In a tweet, he stated that "China should not have put new Tariffs on 75 BILLION DOLLARS of United States product (politically motivated!). Starting on October 1st, the 250 BILLION DOLLARS of goods and products from China, currently being taxed at 25%, will be taxed at 30%..."
And he followed with a tweet stating, "...Additionally, the remaining 300 BILLION DOLLARS of goods and products from China, that was being taxed from September 1st at 10%, will now be taxed at 15%. Thank you for your attention to this matter."
Of course, this Trump-inspired trade war does nothing but lower the standard of living for those living in the areas where the trade war is going on. It is based on mercantilist trade thinking that was debunked centuries ago.
Trump is a Neanderthal when it comes to trade.
-RW
UPDATE 1
The Mooch perspective could gain traction:
Trump is, "having a full-blown mental breakdown on the job," according to @Scaramucci pic.twitter.com/ChV3Bi0e7X— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) August 23, 2019
UPDATE 2
The statement from The Office of the United States Trade Representative: :While the president’s tweet suggested otherwise, this release from USTR says some of the new (now higher) tariffs on china will still be delayed until dec 15.— Steve Liesman (@steveliesman) August 23, 2019
Today, China announced it will impose unjustified tariffs targeting U.S. products. In response to China’s decision, and in order to achieve the objectives of the China Section 301 investigation, President Trump has instructed the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to increase by 5% the tariffs on approximately $550 billion worth of Chinese imports. For the 25% tariffs on approximately $250 billion worth of Chinese imports, USTR will begin the process of increasing the tariff rate to 30%, effective October 1 following a notice and comment period. For the 10% tariffs on approximately $300 billion worth of Chinese imports that the President announced earlier this month, the tariffs will now be 15%, effective on the already scheduled dates for tariff increases on these imports.
USTR will publish in the Federal Register as soon as possible additional details on today’s announcemen
But is Trump really a neanderthal if the public eats up this nonsense? Poorly paraphrasing Jordan Peterson: Trump makes the crowd roar by attacking China with trade policy. As George Carlin says: "Maybe something else sucks around here, like, the public."
ReplyDeleteEric,
DeleteAs much as I hate to admit it you might be right about the public eating up this nonsense. I was talking to a second generation business owner last night - the business has been around for 41 years. He stated that he was "glad Trump was standing up to China." He acknowledged that tariffs were bad, but the also said that the short-term paid would be worth the long-term benefit.
I think Trump knows exactly what he is doing. He wants to be in total control and have people do what he says. But the fact that Powell and the Fed are not obeying him, he is ratcheting up the tariffs on purpose to put more and more pressure on the economy until they crack and obey him.
ReplyDeleteThis may be his objective and as much I deplore the way China steals tech Im afraid his total lack of economics understanding could create a real crash in US economy that will pull the rest of the world with it.
DeleteMeanwhile the multi-nationals that gave away the store are hardly inconvenienced