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Post by Admin on Aug 1, 2019 19:30:17 GMT
President Donald Trump said Thursday he would expand tariffs to virtually all imports from China on September 1, marking a significant escalation in a more than yearlong trade war between the largest economies. Trump announced on Twitter the US would hit China with tariffs on roughly $300 billion worth of its products, a move he had previously said he would hold off on throughout negotiations. About $250 billion worth of Chinese goods already subject to a 25% duty. Trump accused China of reneging on past commitments to the US days after high-level negotiations resumed between the two sides. He said it had not followed through with pledges to buy more American agricultural products and to reduce the flow of fentanyl into the US. "Additionally, my friend President Xi said that he would stop the sale of Fentanyl to the United States – this never happened, and many Americans continue to die!" Trump said. He added that the two sides would continue "positive dialogue" in the meantime. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin resumed talks with their Chinese counterparts in Shanghai this week, but those ended with little evidence of progress. The White House said Wednesday it expected negotiations would continue in Washington in early September.
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Post by Admin on Aug 4, 2019 17:40:47 GMT
President Trump on Saturday defended his policy of using tariffs to pressure other nations to negotiate revised trade deals after the latest round of U.S. talks in China wrapped up without any significant progress toward a deal.
Trump defended his position on trade after his administration threatened this week to place another 10 percent tariff on $300 billion in Chinese goods beginning on Sept. 1. That, combined with existing 25 percent penalties on $250 billion in goods, would impose levies on virtually all remaining Chinese imports.
“Things are going along very well with China. They are paying us Tens of Billions of Dollars, made possible by their monetary devaluations and pumping in massive amounts of cash to keep their system going. So far our consumer is paying nothing - and no inflation,” Trump tweeted
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Post by Admin on Aug 8, 2019 17:56:49 GMT
As US President Donald Trump continued to stoke the trade war fire by ramping up tariffs on Chinese goods, China responded by devaluing the yuan as a means to limit the losses of its own currency.
The yuan fell to levels not seen since the global financial crisis earlier this week, sending world markets into a tailspin and prompting the US to declare China was manipulating its currency.
But as hostilities escalate, Beijing holds a far more lethal weapon at its disposal.
In the last 17 years, China has positioned itself as the US Government’s biggest creditor, splashing out on US Treasury bonds - a US government backed debt instrument that is virtually risk free.
In 2002, it owned just $80 billion worth of the US government bonds but that has rapidly increased to $1.1 trillion.
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Post by Admin on Aug 15, 2019 17:53:35 GMT
As financial markets tumbled again Wednesday over concerns about a trade war with China and unrest in Hong Kong, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to request a one-on-one meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The tweet appeared to be the latest effort by Trump to get a hold of jittery markets in which investors are concerned about the administration's relationship with China and an ongoing trade dispute that shows little sign of ending.
"I have ZERO doubt that if President Xi wants to quickly and humanely solve the Hong Kong problem, he can do it," Trump said of escalating unrest in Hong Kong over Beijing's threat of a crackdown on protests there. "Personal meeting?"
Trump's offer of a private meeting capped a string of efforts by the administration on Wednesday to separate the stubborn trade talks from the plunging market and blame it instead on the Federal Reserve. The remarks came after markets plunged for the second time this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 800 points, or 3.05%, Wednesday. The numbers represented the worst percentage drop for the Dow this year.
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Post by Admin on Aug 23, 2019 17:44:09 GMT
President Donald Trump on Friday excoriated the Federal Reserve and the man he hand-picked to lead the institution, ramping up his relentless critiques by asking whether the Fed was a “bigger enemy” than China.
After Fed chief Jerome Powell declared at a conference in Jackson Hole that the central bank was prepared to sustain the U.S. economy with more rate cuts, Trump upped the ante with more broadsides against Fed policy,
In a series of posts on Twitter, the president both lambasted Fed policy and demanded that U.S. companies seek alternatives to China as the trade dispute between the two countries takes a turn for the worse. On Friday, Beijing announced a new round of retaliatory tariffs worth $75 billion, which will be imposed in two separate tranches on September 1 and December 15.
Trump’s tone was even more harsh than usual, asking whether Powell was worse for the economy than Chinese President Xi Jinping, with whom he’s been sparring over bilateral trade.
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