Anybody hear anything about tariffs, import taxes, trade problem’s?
Government shutdowns?
Nope?
The story of a Good Economy is about the only REAL positive lifeline the guy has to sell….
While the president will not abandon his tough approach to China, advisers say, he’s keenly aware that he has less room now to spark sharper conflicts. “Unless something very negative happens between now and then, the president should be in a place where he goes into the election having built a very strong economy,” said Chris Campbell, a former senior Trump Treasury official and top GOP congressional aide. One of those very negative things would be a full-scale trade war.
Trump also regularly gets an earful from Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on the impact of retaliatory tariffs on farmers, many of whom can no longer sell as many soybeans and other products to the Chinese. “Sonny Perdue is always talking to him about what is he hearing back in districts and across the country from farmers,” a senior administration official said.
Trump also remains fixated on stock prices. And Wall Street tends to rise on every positive development with China and sink when talks appear stalled or the president fires up his Twitter account to talk tough. At the moment, the Dow, S&P and Nasdaq are all hovering around record highs and Trump is basking in the glow.
“Every time Larry’s in there, [Trump] asks how the market is doing. Morning, afternoon, whatever,” said a second senior White House official, talking about Kudlow’s frequent visits to the Oval Office.
This had led Wall Street traders to conclude that Trump is unlikely to provoke more confrontation over the next 18 months. “I don’t see him doing a real deal with the Chinese until after 2020,” said Steve Massocca, managing director at Wedbush Equity Management. “There is no way he’s going to inflict some huge new tariffs to force China into a deal right as he’s walking into reelection. I think the whole thing simmers and gets tabled until after the election.”….
I KNEW he wouldn’t keep his mouth shut too long even if his handlers tried to keep him quiet….
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President Trump vowed Friday to take “substantial reciprocal action” against France after President Emmanuel Macron signed into law a tax targeting technology giants like Amazon and Google.
“France just put a digital tax on our great American technology companies,” Trump tweeted. “If anybody taxes them, it should be their home Country, the USA. We will announce a substantial reciprocal action on Macron’s foolishness shortly. I’ve always said American wine is better than French wine!”….
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France is a member of the European Union, so it’s unclear how Trump might specifically target the country without ensnaring the entire political bloc in a fresh trade dispute.
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