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When Trump unveiled his sweeping tariffs last week, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut made the case that they werent about economic policy. Instead, he says, theyre a tool to force businesses (and countries) to pledge loyalty to Trump. We talked to Murphy about Trumps motivations, what Congress should be doing in this moment, and how citizens can make sense of the chaos and make their voices heard. (This interview has been edited for length and clarity.) Can you briefly explain what you think is the real motivation behind the tariffs? I think there are a lot of signs that point to this as political, not economic policy. First, it makes no sense as economic policy. Economists cannot understand the formula. They can’t understand the strategy. It applies to countries with trade deficits and with trade surpluses. It applies to our friends and our enemies. It doesn’t make sense if you’re trying to read it as economic policy. Second, Trump has been pretty consistent in using whatever power he has through taxation or spending in order to compel loyalty from institutions that matter to democracies. He’s threatened to cut off funding for higher education and law firms unless they cut deals with him. He’s trying to destroy journalists by denying them access to government buildings unless they use the words that he picks. And so, it would make sense in that context that he is just using a different tooltariffsto force industries and companies to come bend the knee to him and cut deals with him that benefit him politically. So at some point, I think you have to sort of understand what the central story is. And the central story is not improving people’s lives, it’s not helping the economy, it’s converting our democracy to autocracy. Do you think it’s possible that he somehow does actually believe that the tariffs are good economic policy, and the fact that he can use them as a tool to pressure businesses and others is a side benefit? I don’t think he has ever done a hot second of economic analysis on anything. I think everything to him is either a chance at good political messaging or a chance to wield more power. He does not care about good policy. He cares about a good message and power. So, for a while, the tariffs were a way to message how much he hated China. He was able to outflank Democrats in 2016 (and to a lesser extent in 2020) on the issue of fighting outsourcing. And the tariffs were the way that he communicated his commitment to fighting the Chinese economically. But he never spent any time trying to understand how to implement tariffs or how tariffs work and don’t work. It was all a message, and now it’s also a political tool. Even before the tariffs, companies have been hesitant to criticize him, though some were more outspoken in the first Trump administration. What is the role that you think companies should be playing right now? I don’t think that industry is as essential to democracy as journalists, lawyers, or universities. History is replete with moments where industry pretty quickly cowed to emerging autocrats. But there are always heroes in private industry. There are always companies that view economic freedom that comes with democracy as essential to their well-being. So there’s always an opportunity for industry to stand up and play a role when we’re sliding away from democratic norms. That’s less likely if they are all forced to show up at the White House and cut some form of loyalty deal in order to get tariff relief. Obviously, there’s a lot more going on now than just tariffs. How can Americansnot just businessesgenerally deal with the barrage of attacks on the environment, health agencies, education, and everything else, when so much is happening simultaneously? I think it’s important to understand that it’s not 10 different narratives. It’s one narrative. It can be hard to understand how everything is connected when the daily blizzard feels overwhelming. But the story is consistent. Trump is trying to create a kleptocratic oligarchy where the very-rich few use government to steal from us. And he’s trying to destroy our democracy because he can’t get away with that thievery if there’s an accountability structure in place. So that’s why I really believe that the tariffs are not about economics but about politics. Because I don’t think Donald Trump wakes up every day thinking about how to make the economy work better for anybody other than his Mar-a-Lago friends. To me, everything that he is proposing is part of that central storyline. You’ve said that the moment we’re in requires us to break norms and take risks. What more do you think Congress should be doing right now to take back power from Trump? Historically, when elected leaders try to destroy democracy and become permanent rulers, it’s mass mobilization and courts that stand in their way. I’m not a judge, I don’t command an army. So I’ve got to understand the role that I play. The role that I play is to try to stop as much bad legislation as I can, but also to act in a way that inspires people outside of the building to stand up in a substantive way. So that’s why I’ve committed to traveling the country and trying to help mobilize people. That’s why I think, internally, we need to take tactical risks on a regular basis, like Cory Booker did the other night with his [record-breaking speech], because that kind of bravery does translate to the public and causes a lot of people to engage in individual acts of political bravery. I argue that we need to be taking exceptional risks and engaging in exceptional tactics inside the building because that translates the kind of urgency to the American public that’s necessary at this moment. There are a lot of protests happening this weekend. Do you think there’s more that citizens can be doing than going out in the streets? I think right now our job is to show that those of us who oppose the billionaire takeover and oppose the destruction of our democracy are a majoritarian movement. And once it becomes clear that there is true popular opposition to what’s happening, the space gets more and more limited for Trump to operate in. The Supreme Court, whether we like it or not, is a political body. And Roberts and Kavanaugh and Barrett do look to the public to see if their rulings are going to be in step or far out of step with where the public is. If we ultimately need to engage in much more serious public action, like civil disobedience, in the case that Trump prompts a five-alarm constitutional crisis, that kind of more risky, specific behavior is easier if everybody knows that they are part of a movement that commands a big majority. I think right now, it’s traditional forms of protest and political action that matter most. It may be that later on down the line, we have to engage in different kinds of action. But the first project is to show that the people are on our side, not on Trmp’s side.
