Free Republic

China says it’s girded for a trade war with the U.S. and can give as good as it gets, but behind the official bravado lies a deep unease over trade friction with Washington. “There are those who believe the U.S. must lose and China must win,” Li Xiao, a leading economics professor, said in a commencement speech last weekend at northern China’s Jilin University. “I think this is wishful thinking that defies common sense,” Li said in remarks that circulated widely online this week, praised as a reality check as the world’s two largest economies stood ready to exchange tit-for-tat...

For decades, the Republican Party and Democrats have been largely aligned on promoting job-killing multinational free trade deals like NAFTA and KORUS, both of which aided in opening up overseas markets for multinational companies to outsource their American manufacturing jobs to countries like Mexico, leaving millions of Americans laid off in the process. If Trump had not immediately stopped the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement when he took office, economists estimated that not only would the elimination of millions of American jobs have occurred, but U.S. wages would have been further depleted. American workers have repeatedly praised Trump’s tariffs...

U.S. pork producers are about to be bitten by a second batch of hefty retaliatory tariffs from China and Mexico — and that has some large producers predicting they could lose big money and be forced to invest overseas. Executives say the pork industry has been expanding in recent years, in part on the expectation of export opportunities that would continue to support growth. However, the threat of a trade war is adding uncertainty and driving fear. "We put a halt on all investment, not just because we will be losing money, but because we don't know if growing in...

Mexico elected a new president Sunday and his win should impact the U.S. debate over immigration. In his acceptance speech Andrés Manuel López Obrador, vowed to root out corruption in Mexico, even if found among his friends and family. And he told Mexico’s poor that he would fight for them first. He also had a special message for immigrants. He said those who want to “emigrate should do so for pleasure, not out of necessity.” He said he would first work to tackle poverty in Mexico. An estimated 44 percent of Mexicans live below the poverty line and 7.6 percent...

The Mexican peso fell against the U.S. dollar on Monday after voters in the second-largest Latin American economy overwhelmingly voted in favor of a far-left candidate as its new president. The peso pulled back 0.6 percent versus the dollar, erasing slight gains seen on Sunday, to trade at 20.032. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, better known by his initials AMLO, received more than 50 percent of the vote in an election held Sunday. His two closest rivals only got about 23 percent and 15 percent of the vote respectively. His victory, however, could lead to tougher negotiations between Mexico, the U.S....

China is putting pressure on the European Union to issue a strong joint statement against President Donald Trump’s trade policies at a summit later this month but is facing resistance, European officials said. In meetings in Brussels, Berlin and Beijing, senior Chinese officials, including Vice Premier Liu He and the Chinese government’s top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, have proposed an alliance between the two economic powers and offered to open more of the Chinese market in a gesture of goodwill. One proposal has been for China and the European Union to launch joint action against the United States at...

A leaked propaganda notice from the Chinese government states that the country is using to tariffs to try and disrupt and split President Trump’s base, Business Insider reported on Tuesday. The notice, leaked and published by the China Digital Times, which monitors media censorship in China, states the tariffs are meant to split “apart different domestic groups in US.” “We stop negotiation for now, acting tit for tat, roll out corresponding policies, hold public opinion at a good level without escalating it, limit scope, and strike accurately and carefully, splitting apart different domestic groups in US,” the propaganda notice reads.“The...

As President Trump prepares to head to a summit with NATO allies in Belgium July 11 and another summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Finland July 16, he’s drawing criticism from Democrats, some Republicans and many foreign governments for imposing tariffs on imported goods. The president’s critics accuse him of recklessly starting a trade war that will be bad for America and the global economy. They couldn’t be more wrong – and here’s why. (please see link for full article)

SHANGHAI — China’s government, which tirelessly suppresses critical voices, unwanted ideologies and subversive memes, has turned its censors against an unlikely target: its own economic policies. As Washington and Beijing spar over trade, news outlets here have been ordered not to mention Made in China 2025, an industrial master plan that aims to turn the country into a high-tech superpower, according to two people at Chinese news organizations who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the censorship authorities’ secretive workings. The Trump administration has repeatedly singled out the campaign to show that Beijing is using unfair means to...

Most observers take Xi Jinping’s ascension from China’s president to dictator as a sign of China’s national strength. But I see things differently — to the chagrin of even some members of my staff. Dictatorships are not imposed on healthy systems — especially in China. Historically, as China rises, it loses stability. When it loses stability, it installs a dictator. The dictator may take the form of an emperor or party chairman, but he is dictator nonetheless. It is in this context that I have begun to form a tentative theory: that Xi Jinping’s strength is a facade. One of...

