CHINA/TARIFFS/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump on Wednesday [4-4-18] insisted the United States is ‘not in a trade war with China,’ even as the Chinese government moved to impose new tariffs on imports of U.S. soybeans, cars, aircraft and chemicals in retaliation for tariffs Trump slapped on China in late March. As worries grew over escalating economic conflict between the U.S. and China, the U.S. stock market dropped significantly at its open Wednesday morning, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipping nearly 500 points. The market rallied somewhat by early afternoon, with the Dow rallying to 100 points down relative to its starting price. Despite the roiling markets, Trump took a defiant tone with the country’s largest trading partner Wednesday morning. In a post on Twitter, the president insisted that there is no trade war because the U.S. is already at such a disadvantage when it comes to trade with Asia’s largest economy.”
-Louis Nelson, “Trump defiant as China escalates trade war,” Politico, April 4, 2018 1:22pm