Tariffs

Hong Kong (CNN Business)The year-long US-China trade war escalated dramatically in August. Now the world is watching to see whether new tariffs that kick in this weekend will bring the two economic superpowers to the negotiating table, or set the stage for more damaging exchanges of fire. The latest round of tariffs that the United States and China imposed on each other went into effect Sunday. This volley kicked off after Washington announced early in August that it would impose 10% tariffs — later raised to 15% -— on Chinese imports worth $300 billion. Beijing countered with tariffs of 5% to 10% on about $75 billion worth of US goods. Washington's latest move targets Chinese-made products like TVs and apparel that could cost the typical American consumer. In a bid to soften the blow to holiday shopping, the US government has postponed the implementation of about half of them until December 15. The additional tariffs come as concerns about slowing global growth are … [Read more...] about US-China trade war shows no sign of ending as new tariffs arrive

The market wants this, except real. Photo: Li Xueren/Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images It’s one of the core contradictions of Trump administration economic policy: President Trump “places as much importance on the health of the Dow Jones Industrial Average for validation of his job performance as he does with his polling numbers,” The Wall Street Journal reported last week; yet he insists on pursuing protectionist trade policies that markets have repeatedly demonstrated they hate and will punish with falling prices. It may be that the president learned the wrong lessons from the market’s strong performance in 2017. I am not in the camp that gives Trump no credit for the strong stock performance in the year following his election. Trump’s key legislative accomplishment — the tax reform bill — reduced the tax burden on corporations and therefore was positive for stock values, whatever its indeterminate effects on the overall economy. And Trump … [Read more...] about If Trump Is Obsessed With Stock Prices, Why Is He Still a ‘Tariff Man’?

BEIJING - China and the United States have reached agreement on the text of a "phase one" trade deal, China's vice commerce minister said in a late-night press conference Friday, a day after President Donald Trump signed off on the deal. The text includes nine chapters, including ones on intellectual property rights, technology transfer, food and farm products, financial services, exchange rates, and dispute resolution, Wang Shouwen said at the 11 p.m. press conference at the State Council Information Office in Beijing. The Chinese and the American delegations will now carry out a legal review and check the translation as soon as possible, Wang told reporters. They will then make the arrangements for the formal signing of the agreement, he said. … [Read more...] about China confirms trade deal with the U.S., averting new tariffs ahead of Sunday deadline

President Donald Trump said Friday that he expects China will buy $50 billion of U.S. farm products in the near future.“I think in agriculture they will hit $50 billion,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. Trump added that the total amount of purchases of U.S. products by China would be much more because China had also agreed to increase purchases of manufactured goods. “It’s a phenomenal deal,” Trump said. “And I say, affectionately, the farmers are going to have to go out and buy much larger tractors, because it means a lot of business, a tremendous amount of business.” The U.S. agreed to cut in half the tariff currently set at 15 percent on around $120 billion of imports from China. It also canceled the additional tariffs scheduled to take effect Sunday. This leaves in place the 25 percent tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese goods. President Trump said his administration would use the tariffs in negotiations in the next phase of trade … [Read more...] about Trump Expects China to Buy $50 Billion in U.S. Agriculture

Trump will again campaign next week with GOP special congressional election candidate Rick Saccone, offering him support and maybe some steel tariffs. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images Trade policy is one of those subjects on which Candidate Trump broke sharply with conservative orthodoxy. President Trump the president hasn’t done anything to implement his preferred protectionist policies, other than making periodic noises about shrewd trading partners cheating Uncle Sam, most recently at a White House meeting yesterday: “We have countries that are taking advantage of us. They’re charging us massive tariffs for us to sell our product into those countries. And when they sell to us, zero,” Trump said during the meeting in the Cabinet room. “We’re like the stupid people, and I don’t like to have that anymore.” What makes this particular statement significant is that it was linked to a specific proposed executive action: retaliation … [Read more...] about Pennsylvania Special Election Could Be the Only Excuse Trump Needs to Start a Trade War