Coffee Talk with Tiff

July 23, 2026 12:21 pm EDT Tiff Coffee Talk with Tiff 0
Image credit: AI-generated illustration created with ChatGPT

It’s Thursday…

Shitshow’s public schedule for…

Propaganda Barbie already posted today’s White House campaign commercial. Good news for us, we get to hit the skip button.

Show more =’s At 2:30PM, President Trump will travel to @EPA for an event on his “Ratepayer Protection Pledge” — a key initiative to ensure AI companies are picking up the electricity tab in local communities where they are building AI data centers. And then the President will host the LA Dodgers at 4:30PM in the Rose Garden!

Middle East Updates…

This morning, Puddle announced on Lies Social that Saudi Arabia will have to join the Abraham Accords before the civilian nuclear cooperation agreement can move forward.

There’s just one slight problem with that condition. Energy Secretary Chris Wright signed the agreement yesterday, and it will now be transmitted to Congress for review. Apparently, Puddle decided to add the terms and conditions in the comments section.

Department of Energy (07/22/2026):

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Saudi Minister of Energy His Royal Highness (HRH) Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman signed a peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement, commonly known as a 123 agreement, alongside an accompanying bilateral safeguards agreement. Together, these two agreements lay the legal foundation for a decades-long, multi-billion-dollar partnership that advances several priority economic and strategic objectives, including nuclear nonproliferation.

The 123 agreement provides great access for American companies in the Saudi nuclear energy program, benefiting American industry, workers, and supply chains while helping to meet Saudi energy needs.

The two agreements also advance U.S. and regional security by upholding high standards of nuclear safety, security, and nonproliferation and strengthening the United States’ competitive edge in civil nuclear technology.

“These agreements reflect our two nations’ shared commitment to strengthening U.S.-Saudi commercial relations, delivering prosperity at home and security to our allies abroad,” said Secretary Wright. “Rest assured, these agreements uphold the highest standards of nuclear safety and nonproliferation, while relying on the world’s best nuclear technology and scientists, designed right here in the United States. Thanks to President Trump, the American nuclear renaissance is underway and will deliver long-term benefits to the American and Saudi people.”

Under President Trump’s leadership, America is restoring its competitive edge in the global civil nuclear marketplace. This agreement builds on President Trump’s Executive Order, Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security, and specifically Section 8 on Promoting American Nuclear Exports, which supports an expansion of international partners for U.S. civil nuclear cooperation under Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.

Department of Energy (07/22/2026).

This partnership will:

  • Expand American nuclear technology exports
  • Create high-paying U.S. jobs and long-term economic growth
  • Strengthen America’s energy and national security posture
  • Reinforce global nonproliferation standards
  • Deepen the strategic partnership between the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The agreement will now be transmitted to Congress for review.

Department of Energy (07/22/2026).

Speaking of the Middle East…

Meanwhile, in the real world…

AP News (07/20/2026): Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels on Monday announced they are imposing a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia in retaliation for a blockade on Yemen and a recent attack on Sanaa International Airport, threatening another vital waterway for global shipping and raising fears of renewed conflict.

AP News (07/23/2026):

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea on Thursday, potentially widening the Iran war as international oil briefly topped $100 a barrel.

The Houthis have threatened to shut down another key trade route, with the world economy already reeling from Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran and the U.S. have meanwhile stepped up their attacks as they vie for control of the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas transited in peacetime, setting off a scramble for alternative routes.

[snip]

As the rhetoric escalated, so did the economic fallout. The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, spiked more than 6% Thursday, to about $100 a barrel. That is the highest level since May, before the two sides reached a preliminary peace agreement last month that has since collapsed.

AP News (07/23/2026).

OilPrice.com as of 11:03 am est time:

CNN stock ticker as of 11:05 am est time:

If this is what surrender looks like, I’d hate to see what winning looks like.

Not everyone in Washington appears eager to keep the conflict going.

Now, speaking of the economy…

Monday during “signing time,” Puddle imposed more tariffs on Canada. The White House Fact Sheet claims the new 50 percent tariffs on some Canadian products were needed because of Canada’s “discriminatory treatment of American products.”

Today, President Donald J. Trump signed three Proclamations pursuant to Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to impose additional 50% tariffs on certain goods of Canada in response to Canada’s discriminatory treatment of American products. By doing so, President Trump is offsetting the burden and disadvantage on U.S. commerce from Canada’s discriminatory treatment of U.S. commerce and is leveling the playing field for crucial American exports—cars, alcohol, and dairy.

White House.gov. 07/20/2026.
  • Each Section 338 proclamation imposes a 50% tariff on a different set of Canadian imports, covering products ranging from wine to hockey sticks to cement.
  • These Section 338 tariffs apply to all covered goods regardless of whether a good originates under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
  • These Section 338 tariffs will not apply to energy, potash, products subject to tariffs under Section 232, and certain other goods, such as fish or critical minerals. 
  • The tariffs will take effect 30 days after signing and are designed to offset the burden and disadvantage on U.S. commerce from Canada’s discrimination.

