6/10/2019

CHINA/MEXICO/TARIFFS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump on Monday [6-10-19] defended his administration’s decision to threaten a number of trading partners like Mexico with tariffs, calling tariffs a ‘beautiful thing’ and asserting that a trade deal with China was close because of his aggressive policies…Mr. Trump said his threat of tariffs on Mexico showed that his approach was working and would ultimately convince China to agree to America’s trade demands. In the past month, the Trump administration has doubled down on its efforts to pressure its partners, largely because Mr. Trump knows he can impose tariffs unilaterally. Efforts to pressure China to relent on trade have included raising tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods and taking steps to tax nearly all of the country’s imports. The president, who has long used tariffs as a way to pressure trading partners to relent on other issues including security and immigration, tried to stress in the interview that his policy of issuing economic threats was unorthodox but effective.”

Katie Rogers, “Trump Defends ‘Beautiful’ Tariffs as a Negotiating Tactic,” The New York Times online, June 10, 2019