Wall Street Journal (May 11)
The tariff spat with China “is a political trade risk the economy hasn’t faced since the 1930s, and no one knows where it might end.” Although there “will be many economic losers,” including U.S. farmers who are getting hit hard, “the broader cost is a continuation of policy uncertainty, as CEOs and investors can’t be sure about their supply chains, their cost of goods and raw material, or how long the tariff brawl will last.” Ultimately, “the impact on GDP is hard to calculate but it’s real.”
Tags: CEOs, China, Cost of goods, Economic losers, Economy, Farmers, Investors, Supply chains, Tariff, Trade risk, U.S., Uncertainty
LA Times (September 17)
“A U.S.-China tariff war is sure to produce very real economic consequences, and political fallout, in both nations…. Whatever else one might think of President Trump’s actions, he is confronting China about its unfair trade practices and theft of American intellectual property when too many others shy away from the truth for fear of Chinese reprisal.”
Tags: China, Confront, Consequences, Fallout, Fear, IP, Reprisal, Tariff, Trump, U.S., Unfair trade, War
NBC News (June 25)
“The Trump Administration’s trade war is starting to have real impacts on farmers who grow everything from corn to cotton.” Soybeans look set to bear much of the economic pain. “Soybeans were the nation’s largest agricultural export in 2017 and China was the biggest buyer, purchasing 57 percent of the total. But since China announced the tariff, the price of soybeans has fallen by roughly 15 percent to a more than two-year low.”
Wall Street Journal (May 25)
“President Trump wants everyone to know he is a master trade negotiator, but this week his volleys look more like a mess than mastery. His China policy is all over the place, Nafta is in jeopardy, and his new threat to impose a 25% tariff on auto imports undercuts his foreign policy and economic goals.”
Tags: Auto imports, China policy, Economic goals, Foreign policy, Jeopardy, Mess, Nafta, Tariff, Threat, Trade negotiator, Trump, Volleys
Wall Street Journal (December 4)
As “Trump and Wilbur Ross tee up tariff brawls for the New Year,” the odds of a “coming aluminum war” increase. “Dumping investigations usually start when a company petitions the government,” but for the first time in 25 years “the Commerce Department last week announced a “dumping” investigation into Chinese aluminum imports.” The government initiated case is just “one more sign that the Trump Administration is heading toward a major escalation in trade conflict that would hurt Americans.”
Tags: Aluminum war, China, Commerce Department, Dumping, Imports, Ross, Tariff, Trade conflict, Trump
Wall Street Journal (April 25)
Will protectionism be as welcome once the costs are realized? The Journal reports “Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced Monday that the Trump Administration will raise the cost of new single family homes in the U.S. as part of its promise to ‘make America great again.’” The Journal adds, “Mr. Ross didn’t put it quite that way.” Ultimately, however, the 20% tariff on lumber from Canada Mr. Ross did announce “will add an additional $1 billion in new costs for U.S. construction.”
Tags: Canada Construction, Costs, Homes, Lumber, Protectionism, Ross, Tariff, Trump, U.S.
