05-12-2019, 09:13 PM
** 12-May-2019 US-China trade talks
Yes, Trump is indeed threatening to increase the tariffs further.
The news this evening is that everyone in Washington and Asia are
wondering what China is going to do to retaliate, but except for some
nationalistic bluster from the Global Times newspaper, China has been
almost completely silent. There's a feeling that the Chinese are
totally at a loss of what to do. They've gotten away with so much for
so many decades. It's quite likely that they were certain that they
would get away with simply editing down the 150-page draft trade
agreement so it would be completely unenforceable. It's quite likely
that the Chinese were confident that the Trump administration would
simply whine and complain but still go along with all the edits, which
is exactly what the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations would have
done. It's quite likely that they were enormously shocked when Trump
called their bluff.
It's amazing how much support or tacit support that Trump is getting
-- not only from Shumer and the Democrats, but also from other Western
nations, who are sick and tired of dealing China's dishonest,
contemptuous trade practices. There was even a farmer interviewed by
the BBC who was losing money from the tariffs, but said that it had to
be done.
The level of hostility to China in America and in Western countries is
growing rapidly, because of the trade and Huawei issues, and because
of the contemptuous way that China treats everyone.
On the other hand, someone on Bloomberg tv this evening (morning in
Asia) has pointed out that the tariffs depend on shipping dates, and
it takes about a month for goods from China to reach America, so the
tariffs won't really be felt for a month.
But there's no doubt that this is a very deep and serious split
between the US and China. This is the kind of situation that can lead
to tit-for-tat responses that spiral into war.
(05-11-2019, 06:57 PM)Tim Randal Walker Wrote: > Peter Zeihan (zeihan.com) has been posting to both his online
> newsletter and twitter regarding Chinese/U.S. trade. It seems that
> the Trump administration is contemplating imposing higher tariffs
> than before, for China being uncooperative.
> I understand that Trump has thought of selling more stuff to
> China, but the Chinese seem to want a one sided relationship. So
> in that respect I don't think that Trump will get what he wants.
> On the other hand, I don't think that the Chinese grasp how little
> support for globalization now exists in America. Think about
> it-many Americans dislike Trump, but there has no big uproar
> regarding tariffs.
Yes, Trump is indeed threatening to increase the tariffs further.
The news this evening is that everyone in Washington and Asia are
wondering what China is going to do to retaliate, but except for some
nationalistic bluster from the Global Times newspaper, China has been
almost completely silent. There's a feeling that the Chinese are
totally at a loss of what to do. They've gotten away with so much for
so many decades. It's quite likely that they were certain that they
would get away with simply editing down the 150-page draft trade
agreement so it would be completely unenforceable. It's quite likely
that the Chinese were confident that the Trump administration would
simply whine and complain but still go along with all the edits, which
is exactly what the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations would have
done. It's quite likely that they were enormously shocked when Trump
called their bluff.
It's amazing how much support or tacit support that Trump is getting
-- not only from Shumer and the Democrats, but also from other Western
nations, who are sick and tired of dealing China's dishonest,
contemptuous trade practices. There was even a farmer interviewed by
the BBC who was losing money from the tariffs, but said that it had to
be done.
The level of hostility to China in America and in Western countries is
growing rapidly, because of the trade and Huawei issues, and because
of the contemptuous way that China treats everyone.
On the other hand, someone on Bloomberg tv this evening (morning in
Asia) has pointed out that the tariffs depend on shipping dates, and
it takes about a month for goods from China to reach America, so the
tariffs won't really be felt for a month.
But there's no doubt that this is a very deep and serious split
between the US and China. This is the kind of situation that can lead
to tit-for-tat responses that spiral into war.
