Free Republic

When President Trump on the first day of March said that the U.S. would impose a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and a ten percent tariff on imported aluminum, many economists predicted that this spelled trouble for the industries that rely on steel and aluminum for their products. The Trump administration postponed imposing the tariffs on Canada, the European Union, and Mexico until June 1, saying it wanted more time to try to negotiate agreements that might have allowed these countries to win exemptions from the tariffs. But none of those trading partners reached a deal with the U.S....

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will offer the leaders of central and eastern Europe on Saturday expanded business ties at a summit in Sofia while seeking to reassure the EU that Beijing is not trying to divide the continent. Li, whose attendance at the seventh such “16+1” summit coincides with an escalating trade war between China and the United States, will also try to dispel growing doubts among some participants about the value of the annual meetings. China has promised billions for development projects in the region as part of its Belt and Road strategy to carve out new export markets,...

After months of threats and gamesmanship, President Trump's tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese industrial imports took effect a minute after midnight Friday. It's the latest in a line of protectionism aimed at the U.S. trade deficit with China, which totaled nearly $600 billion in 2017, and includes tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum as well as items like washing machines and solar panels. And much more has been threatened. Mr. Trump said on Thursday that another $16 billion worth of tariffs against China are coming in two weeks -- and U.S. total alone could reach $550 billion...

I looked it up. The EU puts a 10% tariff on American cars. The United States puts a 2.5% tariff on EU cars. In what universe is that fair? Trump should address the nation, and hold up a poster with that data on it. People would come over to his side hugely. Why doesn't he do that? (And no, tweets don't count. The average American voter doesn't read political tweets.)

Much to the shock of liberals, being tough on trade works better for American exports than being nice and hoping other nations will be “fair” to us in return. That works in kindergarten where a teacher is present to enforce the triumph of being nice. But in the real world, where politicians respond to domestic interests, it takes more than flowery rhetoric to get action. When President Trump threatened to slap heavy tariffs on European auto exports to the US unless they brought their tariffs down to equal our tariffs on them, he was lectured that this was “no...

BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese imports took effect as a deadline passed on Friday, and with Beijing having vowed to respond immediately in kind, the world's two biggest economies took a high-stakes turn toward all-out trade conflict. China's commerce ministry said in a statement shortly after the deadline passed that it was forced to retaliate, meaning $34 billion worth of imported U.S. goods including autos and agricultural products also faced 25 percent tariffs. "China promised to not fire the first shot, but to defend national core interests and the interests of the people it has...

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is struggling to find a legal national-security rationale to slap 20% tariffs on automotive imports, but we’re told that President Trump has ordered him to find one anyway. There isn’t one. And if Mr. Trump goes ahead and claims there is he’ll be acting as lawlessly as Barack Obama did with his war on fossil fuels. Mr. Trump in May directed the Commerce Department to investigate whether foreign cars and automotive parts imperil national security under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. That law allows the President to restrict imports that he...

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...