Free Republic

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump and European Union leaders announced Wednesday they have agreed to work toward "zero tariffs" and "zero subsidies" on non-automobile goods and would work to resolve U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports that have roiled European markets. The president, in a hastily called Rose Garden statement with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, said the EU had agreed to buy "a lot of soybeans" and increase its imports of liquefied natural gas from the U.S. Juncker, meanwhile, said the U.S. and EU had agreed to hold off on further tariffs as part of trade talks aimed...

President Donald Trump on Wednesday secured concessions from Europe, averting a trade war, Dow Jones reported, citing a European Union official. The report came shortly before Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker were scheduled to brief the press at a joint conference in the White House Rose Garden.

BERLIN (Reuters) - The European Union’s budget commissioner suggested on Wednesday the bloc would be ready to discuss mutual tariff cuts with the United States across a range of products, provided Washington lifts recent punitive tariffs first.

One of the great lies of modern politics is that when a policy fails, it's because someone just didn't care enough. It's a nostrum repeated frequently: If President Trump were to only care more about immigrant children, he'd find a way to unite them with their parents; if Democrats were to only care more about the homeless, they'd find a way to clean up Los Angeles and Seattle; if Republicans were to only care more about the sick, they'd find a way to bring down insurance premiums. In reality, most failures are simply the result of unintended consequences. Take, for...

It is tariff day in Washington. President Trump will meet with European officials to talk trade tariffs. The meeting is with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. Trump proposed in a tweet, that both sides drop all tariffs, barriers and subsidies. Trump, although doubts the Europeans will go for the idea. The tweet said: "That would finally be called Free Market and Fair Trade! Hope they do it, we are ready - but they won't!"

The U.S. is likely to maintain a trade deficit with China even if all tariffs are removed. Why? The U.S. is the largest economy in the world, and the American consumer has a ferocious appetite for goods and services. The U.S. economy simply consumes more than it exports. This is not going to change anytime soon. Tariffs are a different deal. They are imbalances. Take the automotive industry, for example. The Chinese and Europeans charge higher tariffs on U.S. cars coming into their markets than corresponding Asian and European automobiles entering the U.S. markets. This has been going on...

The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it will grant up to $12 billion in emergency aid to farmers hurt by retaliatory tariffs in the ongoing trade fight with China and other American trading partners. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said that the plan, which will provide direct assistance and other temporary relief for farmers through the USDA’s commodity program, is meant as a stopgap to give Trump time to negotiate a long-term policy with China, the European Union and others. The plan was announced as Trump spoke at the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention in Kansas City, where he...

Former CIA director John Brennan continued to criticize President Donald Trump, demanding a “smarter” and “more sophisticated” approach to Iran and China. “Using tariffs as a blunt force instrument against allies and partners is not only short-sighted but also plays into the hands of Russia and China,” Brennan wrote on Twitter. “Same is true with bombastic rhetoric against Iran. We need to be smarter, more sophisticated, more strategic.”

"Think about trying to live today on the income you had 15 years ago." That's how agriculture expert Chris Hurt describes the plight facing U.S. farmers today. The unequal economy that's emerged over the past decade, combined with patchy access to health care in rural areas, have had a severe impact on the people growing America's food. Recent data shows just how much. Farmers are dying by suicide at a higher rate than any other occupational group, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The suicide rate in the field of farming, fishing and forestry is 84.5...

The U.S. Agriculture Department on Tuesday plans to announce a $12 billion package of emergency aid for farmers caught in the midst of President Trump’s escalating trade war, two people briefed on the plan said, the latest sign that growing tensions between the United States and other countries will not end soon. Trump ordered Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to prepare a range of options several months ago, amid complaints from farmers that their products faced retaliatory tariffs from China and other countries. The new package of government assistance funds will be announced Tuesday and is expected to go into effect...

Many U.S. manufacturers are shrugging off concerns over tariffs and trade tensions as strong demand at home and abroad is yielding stronger-than-expected profits.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) tells @burgessev and me outside GOP lunch that $12 billion in trade assistance to farmers from Trump administration "this is becoming more and more like a Soviet-type of economy here" with "commissars" sprinkling around benefits.

WASHINGTON — The government announced a $12 billion plan Tuesday to assist farmers who have been hurt by President Donald Trump's trade disputes with China and other trading partners. The plan focuses on Midwest soybean producers and others targeted by retaliatory measures. The Agriculture Department said the proposal would include direct assistance for farmers, purchases of excess crops and trade promotion activities aimed at building new export markets. Officials said the plan would not require congressional approval and would come through the Commodity Credit Corporation, a wing of the department that addresses agricultural prices. "This is a short-term solution that...

Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador sent U.S. President Donald Trump a letter calling for a swift conclusion to NAFTA negotiations and pledging his wish to reset relations between the two countries, Mexican officials said on Sunday. Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador sent U.S. President Donald Trump a letter urging a swift end to NAFTA negotiations and suggesting the leaders could work well together due to their shared anti-establishment style, Mexican officials said on Sunday. The letter was delivered during a recent meeting in Mexico with senior U.S. officials, and details were disclosed once Trump had received it, said...

President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Sunday released a seven-page letter he sent to U.S. President Donald Trump detailing how he plans to improve Mexico's economy and security when he takes office in December so that Mexicans do not feel the need to migrate. "There will be many changes," he promised in the letter. "And in this new atmosphere of progress with well-being, I'm sure we can reach agreements to confront together the migration phenomenon as well as the problem of border insecurity." Lopez Obrador also suggested the two countries draft a development plan backed by public funds and invite...

President Donald Trump is making his first visit to Illinois since becoming president, making a stop in Granite City on Thursday where he is expected to tout the reopening of a U.S. Steel Corp. mill. The White House announced Sunday night Trump will swing through Granite City, in southern Illinois near St. Louis and Dubuque, Iowa, on Thursday. The Trump administration has been highlighting U.S. Steel’s Granite City mill as a trade war success story even as the tariffs have sparked concerns in other sectors, with alarms sounded by Illinois farmers whose main crop is soybeans. The visit will have...

Reuters) - The value of China's trade with North Korea in the first half of 2018 tumbled 56.1 percent from a year earlier to $1.1 billion, customs data showed on Monday. In the same period, imports from North Korea dropped sharply by 87.9 percent on-year to $107.3 million, while exports were down 38.8 percent to $997.3 million. China's June total trade with North Korea was valued at $217.16 million, down from $230.87 million in the previous month.

As the editors of The Weekly Standard suggested last week, Congress could pass a resolution of censure for the president’s conduct and his subsequent comments. Congress can also take steps with concrete consequences: • Pass legislation imposing new sanctions on Russia in the event of any future attacks on our democratic process. Dare President Trump to veto it. Override him if he does. • Hold hearings that would include in-depth testimony from the national security team on the Russian attacks, putting the case on the record (again), while putting pressure on members of the administration to correct the president’s comments....

Many topics discussed, including Trade Deficits, Federal Reserve policy, Russia, Jobs-training, Surprisingly fair interview, IMHO. The President made several good points on a variety of topics.

Every time the President talks about trade negotiations, it makes the news. On July 18, he mentioned – for the umpteenth time – that he might prefer to break NAFTA up into two agreements, and the press went ballistic again. We have hundreds of major issues in United States politics – taxes, unemployment, crime, foreign policy – and people can talk comfortably about them because they are always on the collective mind. But trade is different; it’s only an issue once every generation or so. So this is an issue with tons of misconceptions, not only in the electorate, but...