2/25/2019

CHINA/DEMS/TARIFFS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump’s decision to back off his threat to raise tariffs on Chinese goods carries substantial political risk as the president faces increased pressure from Republicans, Democrats and some of his own advisers to win the kind of tough concessions that Beijing has long resisted. Citing ‘substantial progress’ in talks between the United States and China, Mr. Trump on Sunday evening halted plans to raise tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods at the end of this week. On Monday [2-25-19], the president predicted that President Xi Jinping of China would soon join him at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s Florida resort, for a ‘signing summit’…Mr. Trump’s optimism has cheered Wall Street and business lobbyists, who have been pushing for a quick end to the trade war. But Democrats and even some Republicans are not so sanguine. Top Democrats, in an effort to outflank Mr. Trump on China, are warning loudly that the Chinese may simply be dangling false promises in hopes of getting the president to end a trade war that is hurting American farmers and damaging the Chinese economy.”

Alan Rappeport, “Trump Touts Progress With China, but Pressure Grows for a Tough Deal,” The New York Times online, February 25, 2019