China’s president vows to lower tariffs, increase imports amid tensions with US

Oh man! I was hoping to keep the tariffs so that we can tackle our debt... Who else can we tariff?

 

This story must have really rubbed a nerve huh Ron?

 

Maybe this time it will be true. China has been playing this game for as long as I can remember.

 

In our system, Tariff's originally funded most of the Federal Government.

Trump and Xi kick the can 90 days down the road on trade war escalation

Time is on Trump's side, and the Chinese know it.

In a two-and-half hour dinner meeting at the G 20 summit in Buenos Aires, the US and China agreed to postpone planned escalation in tariffs while further negotiations take place. The meeting was longer than anticipated, starting an hour early after President Trump cancelled both his meeting with Vladimir Putin and a scheduled afternoon press conference, allowing time for substance was discussed in some detail.



Mr Trump agreed not to boost tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods to 25 percent on January 1 as previously announced, while Beijing agreed to buy an unspecified but "very substantial" amount of agricultural, energy, industrial and other products, the White House said in a statement.

 

CHINA’S SLUMPING ECONOMY ADDS NEW DIMENSION TO TRADE WAR

China’s economy is slowing: China has been counting on the American Consumer to pay for their military build up with which they will challenge Global Shipping through international waters in the oceans that border their country rather than observing the same boundaries that every other Nation does.

A few problems for China's plans for the US consumer to pay for China's Military Build-Up.

China’s retail sales are growing at the slowest rate in 15 years. Industrial production is slumping too.

Forecasts are for reduced economic growth. This year, reported growth will be around 6.6 percent. The forecast for next year is 6 percent, and many are now wondering whether it will reach that mark.

The case that this is bad news seems straightforward. We’re talking about the world’s second largest economy. If it slumps significantly, the effects will be felt worldwide, including in the U.S.

The Dow Jones average fell by 500 points yesterday on the bad data about China’s economy. Naturally, losses were even more pronounced in Asia.

So what’s the good news? It’s that China’s sagging economy gives President Trump more leverage in his confrontation with China over trade. China now has added incentive to accommodate the U.S. and other leading economic powers, lest a trade war and sanctions add to Chinese economic woes.

China is now scaling back “Made in China 2025,” an industrial policy designed to produce dominance in ten high tech industries. It has also opened markets for US financial services and automobiles. Specifically, it has eliminated the foreign ownership cap for life insurance, approved foreign financial institutions underwriting domestic bond offerings, and agreed to lift limits on foreign stakes in automobile joint ventures by 2022.

China has rolled back newly imposed tariffs as part of a trade war truce with the U.S., conditioned on reaching a resolution of the dispute on tariffs. The deadline for a resolution is March 1. Bad economic news may inform China’s negotiating stance.

China’s economic slump makes concessions to Trump likely. There would be no concessions without President Trump’s demands for them. Absent external pressure, bad economic news would provide no incentive for China to be a better actor when it comes to trade and related issues. Indeed, absent Trump pressure, the incentive would be to double-down on objectionable practices.

The Left whines that Trump’s trade policies have alienated nations but must concede that these nations have plenty of incentive to pressure China, notwithstanding their displeasure over Trump's protection of US Workers from unfair trading practices. As the former Mexican ambassador to China says: “Everybody’s tired of the way China games the trading system and makes promises that never amount to anything.”

Under President Obama, promises were good enough. Not under this president. With Trump bravely leading the way, attacking Chinese unfair trading practices now has bipartisan support in Washington, and the support of the EU and Japan. That support has translated into concrete measures by nations like Britain, Germany, and Japan to combat unfair Chinese trade practices.

Trump deserves considerable credit for making a major issue of abusive Chinese practices and for the progress it has achieved to date in combating them.

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archi...g-economy-adds-new-dimension-to-trade-war.php