News 'Gesture of Goodwill': Trump Delays Tariff Increase by 2 Weeks

[Admin]

President Trump delayed a tariff increase on $250 billion worth of goods imported from China by two weeks. They were set to go into effect on October 1.

'Gesture of Goodwill': Trump Delays Tariff Increase by 2 Weeks : Read more

 

[mihen]

Uncertainty is the goal.

 

[bit_user]

Uncertainty is the goal.

I don't know that you can have effective negotiations, once trust has broken down. And seemingly whimsical decisions like this certainly undermine one's trustworthiness. At some point, the Chinese will just assume the worst case, and start planning around that. I'd be surprised if they haven't done so, already.

But, the worst move Trump made was certainly to have these negotiations be so public. The Chinese absolutely don't want to set any sort of precedent or show any weakness. If they do, the EU could be next in line to try and win some concessions, for instance.

 

[mihen]

I don't think Trump's goal is a trade agreement. Even if it was, Congress will make alot of concessions to the Chinese after the President's men come to an agreement with China and it would probably be stalled a year as the USMC trade agreement is.
I think the goal is fighting China as an economic adversary and moving production away from China.

 

[bit_user]

I don't think Trump's goal is a trade agreement. Even if it was, Congress will make alot of concessions to the Chinese after the President's men come to an agreement with China and it would probably be stalled a year as the USMC trade agreement is.

There doesn't necessarily need to be any alterations made to existing trade treaties with China. It's entirely possible that China makes some policy changes on its side, and Trump just drops the tariffs.

I think the goal is fighting China as an economic adversary and moving production away from China.

The tactics don't fit that aim, and so far, they're doing more harm than good to US consumers and producers.

As an economic adversary, the bigger concern should be the way China is tying up resources and trade networks, around the world. The tariffs are doing nothing to address that.