Here's some advice for Donald Trump. He needs to quickly wrap up a trade deal with China and move on. He should get out of the business of trying to restructure the trade relationships that have developed over the past forty years. If they need restructuring, that is something that needs to be thought out very carefully and should be a project that takes place over multiple administrations, whether Democratic or Republican. If it cannot be done that way, then it should not be done at all. Furthermore, he is not the person to do it. That requires a thoughtful person who is at least SOMEWHAT capable of uniting what is now a very divided US public. If he does not do so, he is going to wreck the economy. Thinking people now clearly see he does not know what he is doing. If he presses ahead it will seriously erode confidence on the part of the financial elite around the world that weld control over world's financial resources. The result will be a very bad contraction. Equities are already over valued and are due for a big correction anyway. If he exacerbates that, its going to be bad for everyone around the world.
I'm reminded of something I read in a WW2 book: Hitler wanted to wind down the battle of Kursk to send troops to the West, and one of his generals reportedly said, "fine, but there's the little matter of the enemy." And sure enough, the Russians launched an offensive. Point is, the Chinese might not want to wrap up a trade deal. They might want to inflict some political pain on Trump. I would, if I were them. Yes, it requires nuance, which I've noticed Trump and his supporters are terrible at. They have a very black/white view of the world. Trump doesn't seem too serious about it. We're apparently postponing tariffs till after Christmas. Talk about broadcasting weakness. Americans don't have the belly for a trade war.
Nope...no he doesn't...China on the other hand is haemorrhaging money and business. They've been telling Trump for over a year now he's going to hurt the US economy and ....??? nothing. We are and have been expecting a recession for a long time regardless of the Trade war and clearly that will happen when they've said it will happen... before the Trade war even started. Basically America is shrugging off the trade war....
For sure the Chinese thought the matter out much better than Trump. That in itself demonstrates why Trump doesn't have any business trying to engage in the business of trying to restructure the economic relationship between the two countries to the extent that he is trying to do. The Chinese have made some concessions, he should accept what they have offered, cut his losses, declare victory and move on.
You are missing a very big piece of the tariff strategy. With China it is not so much about economics, though that is what is professed, but about security and trying to stop our #1 enemy from stealing us blind.
Failure for Trump with China will result in his failure for re-election next year. Most of America simply dismisses the counter-arguments such as those at #6 and #9 above. They are talking sense only to each other, while those who know better think such argument are self-serving only for a poor President.
Trump would wholeheartedly agree with that. Trump knows more about anything than anybody. "I know more about (insert issue here) than (insert experts here)". For example: "I know more about war than the generals." Trump sees himself as an omniscient god, sitting on his golden throne high above the lowly cares and concerns of the common people (all of us). God doesn't need advice, he made it all the way to heaven without help. Who would dare confront god? Trump is whacko, a lunatic, and a moron. Nothing is below the guy. When it comes to background checks, the NRA will tell him most Americans don't want them (LIE). When it comes to global warming, big oil and coal will advise that regulations will wreck the economy (LIE). Wind power? It causes cancer. Trump has gone so far over the edge he is a danger to himself and all those around him. Hannity will provide Trump all he needs to know about any topic. Love letters between him and Kim the murderer? Nothing nuts about that. A beeeaaautiful chocolate cake with Xi. Wow, foreign policy at its best. Putin denies he meddled in the election so it must be true (besides he owns my fat butt). Hey, I got an idea, let's buy Greenland. What a great real estate father in my cap that deal would be. 'I hate FOX.' 'They gave me bad poll numbers.' My crowds are bigger than the Second Coming. 'Millions upon millions of awful people voted illegally.' Wacko. Nuts. Over the edge. Wake up Trumpets, your leader/god is a megalomaniacal moron drunk on his own kool aid. And the more you follow his lead, the more you look that way too.
Here's some food for thought The world now knows what Xi Jinping was talking about. In Trump we have an immature leader who can throw the world into chaos. No doubt about it.
