First, a blast from the past, in that then President Donald Trump in his first term imposed tariffs on China.  So what happened? Donald Trump promises to impose big tariffs on Chinese products. The last time he did that, in 2018, he made at least one country boom: Vietnam. Since it suddenly cost more to export things from China, businesses moved across the border. Especially in northern Vietnam, factories have replaced rice fields, growth rates have stayed in double-digits and exports to the United States have surged. For the first time since the 1800s, the region — once poverty-stricken — is now the country’s main economic engin e. Current trade deficits: So will Vietnam next be a target?  No problem for China, for they just move their export base to some other country or region.  The U.S. middle and lower classes actually are most hurt through increased cost of living. About Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for Health and Human Services Secretary, looks like his vaccine problem i...

My answer to the query above is no.  However, COVID-19 deaths are continuing to decline, and if you're fully vaccinated and boosted twice, and will take a third booster in the fall, traveling will very soon be no different than during the normal flu season.  Of course you should not listen to me.  Here is the latest  CDC travel map . Anticipating the best, we are looking forward to going to the Orient in late October, spending some Fall colors time in Japan, followed by a 12-day Celebrity Millennium cruise from Yokohama to Singapore.  Taking data from  Worldometer , here are the pandemic conditions on all our planned stops. Okinawa: My travel mate has been looking forward to the Okinawa  7th Worldwide Uchinanchu Taikai Festival  from October 30 to November 3. 6th gathering in Naha drew 7,353 people from 29 countries and 430,000 attendees. This is the 50th anniversary of Okinawa's reversion to Japan. Approximately 420,000 people from Okinawa have m...