The European Union threatened retaliatory tariffs on $294 billion of U.S. exports if the U.S. imposes tariffs on cars and car parts from the EU, Reuters reported. The EU sent a submission to the U.S. Commerce Department on Friday claiming tariffs on EU automobiles could increase costs for manufacturers in the U.S. The submission comes as the Commerce Department investigates automobile imports to the U.S. The EU submission also reports a 25 percent tariff could have a $13–14 billion negative impact on U.S. gross domestic product, Reuters reported. According to the report, the EU exported $43.6 billion worth of cars...

The U.S. Farm Belt helped deliver Donald Trump to the White House, drawn to his promises to revive rural America and deregulate industry. Now, the president’s global trade offensive is threatening the livelihoods of many farmers. Mounting trade disputes, spurred by U.S. threats to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement and tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of goods from key trading partners, have cut U.S. agricultural exports and sent commodity prices tumbling. Many farmers, who depend on shipments overseas for one-fifth of the goods they produce, say they are anxious, especially because they are already expecting bumper...

Maria Bartiromo continues to distance herself from all Sunday talk-show competition with some of the best and most insightful interviews and topics available. Today Mrs. Bartiromo interviews President Donald Trump. The substantive content is excellent. From a position of understanding Trump policy, and expanding/predicting how each policy will carry forward, this really is one of the best interviews to date. Bartiromo hits on most topics of interest and expands on the topics of greatest consequence. Anyone who seeks to understand where the administration is going with economics and trade only needs to keep revisiting this one interview – it’s all...

US president Donald Trump’s threat to hit car imports with punitive tariffs risks sparking global retaliation against as much as $300 billion of US products, Brussels has warned. The warning is the first time that the European Commission, in a written submission to the US Department of Commerce seen by the Financial Times, has set out a detailed response to Mr. Trump’s threat to slam punitive tariffs on imported vehicles, with EU capitals increasingly convinced that the unpredictable US president will act soon. Mr. Trump on Sunday said that the EU was “as bad” as China when it came to...

It may be heresy, but the South Carolina man who founded Bikers for Trump is sticking with the president in his feud with Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Chris Cox of Mount Pleasant has been a faithful Harley loyalist but thinks Donald Trump's battle to win the global trade and tariff war will keep his biker buddies supporting Trump over their Harley allegiance. "Harley-Davidson has been kept above water because of the blood, sweat and spit of the veterans and the blue collar," Cox told Palmetto Politics. Those are the same veterans and blue collars who helped put Trump in the White House,...

General Motors warned Friday that President Trump’s threatened tariffs on imported vehicles could lead to “a smaller GM,” isolate US businesses from the global marketplace and cause job losses. “Increased import tariffs could lead to a smaller GM, a reduced presence at home and abroad for this iconic American company, and risk less — not more — US jobs,” the Detroit-based automaker said in comments filed with the Commerce Department, The Street reported. “Combined with the other trade actions currently being pursued by the US Government — namely the Section 232 Steel and Aluminum tariffs and the Section 301 tariffs...

A leading German think tank says Donald Trump is right that tariffs between the United States and Europe are asymmetrical, but urges negotiations to lower import taxes across the board. US President Donald Trump may actually have a point when it comes to unfair taxes on US goods coming into Europe. That is the finding of a new study by a leading German think tank. Where they differ is how to deal with it: The group urges new talks to lower tariffs across the board, instead of engaging in a tit-for-tat escalation in new taxes. “The EU is by no...

General Motors warned Friday that another wave of tariffs being considered by the Trump administration could force the company to scale back its business and cost American jobs. In comments submitted to the Commerce Department, the automaker said that the tariffs, if approved, could drive individual vehicle prices up thousands of dollars, stifling demand. Such costs would need to be borne either by consumers or the company. Last month, President Trump ordered an investigation into whether imported cars and automotive components could pose enough of a national security risk to warrant tariffs of as much as 25 percent. If he...

Russia filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against duties imposed by the United States on steel and aluminum. Russia also requested consultations with the United States in the framework of the WTO dispute settlement procedure, Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Oreshkin said on Friday. Oreshkin added that, in addition to Russia, China, India, the European Union, Canada, Mexico, and Norway had earlier filed complaints against the United States with the WTO.

Harley-Davidson on Monday announced that it would move production for its European customers overseas, in order to avoid the European Union’s (EU) new import duties. President Trump slammed the move and accused the company of raising the “white flag” of economic surrender on Twitter. Trump is right. Harley-Davidson’s decision is perhaps the most incompetent public relations blunder since Starbucks said it would replace 10,000 American workers with Syrian refugees—no doubt they will pay a heavy price. In the meantime, Harley’s loss is our gain, as every individual failure makes the whole stronger.