Category:
E-Commerce
Keeping our inboxes organized often feels like an overwhelming task. If youre fortunate, yours contains only messages from people you wish to communicate with. Realistically, though, most are cluttered with newsletters, receipts, social media digests, and more. These emails arent necessarily spam, but they complicate the process of quickly sifting through to find the messages we want to see. This week, Apple introduced a feature to the Mac that aims to help cut through inbox clutter by automatically organizing messages into smart categories. The feature is new in the Mail app in macOS 15.4 and comes several months after Apple debuted the feature on the iPhone in iOS 18.2. Heres how to use it. As of this week, the new Mail categories features are available on all Macs, iPhones, and iPads that are capable of running the latest operating systems. Thats macOS 15.4, iOS 18.2, and iPadOS 18.2 and later. The central concept behind Mail categories is that it uses on-device processingmeaning Apple is not reading anythingto sort your emails into five categories: Primary: Signified by a blue banner, this category displays personal messages to you as well as any messages with time-sensitive information (like a flight change notice). Transactions: Signified by a green banner, this category displays emails that contain receipts, such as from Amazon, shipping notices, and confirmations. Updates: Signified by a purple banner, this category contains all your newsletters, social media roundup digests, and more. Promotions: Signified by a pink banner, this category contains emails that relate to advertisements, such as an email from Target drawing your attention to its upcoming sale. All Mail: Signified by a black banner, this category shows you every email in your inbox in chronological order, including those from the categories above. By clicking or tapping on any of the category banners, you will quickly see all the emails that fit into that category displayed in your inbox. This can help decrease the time it takes you to find the email youre looking for and eliminate the need to sort your emails yourself. As excited as many people are about Apple’s new Mail categories feature, it’s worth noting that Apple isn’t exactly innovating here. Google’s Gmail has offered automatic email categorization for years. How to use Apples new Mail category feature The best thing about Apples new Mail category feature on Mac, iPhone, and iPad is that its pretty much automatic. Once you have the email app set up to display categories, Apples email client will do everything. The new categories feature is part of the Mac’s built-in email client, Mail. To make sure your Mail app is set up to display categories, do the following: On your Mac, iPhone, or iPad, select the inbox you want to display categories for. Now select the three-dots button (). On Mac, tap Show Mail Categories; and on iPhone and/or iPad, tap Categories. You will now see a new button bar above your inbox with five buttons, each featuring a unique icon: a person (Primary), a shopping cart (Transactions), a word balloon (Updates), a megaphone (Promotions), and a drawer (All Mail). Select any of the buttons to quickly see the emails that are sorted into the respective categories. Easily reassign emails into other categories Apple also knows that some people may prefer to have emails from certain senders appear in a category other than the one Mail has assigned. Thats why the company also allows users to manually change the category designation for emails from the same sender. The feature is also available on the iPhone and iPad. For example, if you would prefer that the emails you receive from your local movie theater be sorted into the Promotions category instead of the Updates category, you can automatically reassign it. Heres how: On Mac, right-click on the email, select Categorize Sender, and then select the category you desire. On iPhone and iPad, tap on the email and then tap the three dots () at the top of the email. Select Categorize Sender from the dropdown menu, and then select the category you desire. One nice thing about the new Mail category feature is that it is not part of Apple Intelligence, which means it is not limited to Macs, iPhones, and iPads that can run Apple Intelligence. As long as your Mac can run macOS Sequoia and your iPhone and iPad can run iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, respectively, you can take advantage of the new Mail categorization features right now. Of course, it’s worth noting that not everyone may like the new Mail categorization feature. And if you’re one of them, there’s an easy way to turn it off. Simply go to your inbox and select the three dots button (…). On Mac, click “Show Mail Categories” so the checkmark next to it disappears. On iPhone and iPad, tap “List View” and the Categories feature will be hidden.
