Trade talks are now “Back on Track”, with New Tariffs on Hold,
Q. What happened?
A. Trump caved in.
What “Track” is Back?
- Trump offered China no new tariffs.
- Trump agreed to easing restrictions on tech company Huawei.
- The above two points were part of China’s Preconditions, which Lawrence Kudlow said did not exist.
- China agreed to make unspecified new purchases of U.S. farm products and return to the negotiating table.
- No deadline was set for progress on a deal.
- No details on China’s farm purchases.
Right Back On Track
“We’re right back on track,” Trump told reporters after an 80-minute meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a summit of leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies in Osaka, Japan.
“We’re holding back on tariffs and they’re going to buy farm products,” Trump said, without giving details about the purchases.
Trump said the U.S. Commerce Department would study in the next few days whether to take Huawei off the list of firms banned from buying components and technology from U.S. companies without government approval.
Questions of the Day
- If that’s not back on track, what is?
- But what track are we on?
Once again Trump made a bluff that everyone in the world could see (except his supporters), then backed down when the other side held firm.
Perfect Happiness
Kudlow said yesterday that “Trump is perfectly happy where we are.“
Why deal when you are perfectly happy, not dealing?
What can be better than perfect?
Fake News
Speaking of the Wall Street Journal report on China’s preconditions, , Kudlow said “I don’t know where those stories comer from, but it is fake news“.
Cave-In on Preconditions
Let’s not call this a cave in on preconditions because clearly there were none.
Let’s instead call this a banana split.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
When you live by the trade war rumors you die by them too. Gold is down about $17 this weekend.
Export what?America’s 3 biggest exports,dept,inflation,war,China’s happily eating the first 2 because they have no choice ,who else gonna buy that cheap junk?No one wants that shoddy crap except Americans,Trump hates the Chinese and will feed them our dept and all our inflation and they’ll eat that chit sandwich with a smile………….pass the soy sauce!
“…who else gonna buy that cheap junk?No one wants that shoddy crap except Americans…”
iPhones are not cheap and i have not heard anyone say they are junk.
What was the quality of items sold at the five and dime stores, back in the day, when the U.S. was producer to the world?
My older brother had a sturdy fire truck made of metal and the ones i had were made of plastic.
Where’s the beef? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnCajZth-24
(Padon last post pulled next Youtube video link.)
Where’s the beef?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWTikQ4U-bI
There are two kinds of forecasters: those who don’t know, and those who don’t know they don’t know
John Kenneth Galbraith
Expert: X stands for the unknown. An expert is an unknown drip under pressure.
He’ll probably get whatever conditions existed before the tariffs, and yet it’ll be the greatest trade deal ever (according to him)!
Mish, I am amazed that you are so clueless about Trump’s negotiating techniques. If he ends up with just getting China to stop stealing American technology, and an enforcement mechanism for that, I would say the trade negotiations were a resounding success for The Donald, because that is the most important thing.
Please stop with the “Art of the Deal” 4D chess arguments. The world saw its shortcomings last week with Iran, who repeatedly called Trump’s bluffs and refused to back down.
It’s not a good sign when your negotiating technique relies on clownish theatrics that nobody else is allowed to use. Whenever anybody spouts off about the US or acts erratically, Trump flips out. Aren’t criticism or frequent changes of direction valid techniques in 4D chess?
Eventually people will wake up that while Trump is not the cause of our problems, in no way is he the solution either. This era has become “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” on the political stage, a ton of manufactured drama for nothing.
“If”
The US economy is growing rapidly. The Chinese economy is collapsing. Tariff incentives to reshore manufacturing to USA are in place. Tax incentives to reshore to USA are in place. The US tax structure is shifting away from wealth creation and toward consumption. Chinese negotiators are contributing to appropriate cultural structure of reforms. President Trump can squeeze harder any time he chooses.
What’s not to like?
I am amazed that anyone can be amazed.