CHINA/ECONOMY/G20/JOBS/TARIFFS/TRADE WAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump is approaching an economic crossroads as he pushes closer to a full-scale trade war with China, even as warning signs flash that the U.S. economy is decelerating and growing increasingly vulnerable to a major shock. Trump’s trade battles are already slamming parts of the American economy, especially in Midwestern and farm belt states that helped propel him to the White House. Automakers like GM are cutting jobs, closing plants and complaining about billions in tariff-related costs. Soybean crops are rotting in fields with China’s market now closed. Dairy farmers hit by retaliatory charges are selling family businesses. And blue-chip American companies from Whirlpool to Caterpillar and Stanley Black & Decker Inc. have cited higher prices generated by Trump’s tariffs. As Trump prepares for a high-stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires on Saturday [12-1-18], economists are warning that a full-scale trade war with the world’s second-largest economy could tip markets into panic mode. That could sap business and consumer confidence and further weaken the U.S. economy, presenting an existential risk to Trump’s re-election prospects.”
–Ben White, “Trump’s trade war collides with economic reality,” Politico, November 29, 2018 7:57 am