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Post by Admin on Jul 9, 2018 18:21:00 GMT
US tariffs on $34bn (£25.7bn) of Chinese goods came into effect on Friday. China retaliated by imposing a similar 25% tariff on 545 US products - including cars, soya beans and lobsters - also worth a total of $34bn.  Russia is introducing extra duties on a range of products imported from the US that can be replaced by locally made equivalents. They include road-building equipment, products for the oil and gas industry, and tools used in mining.  |
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Post by Admin on Jul 10, 2018 17:53:56 GMT
 So what exactly is President Trump trying to accomplish here? It’s important to state that American and European companies have real gripes with China, which has spied on foreign companies and forced Western tech firms to hand over patented technology as a condition for selling into the Chinese market. Pressuring China to change course will take a coordinated global effort, a careful construction of alliances around the world, and a cautious approach to nudging China toward lowering its barriers to entry. But rather than cultivating alliances, Trump is smashing them left and right. He’s raised taxes on steel imports from Canada and the EU and trashed the nato alliance, at the very time that the China problem begs for international assistance. The tactics and the strategy are going in opposite directions. “Trump is inflicting genuine economic costs on the country without necessarily achieving any particular goals,” says Josh Meltzer, a senior fellow in the Global Economy and Development program at the Brookings Institution. “Instead, we’ve raised tariffs on our allies and alienated them, which has allowed China to portray us as the global outlier.” In the larger analysis, Trump’s presidency and Chinese trade have a significant, if latent, historical connection. In the early 2000s, Americans started buying significantly more goods from China after it joined the World Trade Organization, in 2001. Prices fell for most consumers, but exposure to the Chinese market also destroyed millions of jobs, especially in cities with a large manufacturing presence. Years later, those very cities became significantly more likely to vote for Donald Trump, according to research by the economist David Autor. So it is not hyperbolic to say that trade with China, and its effect on the labor force, helped elect Trump. |
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Post by Admin on Jul 11, 2018 17:57:44 GMT
But there are better ways to ameliorate displaced manufacturing workers than waging a trade war against the entire world.
A stronger safety net, universal benefits, and a federal strategy to pay people to move to different cities would all help soften the acute effects of globalization for workers in certain industries.
“The U.S. has not done well with moving people around, helping them skill up, preventing free trade from leading to political backlash,” Meltzer says.
“You need to have a more comprehensive system in place to help workers who have lost their jobs, and the U.S. has never done that well.”
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Post by Admin on Jul 27, 2018 18:18:39 GMT
President Trump will deliver remarks on the tariffs, trade and jobs in Granite City, Illinois.
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Post by Admin on Aug 1, 2018 17:59:45 GMT
After billionaire Charles Koch warned against protectionism, Trump blasted the conservative donors, calling them “two nice guys with bad ideas.” On Twitter, Trump said the Kochs have become a “total joke” in Republican circles. Monday, the Kochs’ political network said it wouldn’t back GOP Senate candidate Kevin Cramer in North Dakota, citing his support for the Export-Import Bank and the farm bill.
“I never sought their support because I don’t need their money or bad ideas,” Trump said. During the 2016 presidential race, Trump’s campaign reportedly requested a meeting with top Koch officials.
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