SECURING FAIR TREATMENT FOR AMERICAN EXPORTS: President Trump is taking action to hold Canada accountable for its continued discrimination against and unreasonable and unequal treatment of U.S. commerce that has burdened and disadvantaged hardworking Americans.  

White House.gov. 07/20/2026.
  • Section 338 empowers the President to impose tariffs when a country disadvantages U.S. exporters relative to the exports of another country to offset the disadvantage or burden on U.S. commerce.  
  • Canada imposes certain tariffs and quotas on cars imported to Canada from the U.S., but not on imports from other countries.  Canada also administers these quotas in a way that compels U.S. auto companies to invest in production in Canada instead of the United States.
    • From April 2025 through March 2026, Canadian imports of U.S. motor vehicles decreased by approximately 22%, or $5.6 billion, compared to the same period in 2024-2025. Exports of motor vehicles from other countries to Canada have increased to meet the demand previously filled by U.S. exports.  
  • All but two Canadian provinces and territories have halted the purchase, distribution, or retailing of U.S. alcoholic beverages, and have not imposed similar restrictions on other countries.
    • From March 2025 through February 2026, Canadian imports of U.S. alcoholic beverages decreased by about 81%, or $582 million, compared to the same period in 2024-2025.
  • As part of its complicated and protectionist dairy system, Canada established tariff-rate quotas on U.S. cheese that are much more restrictive than the tariff-rate quotas imposed on similar imports of cheese into Canada from the EU, despite Canada having trade agreements with both the U.S. and the EU.
  • Over the past year and a half, only two countries have chosen to retaliate against President Trump’s tariffs rather than negotiate a deal with the United States: the People’s Republic of China and Canada.
  • The Section 338 tariffs imposed today make America wealthier and stronger, offsetting the burden and disadvantage on U.S. commerce from Canada’s discriminatory treatment of U.S. commerce.

KEEPING AMERICA FIRST: President Trump is delivering on his promise to secure better outcomes for American workers, farmers, and businesses by using tariffs to restore reciprocity to trade and strengthen our national security.

White House.gov. 07/20/2026.
  • President Trump’s America First Trade Policy was created to benefit American workers and families. It has dramatically expanded global market access for U.S. exports, strengthened workers’ incomes, reshored and supported American jobs, and reduced the trade deficit.
  • The United States, under President Trump’s leadership, did not agree to renew the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in its current form, because the deal is not sufficiently beneficial for the United States. 
  • President Trump has taken actions under Section 232 to protect and strengthen U.S. manufacturing critical for our national and economic security, including imposing tariffs on key goods such as steel, aluminum, copper, trucks and automobiles, timber, lumber, and pharmaceuticals. 
  • In May 2026, U.S. manufacturing grew at its fastest rate in four years—nearly tripling expectations, and in June 2026, U.S. manufacturing expanded for its sixth straight month. 
  • Through negotiations with foreign trading partners and the strategic use of tariffs, President Trump has secured trillions in private and foreign investment to bring American jobs and manufacturing back to the United States while diversifying global supply chains and reducing dependence on adversarial nations.
  • President Trump’s tariffs have resulted in 18 deals opening new markets for U.S. exports and bringing reciprocity back to America’s trade relations. Yet Canada has elected to discriminate against the United States rather than address Canadian trade barriers.

My Coffee Talk Take:

I hate it here.

I suspect like his other tariffs, these will be challenged in court because he’s using a provision of the law that has never been used before.

Bonus Content:

Speaking of tariffs…

The Trump administration is expected as soon as this week to introduce permanent new tariffs to replace the temporary import penalties it imposed after the Supreme Court earlier this year abruptly upended President Donald Trump’s trade strategy.

The first batch of new tariffs is expected to affect 60 nations that the administration said in June were importing goods produced using forced labor, putting higher-paid American workers at a disadvantage.

Those tariffs would fill the gap left by the scheduled expiration at 12:01 a.m. Friday of a stopgap measure that Trump introduced in February after the nation’s high court invalidated levies he imposed last year under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

In response, Trump used a different legal authority to levy a 10 percent tariff, limited to just 150 days. Now those tariffs are lapsing. Ask The Post AIDive deeper

Forced to start his tariff campaign anew, Trump appears eager to pull every lever of trade power he can identify, using laws considered less vulnerable to challenge than the rushed approach he employed last year. Some are well-established weapons in major laws dating to 1962 and 1974. Others, like his use this week of an untested 1930 law to challenge Canada, reflect his unquenchable desire to test legal limits.

[snip]

Yet U.S. factories employ 75,000 fewer workers than when Trump returned to the White House. And despite administration denials, tariffs are aggravating inflation, according to a recent study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Without tariffs,the Fed’s preferred inflation measure would have risen at an annual rate of 2.3 percent in March, instead of its actual 3.2 percent figure, the Dallas bank said.

Washington Post. 07/23/2026.

🤓 Open Thread 🤓

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About Tiff 3716 Articles
Member of the Free Press who is politically homeless and a political junkie.