WASHINGTON — Shortly before igniting a new round in his trade war with China, President Trump last week accused Beijing of trying to stall talks until after the 2020 election in hopes of negotiating a better deal with a Democrat in the White House.
But Trump has strong incentives to drag out the fight: Behind a relatively strong U.S. economy and at least the chance of more credit stimulus from the Federal Reserve, he may benefit politically from continuing the confrontation with Beijing because it’s red meat for his political base.
The potential loser in this international game of chicken is the U.S. economy. Both long term and short term, the White House is playing with fire — and it could end up burning Trump’s reelection bid.
View the complete August 6 article by Don Lee on The Los Angeles Times website here.