CHINA/TARIFFS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “It’s a bird … It’s a plane … It’s ‘Tariff Man,’ as President Trump dubbed himself in one of several provocative tweets he posted on Tuesday [12-4-18]. And it seems that this superhero’s special power may be an uncanny ability to get in his own way. Uncertainty hangs over the U.S.-China trade deal. Other than the 90-day postponement of further tariffs, it’s unclear what was agreed to by Mr. Trump and President Xi Jinping of China at the Group of 20 meeting in Buenos Aires on Saturday. Bloomberg compared the diverging claims from Beijing and Washington, and it seems there’s little agreement between the two sides. Mr. Trump may have overstated China’s concessions. Michael Pillsbury, the former Pentagon official Mr. Trump has called ‘probably the leading authority on China,’ told Axios that there was concern in China about American reports of concessions that Beijing never agreed to. They include the Chinese ‘immediately’ addressing intellectual property theft, resuming purchases of American agricultural products and cutting car tariffs.”
–NYT Staff, “DealBook Briefing: Even During a Trade Truce, Trump Is a ‘Tariff Man’,” The New York Times online, December 5, 2018