CHINA/TARIFFS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump’s top advisers are rushing to find an escape hatch for a series of tariff increases in the coming months, worried about the potential for further economic damage. Many of the president’s top economic officials are trying to resurrect the terms they previously were negotiating with China, a deal officials said was ‘90 percent’ done before a sudden impasse this summer, according to a person familiar with the discussions. That approach was rejected by the Chinese at the time, so it’s unclear whether the new effort will overcome those hurdles and deliver U.S.-sought commitments from China on agriculture, intellectual property and technology transfer. The goal of the internal administration discussions is to forestall October tariff increases and the next tariffs set to take effect in December, with some advisers arguing that the economic hit is real and must be mitigated prior to the election year.”
–Ben White and Adam Behsudi, “Trump team rushes to find escape hatch for China tariffs,” Politico, September 12, 2019 12:32 pm