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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Trump Is Playing a Long Game With China |
| 2019-08-25 |
| [Real Clear Politics] America has the upper hand in the ongoing trade negotiations with China, and the temporary reprieve that President Trump recently gave the Chinese regime is only further proof that our strong economy grants us a degree of flexibility that Beijing can't hope to match. There are a lot of misconceptions about the president's announcement that he is postponing certain tariff increases on China. deliberate misperceptions It's true that this temporary delay addresses the one area where short-term access to cheap consumer goods has the potential to noticeably impact U.S. consumers: Christmas gifts. Overall, consumer goods are not rapidly inflating in price, and the postponement will ensure that nothing of the sort takes place during the busiest shopping season of the year. But, the relentless pressure that President Trump's strategic counter-tariffs have put on China and its export-dependent economy is not stopping. Trump did not eliminate the tariffs. He partially delayed 10% tariffs on the half of Chinese imports yet to see increased levies. Some will still be implemented as planned on Sept. 1, with the rest going into effect Dec. 15 ‐ unless, of course, Beijing meaningfully demonstrates its desire to reach an equitable trade deal before then. China seems to be playing hardball, trying to wait out the Trump administration in the hopes that a new administration will return to complacency toward China's rampant trade abuses. But that's a long time to endure the pain that Trump's tariffs are already inflicting on the Chinese economy. For example, the president's recent delay gives American companies that are in the process of transitioning their manufacturing out of China more time to complete that transition. Big tech companies are already taking their manufacturing out of China. Retailers are pulling out as well. According to the Nikkei Asian Review and The Wall Street Journal, Apple is considering moving 15% to 30% of its production capacity from China to Southeast Asia as part of "a fundamental restructuring of its supply chain." When announcing the recent tariff delay, the president noted that Apple CEO Tim Cook made a "very compelling argument" for delaying the tariffs as they would aid Apple competitors such as Samsung, which manufactures its products in South Korea. Once supply chains move out of China, it will be difficult to get them back. Moving production out of a country can be expensive and time consuming -- as can moving it back. Diversification of supply sources makes sense in a turbulent region |
| Posted by:Frank G |
| #1 Suppose years of "cheap Chinese" causes one US factory after another to close. And then thousands of retail jobs hinge on only one manufacturer who goes off the rails and sinks a US war ship. And warns that retaliation will result in no more products causing thousands of retail stores to close. Trump is right. Better start finding other suppliers before things go South for whatever reason. |
| Posted by: Varmint Splat1454 2019-08-25 11:30 |