This morning Trump tweeted about his negotiations with China, saying they had 90 days to make a real deal. He suggested he believes it will happen, but reminded everyone if it doesn’t that he is Tariff Man and that he will make countries pay who want to raid our great wealth.
Seriously, he called himself Tariff Man:
The negotiations with China have already started. Unless extended, they will end 90 days from the date of our wonderful and very warm dinner with President Xi in Argentina. Bob Lighthizer will be working closely with Steve Mnuchin, Larry Kudlow, Wilbur Ross and Peter Navarro.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 4, 2018
......on seeing whether or not a REAL deal with China is actually possible. If it is, we will get it done. China is supposed to start buying Agricultural product and more immediately. President Xi and I want this deal to happen, and it probably will. But if not remember,......
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 4, 2018
....I am a Tariff Man. When people or countries come in to raid the great wealth of our Nation, I want them to pay for the privilege of doing so. It will always be the best way to max out our economic power. We are right now taking in $billions in Tariffs. MAKE AMERICA RICH AGAIN
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 4, 2018
.....But if a fair deal is able to be made with China, one that does all of the many things we know must be finally done, I will happily sign. Let the negotiations begin. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 4, 2018
Since then, the Dow has fallen bigtime today:
NY POST – US stocks got slammed on Tuesday, dropping more than 800 points as doubts mounted about the US-China trade truce that was struck over the weekend.
Investors fretted that the 90-day cease-fire negotiated by President Trump might not be what it was billed as, as Trump unleashed a threatening tweet Tuesday morning.
“President Xi and I want this deal to happen, and it probably will. But if not remember, I am a Tariff Man,” Trump tweeted.
The Dow Jones industrial average was recently off 805.35 points, at 25,021.08, with the selloff erasing last week’s gains on fresh optimism about the US-China trade war.
This weekend, Trump had announced that the US was postponing a planned Jan. 1 tariff hike, to 25 percent from 10 percent, on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports.
That had sent the Dow up 287.87 points on Monday, to close at 25,826.43.
But on Tuesday, traders fretted increasingly that details about the start date of the truce have been murky. Markets also got rattled when Trump appointed US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, a China hardliner, to lead discussions in Beijing.
“We didn’t see Trump follow through,” Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial, told The Post.
“This is the market saying we need a little bit more in order to feel optimistic,” Krosby added.
At the time of this writing the Down is currently down 641 points.
Now would be a good time to mention that Rubio this morning suggested that China is really just playing us for time, that they aren’t really interested in negotiating in good faith:
Thread below regarding “Deal” with #China:
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) December 4, 2018
Chinese have a long history of playing the U.S. on trade. They specialize in delay tactics in which they “agree” to negotiate but nothing ever changes
I hope G20 meeting is the beginning of a new direction. But I suspect it isn’t
1/5
Among agreements #China hasn’t publicly acknowledged:
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) December 4, 2018
- China will buy “very substantial” industrial & energy products & “immediately” restart buying U.S. agriculture products
- Tariffs will be raised by 25% if no deal within 90 days
- Qualcomm-NXP deal will be reconsidered
2/5
Among actions with conflicting U.S. & #China statements:
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) December 4, 2018
- immediate negotiation on forced tech transfer,intellectual property & cyber theft
- working together on “nuclear free” N.Korea
- U.S. respecting One-China policy
- China designating Fentanyl a controlled substance
3/5
#China is playing for time. They are calculating the combination of a potential 2019 U.S. economic growth slowdown,pressure from Democratic House & looming 2020 election will force the President to back down. Then they will agree to changes they are going to make anyways 4/5
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) December 4, 2018
This isn’t just about balance of trade,it’s about geopolitical balance of power
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) December 4, 2018
Imbalances between great powers leads to dangerous conflict
We are headed towards a geopolitical imbalance increasingly tilted in #China’s favor.
We must get this right before it is too late
5/5