An American chip maker is asking Donald Trump to approve its takeover by a Chinese government-backed fund, requesting the president overrule the recommendation of U.S. national security officials, and injecting him into a battle between the two countries to dominate the semiconductor industry. [Kate O’Keefe | September 1, 2017 | Wall Street Journal] An American…
President Donald Trump has alarmed the Chinese government again with a threat to cut economic ties to nations that do business with North Korea. [Frances Martel | September 5, 2017 | Breitbart] China is North Korea’s largest trading partner and a major player in the U.S. market. Trump will face heavy criticism suggesting that no…
Mexico City, Mexico – US President Donald Trump is not known to be a defender of the underpaid, under-protected Mexican labour force, but his administration is making noises about the low salaries and lax regulations that workers in Mexico have to put up with. [ John Holman | September 1, 2017 | AlJazeera] There is a reason for that. The Trump…
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — Democrats facing reelection next year in states President Trump won are seizing on trade at this early stage as a crucial issue and a Republican vulnerability. [Robert Costa | September 2, 2017 | The Washington Post] But rather than jeer Trump’s protectionist positions, Democrats are echoing them and amplifying them, arguing that Trump…
President Donald Trump met with an executive from an American advanced materials manufacturer who urged the president to prevent China from cornering the market in rare earth materials by nationalizing the only rare earth mine in the United States. [John Carney | August 30, 2017 | Breitbart] An investor group that allegedly has ties to…
By Jeff Ferry, CPA Research Director As President Trump talks more openly about aggressive action on the trade front to support the US economy, traditional economists and commentators, especially many on Wall Street, are raising the volume on a scare campaign, aimed at suggesting all sorts of imaginary negative consequences. They fail to recognize that…
Donald Trump last month rejected a Chinese proposal to cut steel overcapacity despite it being endorsed by some of his top advisers, as he urged them instead to find ways to impose tariffs on imports from China. [Demetri Sevastopulo | August 30th, 2017 | Financial Times] One week after the July G20 summit in Hamburg, at which…
By Michael Stumo, CEO of CPA, and Jeff Ferry, CPA Research Director President Trump raised the possibility of withdrawing from the North American Free Trade Agreement last week in an Arizona speech. “Personally, I don’t think we can make a deal … I think we’ll end up probably terminating NAFTA at some point,” Trump said.…
The following is a rare account of President Trump in a small Oval Office meeting, venting at senior staff for sometimes resisting his hawkish trade agenda. [Jonathan Swan | August 27, 2017 | Axios] This account — confirmed by sources with knowledge of the meeting and undisputed by the White House — hints at where…
The leaders of three major U.S. business organizations this week told the Trump administration that a renegotiated NAFTA must include an investor-state dispute settlement mechanism if the groups are going support a retooled deal. [Brett Fortnam | August 25, 2017 | Inside US Trade] In an Aug. 23 letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, U.S. Chamber of…