Today President Trump backed down from his threat of more tariffs, citing the pain inflicted on US consumers. It’s a stark admission in the face of his denials of how tariffs and the parroting of that understanding by much of his legion. Maybe the farmers are getting to him. Maybe it’s the market taking a massive beating each time he threatens China, undermining his proxy case for American economic dominance. Whatever it is, China now has a better sense of the administration’s pain points and how much pain we can take. Seems like a pretty big tell to the party you’re trying to play hardball against. What kind of victory can the great negotiator Trump expect at this point? Will the farmers be made whole and be better off than before? Or will they be satisfied with whatever market scraps China might offer versus nothing?
Trade wars are easy.
Trump knows how to win trade wars. Nobody else does. China is going to lose this one. USA!
