Tag: Trump trade policy

Trump was dealt a winning hand on trade – his hardball negotiating tactics are squandering it

Credit: Alvinmann via MorgueFile.com

As President Donald Trump prepares to meet with his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of the G-20 summit on Nov. 30, the stakes could hardly be higher.

The two countries are in the middle of a trade war Trump launched earlier this year, one of the hardball negotiating strategies he believes can extract more benefits from trading partners. Such “economic bullying” was blamed for creating a first-ever deadlock at a recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting.

So far, China shows few signs of budging in the face of mounting tariffs. Could Trump’s tough talk work? Or will it backfire on him and the Americans he represents?

View the complete November 29 article by James Lake, Associate Professor of Economics at Southern Methodist University on the Conversation website.

Want to Know More About: Trump China Policy

Max Boot: “Donald Trump Is Not Clear About What He’s Trying To Achieve. Sometimes He Talks About China’s Theft Of Technology, But Other Times He Talks About The Fact That China Has A Trade Surplus With The United States.” BOOT: “I’m concerned Donald Trump is on the verge of blowing up our relations with one of the most important trade partners where you have so many American companies, so many interlinked with China, you have Apple and so many other iconic American companies. Donald Trump is not clear about what he’s trying to achieve. Sometimes he talks about China’s theft of technology, but other times he talks about the fact that China has a trade surplus with the United States.” [Morning Joe, MSNBC, 10/8/18; VIDEO]

Max Boot: “If We Were Really Serious About Standing Up To China, We Would Do So With Our Partners And Allies. Yet The Very First Thing He Did Was Exit The Trans Pacific Partnership.” BOOT: “Donald Trump, I think he’s confused about his goals, and also confused about how he’s going to pursue them because if we were really serious about standing up to China, we would do so with our partners and allies. Yet the very first thing he did was exit the Trans Pacific Partnership. This trade area meant to bolster our allies against China. And he exited that. So that doesn’t make any sense.” [Morning Joe, MSNBC, 10/8/18; VIDEO]

What Democrats Want from NAFTA Retooling

Here’s what Democrats want from a rework of NAFTA:

Any new deal must raise wages, protect workers’ rights and freedoms, reduce outsourcing and put the interests of working families first.

Despite Trump’s claims, there is no new trade deal:

We have yet to see the details of the understanding reached between Trump and Mexico, provisions are still being negotiated, Canada has not even entered into negotiations, and the deal would still have to be approved by Congress before Trump can claim credit.

We have to wait and see the details, but if we have learned anything over the past two years it is that we cannot trust Trump to stand up for workers.

The American people — particularly workers — must be able to review any agreement Trump reaches to make sure it delivers and can be enforced in a way that protects workers and communities going forward.

Trump has no clear strategy and has given workers no confidence that he’s putting their interests first.

 

President Trump’s new favorite trade talking point falls apart under scrutiny

The following article by Glenn Kessler was posted on the Washington Post website August 8, 2018:

President Trump claimed early victory over the trade deficit, but his numbers didn’t add up. (Meg Kelly/The Washington Post)

“In the numbers that were just released — the reporters didn’t cover this one — to me it was maybe more important than the 4.1 [percent growth in the gross domestic product], because we’re going to be doing a lot better than 4.1 as things go. For the first time maybe ever, the trade deficit just fell — think of that — for the quarter, $52 billion. Nobody reports it. Why don’t you report that? Just fell by $52 billion.”
— President Trump, remarks during a campaign rally, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Aug. 2

“Very importantly, a number that people aren’t talking about, because most people don’t quite get it, but we had a $52 billion trade deficit reduction — which, people, is — you know, I will tell you, that’s a lot. That’s for the quarter.”
— Trump, remarks at a roundtable, July 31 

“Trade deficit — $52 billion reduction in the trade deficit for the quarter. . . . I think nobody would have thought that would be possible so quickly. $52 billion reduction in the trade deficit for the quarter.”
— Trump, remarks in a news conference with the Italian prime minister, July 30

View the complete article here.

Trump to hit China with $16B in tariffs on Aug. 23

The following article by Niv Elis was posted on the Hill website August 7, 2018:

© Getty Images

President Trump will impose 25 percent tariffs on $16 billion worth of Chinese imports starting Aug. 23, the United States Trade Representative announced Tuesday.

The tariffs will affect goods such as electronic parts, plastics, chemicals, batteries, and railway cars.

The new round of tariffs completes Trump’s threat to impose $50 billion of import taxes on Chinese goods. The first $34 billion-worth went into effect on July 6.

China has already slapped back at the U.S. with its own tariffs on American goods, specifically targeting products from politically sensitive areas. It is expected to respond in kind to the latest round of tariffs.

