CHINA/GOP/TARIFFS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “As expected, the White House on Monday [9-17-18] slapped 10 percent tariffs on about $200 billion more in Chinese exports to the U.S.. The levies would jump to 25 percent (Trump’s preferred number) on Jan 1. The president, however, continues to either not understand how tariffs actually work or deliberately mislead people on how they work. And not even White House officials can explain what he’s talking about. Here’s what Trump said on Monday: ‘China’s now paying us billions of dollars in tariffs and hopefully we’ll be able to work something out.’ That’s not how tariffs work. China doesn’t pay us anything. Importers of the products pay the tariffs and either eat the extra cost or pass it on to consumers, which is what’s freaking out many Republicans who don’t want voters paying more for stuff just as the midterms and the holiday season approach. On a conference call ahead of the tariff announcement, two senior administration officials could not offer any real explanation for Trump repeatedly saying China would pay the tariffs (AKA taxes).”
–Ben White, “Trump makes no sense on tariffs,” Politico, September 18, 2018 8:00 am