CHINA/EU/TARIFFS/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump plans to travel here later on Thursday [7-26-18] to visit a steel mill that the White House says benefited from his tough trade moves against China and other steel exporters, a day after he temporarily averted a trade war with the European Union. Mr. Trump’s visit to the Granite City Works in Illinois, just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, captures the crosscurrents of his protectionist trade policies. United States Steel Corporation, which owns the plant, credits Mr. Trump’s tariffs on imported steel, including from China, with enabling it to start up two idled blast furnaces. But China’s retaliatory measures on American soybean exports have hurt farmers in the Midwest. In a surprise agreement announced on Wednesday, the European Union agreed to increase its purchases of soybeans, as part of package that could potentially allow it to escape tariffs on automobiles, if the two sides can agree on across-the-board reductions in tariffs and other trade barriers. Mr. Trump was under intense pressure from farm-state Republican to cushion the blow to soybean farmers. Earlier in the week, the White House announced it would provide up to $12 billion in emergency relief to farmers hurt by the trade war.”
-Mark Landler, “Trump to Promote Impact of Steel Tariffs in Illinois,” The New York Times online, July 26, 2018