of his myth that Customs collects money from foreigners on imported goods, rather than, as many of us have experienced, holds onto goods until duties have been paid on said goods.

    1. DButch

      I worked for DEC, EMC, and a startup that was bought by EMC. I knew people in our various import/export operations. They would negotiate deals - Customs was not involved very much except for a relatively short list of (compared to our product lines) advanced tech that we didn't want certain other countries/companies to get hold of. Shipping those to embargoed countries/companies could (and sometimes did) get us in hot water.

      Tariffs ARE paid by the importer. If we bought something we paid the exporter for the goods, and if the US had slapped a tariff on the product we had to pay it before it would be released from the customs warehouse. The exporter would have gotten paid according to the terms negotiated.

      So - Customs tries to get the exporter to pay a tariff - how does that work? Does Customs send a demand letter to, oh, a Chinese export firm demanding the tariff money? What do you think firm does? Answer - not a damn thing except wad it up and toss it in the nearest waste receptacle. Laughing wildly, I'd bet.

      Does Customs send a delegation to show up at the export companies HQ? Will any of them be seen again?

  6. gesvol

    The good news for Trump is most people don't know how this stuff works any more than he does. So I am sure this crap plays great with his followers (i can only imagine the 'it's bout time we had a 'External' Revenue Service! Damn straight!)

    1. NotCynicalEnough

      You just tell people and they believe you. It's Trump's one great political insight. Truth doesn't matter, what matters is what people believe.

      1. emjayay

        Ninteenth century traveling patent medicine seller to Trump - all exactly the same thing.

        "Never Give a Sucker an Even Break."

    2. Salamander

      And, for some reasons beyond my pay grade, our US infotainment media isn't pointing this out each and every time the Felon makes statements like these. So he gets to lie over and over (etc), thus cementing the in the public conscieousness, and if they see a correction corrected even ONE TIME, it's a surprise.

      No wonder we voters are so stupid. Even when we read "the best sources".

  7. skeptonomist

    Trump may think that he will change the law or even the Constitution, so that tariffs and duties will be collected directly from the exporter. He seems to think he can change the Constitution at will, or just ignore it if he chooses. Not to mention international practices and agreements.

    But the result would be the same - prices to the American consumer would go up. The tariffs would be a cost of business to the exporters and they would have to raise prices.

    1. Thyme Crisis

      Yeah, I mean we're talking about changes to Incoterms, which have underpinned global trade for decades. (More or less, this entire discussion is so stupid.)

      Kind of stunning that Mr. Wharton MBA here has apparently never bothered to read a commercial contract before.

      1. Salamander

        The word is that all of his homework was done by his older sister, who later became a judge. And he appears to have paid folks to take tests for him.

      2. emjayay

        No MBA, just a degree in Econ. Meanwhile a high school senior who passed a semester of Econ would know a lot more than he does, or pretends to. Like any con artist Donald makes absolutely no distinction between lies and truth. It's a concept that does not exist for him. For most salespersons the principle is the same, but they are constrained by what the customer knows about reality. Con artists dazzle the marks to reject any consideration of reality, and cult leaders do the same.

        "And when you're a star they let you do it. You can do anything."

        I read that a bunch of his Econ units (probably business classes allowed for the degree) were earned by being an intern - in his father's office.

  8. tomob

    what goes on in his brain? probably depends which part of the brain you're talking about. I'd say his limbic system is what's in charge here. that's the part of the brain that resolves short-term problems. most of what the guy does is the result of short-term thinking if you'll notice. and in this context short-term means micro seconds. and this is conditioned by a baseline assumption, which is perfectly accurate, that the probable result of what he says will be good for him, because it almost always is.

    1. KinersKorner

      So bottom line is, he is a moron and so are is followers. Enough morons to elect the their fellow moron. In short, we are fucked.

    2. kkseattle

      Mostly what goes on in his brain is “grab pussy” and “eat steak with ketchup.”

      On occasion, it’s “Make sure dumb shit sons don’t flush all this down the drain. Put Ivanka back in charge? Who knew that Arab guy Tiffany hooked up with wasn’t really a billionaire. Shit.”

  9. KenSchulz

    He “keeps claiming that other countries pay US tariffs” for the simple reason that his cult will believe it, and that’s a win for him.

  10. cmayo

    This isn't terribly confusing to me.

    He still either believes, or wants to sell to his true believers, that tariffs are paid by the foreign exporters and not the domestic importers. He thinks they should be paying for the privilege of selling their goods here, and so do his believers.

    Only the silly fools who pay to import goods pay the CBP. He means there needs to be something to collect extortion money from foreign exporters, even if there isn't a legal mechanism to do so, and that's what his believers hear.

    They don't care how it actually works. They only care about how they wish the world worked.

  11. Dana Decker

    That statement by Trump is a good indicator of how bad it's going to be. Real bad. Trump impulsively declaring he wants - wait for it, a 'clever' inversion of terms - an EXTERNAL Revenue Service. That will compliment the much hated INTERNAL Revenue Service and Make America Great Again!