Category:
E-Commerce
A notice to customers dazzled by the low-priced products on Chinese shopping apps: The days of getting trendy clothing, tools, and gag gifts that cost less than lunch delivered to your door in 10 days are probably numbered. President Donald Trump is ending a little-known but widely used exemption that has allowed as many as 4 million low-value parcelsmost of them originating in Chinato arrive in the U.S. every day tax-free. An executive order the president signed Wednesday will eliminate the de minimis provision for goods from China and Hong Kong on May 2. The tax exemption, which applies to packages valued at $800 or less, has helped China-founded e-commerce companies like Shein and Temu thrive while cutting into the U.S. retail market. Shoppers had a full array of product and options of timing, Marshal Cohen, chief retail adviser at market research firm Circana, said. Now theyre going to have a limited array of options and timing: So you can still buy this product, but you may have to wait three or four weeks. U.S. politicians, law enforcement agencies, and business groups have described the long-standing policy as a trade loophole that gave inexpensive Chinese goods an advantage and served as a portal for illicit drugs and counterfeits to enter the country. The sweeping tariffs Trump announced on Wednesday also aim to end the duty-free exception for all imported goods worth less than $800, but only when the U.S. government has the personnel in place to process parcels from every country. What will be the effect on prices and shipping times? A White House fact sheet said small packages of Chinese products sent through the international postal network will be subject to a duty rate of either 30% of their value or $25 per item, an amount that will increase to $50 per item after June 1. Commercial carriers such as FedEx and UPS will be required to report shipment details and remit the appropriate duties to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, according to the White House. After Trump’s latest round of tariffs, the tariff rate for Chinese products will be at least 54%. Supporters of the de minimis exception have argued that its elimination would drive up costs and hurt low-income consumers and small businesses. The tariff costs threaten to deal a blow to the U.S. operations of companies like Shein and Temu, which rapidly expanded in the U.S. using the de minimis provision to deliver ultra-cheap fast-fashion items from China. However, it’s unclear what impact the loss of the tax exemption will have on the two online retailers, as well as on American companies like Amazon and Walmart, whose platforms include virtual marketplaces where international sellers offer products. Shein and Temu already have been building warehouses in the U.S. so they could get orders to U.S. shoppers more quickly. Shein recently opened a fulfillment and logistics hub in the Seattle area. Neither company could be reached for comment Thursday. Ram Ben Tzion, chief executive officer of the digital vetting platform Publican, said he expected the companies to be forced to rethink their business strategy and possibly explore opting out of the U.S. market. In an emailed statement to AP, FedEx said it would support its customers to adapt to the new regulatory requirements and said it would be important for shippers to have paperwork completed correctly ahead of pick-up for shipments to move smoothly. Hilton Beckham, an assistant commissioner of the U.S. CBP, said the federal agency was ready to implement the latest tariffs. Our automated systems are fully updated to capture, assess, and administer all new duties, and clear guidance will be provided to support uniform enforcement across the nation, Beckham said. Ben Tzion, of Publican, said he would highly doubt the U.S. government was ready to process the huge number of low-value shipments to be taxed starting next month. The Hong Kong government said the Hongkong Post would temporarily maintain postal services to the U.S through May 2 but will not collect any so-called tariffs on behalf of the U.S. authorities. What is the de minimis provision? Introduced in 1938, the de minimis exception was intended to facilitate the flow of small packages valued at no more than $5, the equivalent of about $109 today. The threshold increased to $200 in 1994 and $800 in 2016. But the rapid rise of cross-border e-commerce, driven by China, has challenged the intent of the decades-old customs exception rule. Chinese exports of low-value packages soared to $66 billion in 2023, up from $5.3 billion in 2018, according to a February report by the Congressional Research Service. And the U.S. market has been a major destination. The Chinese government, which sees cross-border e-commerce as a critical part of its foreign trade, has introduced favorable policies, including financial support and infrastructure building, to foster its growth. Former President Joe Biden proposed a rule last year that said foreign companies cant avoid tariffs simply by shipping goods that they claim to be worth $800 or less. Trump tried in February to end the exception but his initial order was called off within days when it appeared the U.S. was not prepared to process and collect tariffs on the millions of parcels. U.S. Representative Rosa L. DeLauro, a Democrat from Connecticut, said she was pleased Trump acted a second time to eliminate the rule. For too long, this customs loophole has let foreign exporters flood our market with cheap goods and helped drug traffickers move fentanyl past our bordersresulting in factory closures, job losses, and deaths, DeLauro said. An explosion of cheap goods In 2023, for the first time, more than 1 billion such packages came through U.S. customs, up from 134 million in 2015. By the end of last year, CBP said it was processing about 4 million small shipments a day. The cheap prices and increasing popularity of Shein and Temu squeezed fast-fashion retailers like Forever 21 and H&M. Forever 21 blamed the tax exemption in part for its decision to file for bankruptcy last month and close its U.S. stores. We have been unable to find a sustainable path forward, given competition from foreign fast-fashion companies, which have been able to take advantage of the de minimis exemption to undercut our brand on pricing and margin, CFO Brad Sell said in a statement. Meanwhile, Amazon launched late last year a low-cost online storefront featuring electronics, apparel, and other products priced under $20, in an apparent effort to compete with Temu and Shein. Amazon shipped the products to U.S. customers from a warehouse it operates in China, according to documentation the company provided to sellers. By Anne D’Innocenzio and Didi Tang
Category:
E-Commerce
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