Trade correspondent L.C. (supplemented by a late-breaking addition): As we went to press, Bloomberg issued the following report on the just-concluded US-Canada agreement to continue NAFTA: “Globalists Will Love Trump’s New Nafta Deal. Despite the fanfare, the agreement doesn’t change much. “For the group of people meant to be enemies of President Donald Trump’s trade […]
Agreement with Mexico but unity vs China pending
Trade correspondent L.C. reports: As expected, the US and Mexico this morning announced agreement on a trade deal which, if Canada accepts, will constitute NAFTA 2.0. “But a number of key factors remain unresolved in Trump’s effort to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement — the biggest among them whether Canada will sign on […]
Second tranche of US-China tit-for-tat tariffs goes live in ten days
Trade correspondent L.C. reports: The US and China have announced the unleashing of the next tranche in tit-for-tat tariffs, covering $16 billion in each country’s exports, to begin on August 23rd. The US tariffs are set at 25% and are being imposed under trade law Section 301. The Chinese tariff rate will also be 25%. […]
President Trump refutes “big bark, little bite” predictions; angers allies
Trade correspondent L.C. reports: US trade policy announced over the past week has answered the key trade question of the past sixteen months of whether President Trump is “big-bark–little-bite” and would ultimately back off from acting on his protectionist trade policy preferences and his peculiar understanding of how the trading economy works: No. Mexico, Canada, […]
US-China trade war on hold, no NAFTA deal yet, allies unhappy
Trade Correspondent L.C. reports: The US-China trade talks in Washington this week led to a joint statement momentarily lifting the threat of further trade war escalation. It also managed to displease politicians, analysts, and private sector organizations from across the political spectrum and economy. But despite disagreement over many aspects of trade policy, most Americans […]