    He has the knowledge base and reasoning of an ten year old. I'd venture that's an accurate assessment. Trump is ignorant and simple minded, not some sort of mad genius. He's succeeded in life through intimidation and fraud. It takes a lot of *something* to do that, but that something isn't smarts.

    In any event, the next four years are going to be much worse than Trump's first term. The wrecking of federal agencies is going to be severe. Sycophancy will approach dictator levels. When thing fail, a search for scapegoats will commence. They'll find this profession or that demographic, but it won't be enough for all the failures. Trump's scapegoat will end up those millions of people who voted against him. That will lead to an Uncivil War. Not one with bullets but one where interactions with the other will be brusque, demeaning, and disputatious.

    1. FrankM

      You hope it's only four years. I guarantee you there are a lot of people trying to figure out a way around the 22nd amendment. Be ready. It's coming. They'll come up with some specious argument. The only question is, will SCOTUS be so spineless as to agree with it. The fact that it's even a question is disturbing enough.

      1. emjayay

        Unfortunately the life expectancy of an 80 year old male in the US is seven more years. Hamberders and no exercise, do your job.

        1. Vog46

          Trump will die in office
          The republicans, in a fit of hysteria will declare a month of mourning for him. Don Jr, Eric and Iskanka will try to assume Daddys political mantle. The GOP will implode at that point
          The DEMs will try to take advantage but in their usual fashion will find a way to screw it up.

          Please, keep in mind Donald was a Democrat up until 2016(?) when he found it to be in his best interest to become a republican.

          People just don't want to be reminded of that

  12. jdubs

    This will be the primary channel of corruption for the next 4 years. Better to start your own dedicated group to channel this corruption than to change the existing infrastructure.

  13. Josef

    It's not surprising he still has no idea how tarrifs work. It's a little surprising that no one has explained it to him yet. Are they purposely letting him think he's right? If so to what end? Someone in his administration or his transition team must know the idea of an external revenue service is idiotic no?

  14. Altoid

    What he says about tariffs is half confusion and half manipulation. The confusion part is obvious, but it's also the case that whether he actually believes what he says, after uncountable numbers of people have told him how tariffs really work, doesn't matter. We have to remember that not a single word he utters is about truth value, ever. Words are weapons for him, instruments for getting what he wants.

    And here, saying other countries pay our tariffs sets him up to blame foreigners when prices go up. It's a pre-emptive deflection, just in case. And it'll work with his peeps and probably half the media too.

    He *is* capable of this kind of premeditation. Remember what he told Lesley Stahl in 2016: he purposely trashes reporters and media all the time so nobody will believe anything negative they say about him; people will either figure they're getting back at him for the trash talk, or will just dismiss everything the media says.

    IMO it's futile to try to divine what he really thinks, or even to care about it. He was tutored by Roy Cohn and lapped up the lessons. Words are weapons for him, he's always at war, and he's always on the offensive.

    1. Yehouda

      "IMO it's futile to try to divine what he really thinks, or even to care about it."

      You need to look at what he does over time, rather than what he says at any specific point.
      He cares about himself, obviously.
      He also admires "strong" dictators and wants to be one himself. We know that because he expressed this admiration many many times over decades, and in situations where it wasn't any help for him. There is other evidence for it, for example apparently a friend gave him a book of Hitler's speeches, because the friend thought that Trump will find it interesting.
      https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/03/hitler-speeches-published-with-donald-trump-as-cover-illustration

      1. KawSunflower

        Everything that I have read is that Ivana's father gave him that collection of speeches, which was kept at his bedside, & waa thoroughly read. - probably more than any of Ayn Rand's works, at least one of which he is said to have admired.

        I haven't read Ivana's autobiography, but it also includes an admission of her first marriage as being one of convenience - for the purpose of obtaining US citizenship.

    2. Salamander

      Excellent points. It's the 2020 election all over again. He knows he lost, he knows it's wrong to deny the results, but hey! It sells SO WELL on the stump! People love it!

      And so what if big tariffs make consumer prices go up? The consumers are dopes. Tell 'em the foreigners are responsible. Blame Joe Biden. They'll believe it, and it's all good! For ME!!

      And if a 250 year old system of government is ravaged and torn down by his actions, if Americans lose trust in democracy itself, so what? The Felon got what he wanted.

    3. emjayay

      "....not a single word he utters is about truth value, ever. Words are weapons for him, instruments for getting what he wants."

      Exactly, as I wrote above (and no doubt [almost] everyone here knows). Plus his Nazi dad before Cohn.

  15. Heysus

    Oh yes, taxed on incoming gifts from out of the US. I have paid them and don't think the senders realised that I would be charged an arm and leg for a "gift". Sometimes almost refused to accept the "gift". Maybe it would be better to underestimate the value than over estimate.

  16. emjayay

    The thing with cult leaders, autocratic political leaders, or just autocratic bosses is that real information does not even get proferred to them. Everyone below them is working at their behest, and any contrary information would be countered with likely losing their position or in the case of a real dictator probably death.

    All as portrayed in the scene from Downfall that's used for all those parodies.

    It's the complete opposite of good modern management practice.

Comments are closed.