View the complete article here.

Juncker’s secret weapon in trade talks with Trump: color-coded flash cards

The following article by Mike Murphy was posted on the MarketWatch.com website July 27, 2018:

Top EU official reportedly used cards to simplify trade topics

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker walked away from his meeting with President Donald Trump on Wednesday with a freshly won trade detente, and he may have had flash cards to thank.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Juncker came to the meeting in Washington well-prepared, with “more than a dozen colorful cue cards with simplified explainers,” such as numbers and factoids about complex topics including automotive trade. Each easy-to-read card had, at most, three figures, a senior European Union official told the Journal.

‘We knew this wasn’t an academic seminar. It had to be very simple.’

A senior EU official, on Juncker’s trade strategy

By the end of their three-hour meeting, Juncker and Trump had agreed not to impose any further tariffs and to work toward “zero tariffs.”

View the complete article here.

China retaliates with tariffs on $16 billion worth of U.S. imports after Trump’s latest trade hit

The following article by David J. Lynch, Damian Paletta and Amanda Erickson was posted on the Washington Post website August 8, 2018:

China will impose 25 percent import tariffs on $16 billion of U.S. goods on Aug. 23, in response to the Trump administration’s additional proposed tariffs. (Reuters)

Nearly five months after President Trump first confronted China with tariffs over its trade practices, the two countries are further than ever from resolving their differences and appear to be digging in for what is likely to be a long and bruising conflict.

China said Wednesday that it would impose tariffs on an additional $16 billion in U.S. autos and energy products, retaliating for the Trump administration’s latest import levies on an equivalent value of Chinese goods.

Beijing signaled this week that it might target prominent American companies such as Apple if the trade dispute escalates. The iPhone maker relies upon China for one-fifth of its $229 billion in annual revenue, “leaving it exposed if Chinese people make it a target of anger and nationalist sentiment,” warned a commentary in the state-owned China Daily.

View the complete article here.

Under Trump’s watch, the U.S. is on track for the highest trade deficit in 10 years

The following article by Heather Long was posted on the Washington Postwebsite August 3, 2018:

President Donald Trump pauses during a rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pa.. Credit: Carolyn Kaster/AP

The United States trade deficit widened in June and is on track to be the biggest in a decade despite President Trump’s efforts to slash it.

For the first half of 2018, the trade deficit in goods and services hit $291.2 billion, the federal government reported Friday, which is higher than last year and puts the nation on track to have the largest annual deficit since 2008.

Trump has repeatedly promised to reduce the trade deficit during his White House tenure, but so far, it has grown under his watch.

View the complete article here.

Trump Claims the U.S. Would Save Money Without Trade. That’s Not What a Trade Deficit Represents.

The following article by Linda Qiu was posted on the New York Times website July 26, 2018:

The president, in a speech in Illinois, escalated his misguided notion that a trade deficit means “lost” wealth into a claim an expert says “defies the most basic of economics.”

WHAT WAS SAID

“We lost $817 billion a year, over the last number of years in trade. In other words, if we didn’t trade, we’d save a hell of a lot of money.”

— President Trump, speaking in Granite City, Ill., on Thursday

THE FACTS

This is misleading.

Mr. Trump is exaggerating the United States’ trade deficit with the rest of the world, and grossly mischaracterizing what a trade deficit represents.

Over all, the United States ran a trade deficit in goods of $807 billion in 2017 and a trade surplus in services of $255 billion, for a net trade deficit of $552 billion. Over the past decade, the United States had a goods deficit of $724 billion and a net deficit of $518 billion — below Mr. Trump’s $817 billion figure.

What does this mean? Simply put, a trade deficit occurs when a country imports more goods and services than it exports to another. (It is also driven by a number of other economic factors like the growth rates of countries, the strength of their currencies and their savings and investment rates.)

View the complete article here.

If the Trade War Starts to Damage the Economy, Here’s How You’ll Be Able to Tell

The following article by Neil Irwin was posted on the New York Times website July 24, 2018:

Early indicators include executive surveys and futures markets.

A flag near a field of soybeans in Tiskilwa, IL early this month. Credit: Daniel Acker, Reuters

There’s no question that some American companies are feeling the bite of the trade war that the Trump administration is waging against much of the world.

As others have reported, a Missouri nail factory is laying off peoplebecause of tariffs on imported steel; Harley-Davidson plans to move some production to Europe in response to retaliatory tariffs; soybean farmers face a loss of income resulting from new Chinese import taxes.

But it’s a mistake to assume that difficulties of individual companies and industries are the same as a force powerful enough to bend the overall trajectory of the United States economy.

View the complete article here.