And the hits just keep coming after hours.
Just moments after news hit that Gary Cohn is on his way out the door (something which has been in the making since last August, but which was pretty much cemented once Trump moved to start a trade war last week), we now learn that the administration may be set to slap tariffs “on a broad range of Chinese imports in response to alleged intellectual-property theft.”
That’s according to Bloomberg, citing the ubiquitous “people familiar with the matter.”
As Bloomberg goes on to detail, “the U.S. actions would result from the U.S. Trade Representative’s 301 investigation into China IP practices.”
Apparently, if Trump goes with the most aggressive plan, the U.S. could impose tariffs on everything from shoes to consumer electronics.
There are also rumors that Trump is considering a combination approach with restrictions on Chinese investment in the U.S.
An announcement on this isn’t expected until next month, but obviously, this just ratchets up the tension further.
— Heisenberg Report (@heisenbergrpt) March 6, 2018
Looks like Ivanka will have to find alternative sources.
Winning a trade fight is as futile as trying to win a divorce fight by hurting the other more than he hurts you. Asinine.
However some facts for Trump to consider that I learned at a Goldman-UBS conference in Sgp last month:
– Total consumer market of China in 2017 was US$7-billion; total US consumer market was $5-billion.
– The value of the consumer market in China is growing 10% annually vs only 2% yearly for US consumers
– The average Chinese saves over 50% of his income whereas the average US savings rate is under 2% (therefore the US consumer is tapped-out vs the untapped potential in China).
In other words, the Chinese consumer market already dwarfs the US consumer market, which in fact is clearly only 3rd in the world, behind the EU too. How can #3 have much leverage? Trump doesn’t; he’s delusional. Especially with #1 and #2 ganging up to create a bigger trade zone that will EXCLUDE the US.