By Trade Correspondent L.C. The G7 meeting in Biarritz, France ended inconclusively with French President Macron and US President Trump contending over rival agendas and the US president under particularly heavy pressure to de-escalate the US-China trade war. Over the same weekend, international central bankers met in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and struck a similar tone. […]
US seeks to head off Turkey break with free trade offer
Trade correspondent L.C. reports: The idea of a US-Turkey Free Trade Agreement was raised this week by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). He spoke about the possibility after meeting with visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, with whom the President asked him to meet. The prospect of an FTA was presumably also the White House’s idea. […]
President accuses trade partners of currency manipulation
Trade correspondent L.C. reports: President Trump has renewed his allegations of foreign currency manipulation at the same time as he is pushing for US manipulation. Meanwhile, the administration’s proposal to treat currency undervaluation as a countervailable subsidy has come under attack at the WTO. On July 3rd the president tweeted, “China and Europe playing big […]
US and China back to ‘Go’ as EU forges new trade deals
by Trade Correspondent L.C.: Presidents Trump and Xi Jinping met on June 28th on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Osaka and agreed to a tariff standstill and resumption of trade talks. The new engagement doesn’t come with any clear instructions for reaching a successful outcome; the move is seen as a buying-time exercise. […]
Big G20 question: will the threatened 25% tariffs be avoided?
Trade correspondent LC reports: When President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet on June 28th-29th at the G20 Summit in Osaka, there is hope that the US President won’t feel the need to follow through on his threat to impose 25% tariffs on the remaining $300+ billion of Chinese imports (“List 4”) that haven’t […]
