Reuters (November 18)
“Renowned China hawks” like Robert Lighthizer, Mike Walz and Marco Rubio “are not the names Beijing wants popping up in President-elect Donald Trump’s early cabinet appointments. Markets agree, as the yuan has fallen about 2% against the dollar since Trump’s victory at the polls.” If Trump “follows through on threats to raise American tariffs on imports from China to as much as 60%” there will be more “downward pressure.”
Tags: Appointments, Cabinet, China, Dollar, Hawks, Imports, Lighthizer, Markets, Rubio, Tariffs, Threats, Trump, Walz, Yuan
New York Times (October 31)
“As investors, economists and world leaders weigh the prospects of Donald Trump winning the election, one of their biggest questions is how he would potentially upend global trade.” It’s not just the threat of tariffs, but also measures like what the candidate refers to as the “Trump reciprocal trade act” through which he hopes to punish the European Union for “supposedly not buying enough American-made goods.”
Tags: Candidate, Economists, Election, Global trade, Investors, Prospects, Punish, Tariffs, Threat, Trump, Upend, World leaders
Financial Times (October 22)
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that “greater global protectionism will endanger the world’s growth outlook… as a possible Donald Trump victory in next month’s US election raises the prospect of sharp tariff increases.” The IMF’s World Economic Outlook warns that “if higher tariffs hit a ‘sizeable swath’ of world trade by mid-2025, it would wipe 0.8 per cent from economic output next year and 1.3 per cent in 2026.” If, however, widespread tit-for-tat measures ensue, the results could be considerably more destructive.
Tags: 2025, Economic output, Election, Endanger, Global protectionism, Growth outlook, IMF, Tariffs, Tit-for-tat, Trump, U.S., Victory, Warned, World trade
Rolling Stone (September 4)
“Economic policy has become a centerpiece of both campaigns as Harris and Trump battle to win over anxious voters.” But Trump’s plan to “impose universal tariffs on all imported products” is not a hit with economists or Wall Street. Goldman Sachs has warned “that a victory by former President Donald Trump would likely lead to an economic downturn.” In contrast, the bank forecasts the Harris plan would provide a boost to GDP growth.
Tags: Boost, Campaigns, Centerpiece, Downturn, Economic policy, Economists, GDP growth, Goldman Sachs, Harris, Tariffs, Trump, Voters, Wall Street
Wall Street Journal (August 10)
“China was bruised by its trade war with the U.S. under President Donald Trump, but ultimately bounced back.” If he is re-elected “The economic damage to China would be much steeper than in Trump’s first term because the tariffs would be higher and China’s economy is much more vulnerable.”
Tags: Bruised, China, Economic damage, Economy, Re-elected, Tariffs, Trade war, Trump, U.S., Vulnerable
Foreign Policy (August 1)
The U.S. economic pivot to Asia began in 2011, but its tenor “has switched from economic offense to defense.” In the intervening years, “America’s positive economic agenda in Asia—opening markets, lowering barriers to trade, sealing agreements—bore virtually no fruit.” Largely driven by China, the U.S. instead raised tariffs, imposed sanctions, and “moved to de-risk and ‘friendshore’” supply chains.
Tags: 2011, Agenda, Agreements, Asia, China, De-risk, Defense, Economic offense, Economic pivot, Friendshore, Lowering barriers, Opening markets, Positive, Sanctions, Tariffs, Trade, U.S.
New York Times (June 22)
“With billions of dollars in trade at stake, China and the European Union have agreed to engage in talks to try to resolve an escalating dispute over tariffs.” To block the threatened tariffs on electric vehicles, “Beijing would need to persuade a majority of European Union countries, representing at least 65 percent of the bloc’s population, to overrule the European Commission” and it is expected to strategically target Germany, France, Italy and other key countries.
Tags: China, Dispute, Escalating, EU, EVs, France, Germany, Overrule, Resolve, Target, Tariffs, Trade
Forbes (May 19)
“The Biden administration said this week the U.S will quadruple tariffs on Chinese EVs in a move aimed at protecting American workers and businesses from unfair Chinese trade practices.” Some think this will provide a lifeline, but at least one auto industry executive believes “the increase won’t help the long-term staying power of the industry or its jobs.” Instead, the “capitulation to the status quo” will “condemn” the U.S. auto industry “to a slow but certain death” as the rest of the industry moves “toward technology that doesn’t rely on oil.”
Tags: Auto industry, Biden, Businesses, Capitulation, China, EVs, Lifeline, Protecting, Status quo, Staying power, Tariffs, Technology, Trade practices, U.S., Unfair, Workers
New York Times (May 14)
President Biden unveiled “a wave of new tariffs on billions of dollars in Chinese products, ramping up duties on industries like electric cars and solar energy that are core to his economic agenda.” The new duties cover roughly $18 billion of annual Chinese imports and are in addition to the $300 billion worth of Chinese imports already covered by existing tariffs. The new tariffs will “appeal to voters in battleground states,” but it’s unclear if they will be “enough to rebuild America’s industrial base in a global race with China to lead in the new economy.”
Tags: $18 billion, $300 billion, Battleground states, Biden, China, Duties, Economic agenda, EVs, Imports, Industrial base, Solar energy, Tariffs, U.S., Unveiled, Voters
AP (May 13)
“The rapid emergence of low-priced EVs from China could shake up the global auto industry in ways not seen since Japanese makers exploded on the scene during the oil crises of the 1970s. BYD, which stands for ‘Build Your Dreams,’ could be a nightmare for the U.S. auto industry.” So far tariffs have shielded the U.S. market, but “Detroit needs to quickly re-learn a lot of design and engineering to keep up while shedding practices from a century of building vehicles.”
Tags: 1970s, BYD, China, Design, Detroit, Emergence, Engineering, EVs, Global auto industry, Japanese makers, Low-priced, Nightmare, Oil crises, Rapid, Shielded, Tariffs, U.S. market
