Free Republic

Republican Ohio Governor John Kasich is pushing Republican leadership to stand up to President Donald Trump on tariffs and immigration. […] Kasich urged Republicans in Congress “to do whatever they can do legislatively” to push back against Trump’s decisions to impose tariffs on several ally nations and end an Obama-era program to protect undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children. …

Exclusive: U.S. may soon claim up to $1.7 billion penalty from China's ZTE - sources Karen Freifeld (Reuters) - The Trump administration may soon claim as much as $1.7 billion penalty from ZTE Corp (000063.SZ), as it looks to punish and tighten control over the Chinese telecommunications company before allowing it back into business, according to people familiar with the matter. The Commerce Department is also seeking unfettered site visits to verify U.S. components are being used as claimed by ZTE, and wants it to post calculations of the U.S. components in its products on a website, the people said....

Andy Marsh’s New York factory is trapped in the Trump trade wars. As Mr. Trump threatens tariffs on America’s economic allies and its adversaries, many of the domestic businesses that the president says his policies are meant to protect are finding themselves victims of his aggressive approach. Prices are rising for imported goods, other nations are erecting retaliatory trade barriers, and companies like Plug Power, the manufacturing business that Mr. Marsh runs outside Albany, are facing crippling uncertainty from Mr. Trump’s fickle approach. It is not the first time Mr. Marsh has felt firsthand the impact of decisions made hundreds...

President Trump is reportedly mulling 'new' aluminum and steel tariffs for Canada, Mexico, and the European Union, a new report claims. The tariffs could be unveiled as early as Thursday and could take effect as soon as Friday, sources familiar with the plan told the Washington Post. Canada, Mexico, and the EU were provided 'temporary exemptions' from the tariffs. The exemptions expire on June 1. The Post reports that Trump is growing angry with the aforementioned countries' unwillingness to give certain concession on trade to the White House.

The Trump administration will put tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union, the latest action in a string of protectionist policies to crack down on alleged trade abuses. The tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum imports will take effect at midnight Thursday, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told reporters. The U.S. gave those allies a reprieve from those duties, but the exemptions were set to expire Friday. The Trump administration will place quotas or volume limits on other countries such as South Korea, Argentina, Australia and Brazil instead of...

So much for Donald Trump as genius deal-maker. We are supposed to believe his tariff threats are a clever negotiation strategy, but on Thursday he revealed he’s merely an old-fashioned protectionist. His decision to slap tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Europe, Canada and Mexico will hurt the U.S. economy, his own foreign policy and perhaps Republicans in November. In March Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross dangled temporary exemptions to 25% steel and 10% aluminum tariffs to extort trade concessions from U.S. allies. Mr. Ross withdrew the exemptions on Thursday, saying the U.S. “was unable to reach satisfactory arrangements” with...

White House to impose 25% tariff on $50bn worth of Chinese goods Aggressive step in an effort to reduce $337bn US trade deficit Move comes at a sensitive time in US-China relations The White House has taken aggressive new steps in its effort to reduce a $337bn trade deficit with China, announcing that it will impose a 25% tariff on $50bn of Chinese goods containing “industrially significant technology”. “From now on, we expect trading relationships to be fair and to be reciprocal,” Donald Trump said in statement. The threat of new tariffs comes despite an apparent US decision, enunciated by...

Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday that its exports to the U.S. rose 22% in April, highlighting the problem it faces if the Trump administration makes good on threats to impose higher tariffs on imports. The problem is crystallized in one model: the RAV4 sport-utility vehicle. It is the most popular Toyota among American consumers—and none are made in the U.S. More than half are imported from Japan, while the rest are made in Canada and imported tariff-free under the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The Trump administration said it would proceed with tariffs on $50bn in Chinese imports and broader investment restrictions, rebooting a trade war with Beijing that it claimed was “on hold” less than two weeks ago. The new tariffs, to be formally unveiled in two weeks, are intended to punish Beijing for what President Donald Trump has argued is a systematic campaign by China to steal US technology. The announcement came as Wilbur Ross, US commerce secretary, prepared to lead a delegation to Beijing this week and as critics in Congress assailed Mr Trump for having declared that he would soften...

President Donald J. Trump is Confronting China’s Unfair Trade Policies FOREIGN POLICY Issued on: May 29, 2018 From now on, we expect trading relationships to be fair and to be reciprocal. President Donald J. Trump YEARS OF UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES: China has consistently taken advantage of the American economy with practices that undermine fair and reciprocal trade. For many years, China has pursued industrial policies and unfair trade practices—including dumping, discriminatory non-tariff barriers, forced technology transfer, over capacity, and industrial subsidies—that champion Chinese firms and make it impossible for many United States firms to compete on a level playing field....

President Trump told Fox News on Friday he has struck a deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping to ease U.S. sanctions imposed on Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE. The Commerce Department last month blocked China's ZTE from importing American components for seven years, accusing it of misleading U.S. regulators after it last year settled charges of violating sanctions against Iran and North Korea. The ban was a virtual death sentence for ZTE, which relies on U.S. parts. The Trump administration, though, caused controversy by putting ZTE in play amid trade negotiations. According to Trump, Xi recently called him to ask if...

Donald Trump ‘offered to ease ZTE sanctions to persuade China to help with North Korea summit’ An inside source said that ‘it doesn’t look like [North Korea] wants to denuclearise at all’ as US officials worry about June 12 Trump-Kim summit PUBLISHED : Monday, 21 May, 2018, 3:21am UPDATED : Monday, 21 May, 2018, 3:26am The White House has been rattled by North Korea’s recent about-face in negotiations over its nuclear weapons programme, with US President Donald Trump calling South Korean President Moon Jae-in for his thoughts on the matter, an insider has revealed. Fearing that China has poisoned North...

China has agreed to “meaningful increases” in its purchase of U.S. agriculture and energy exports to help reduce the U.S. trade deficit, both countries said Saturday after wrapping up two days of high-stakes trade talks in Washington. A joint statement released by the White House said negotiators from both sides found “consensus on taking effective measures to substantially reduce the United States trade deficit in goods with China.” “To meet the growing consumption needs of the Chinese people and the need for high-quality economic development, China will significantly increase purchases of United States goods and services,” the statement said. “This...

>How real is the deal? We may not know for a couple of weeks yet (if not longer) but recent talks between China and the United States have resulted in an initial announcement that Beijing will prioritize closing the trade gap with the U.S. by purchasing significantly greater amounts of goods. Included in the few details offered thus far is a plan to increase both agricultural and energy exports from America. While China’s Foreign Ministry disputed some of the target amounts, the rest of the announcement looks as if it may soon become a reality. (CNN) Both parties said in...

Just-ended U.S.-China trade talks produced a commitment by Beijing to “significantly increase” its purchases of American goods and services, according to a joint statement Saturday from the rival economic powers trying to lower trade tensions. They also agreed on “meaningful increases” in U.S. exports of agriculture and energy products and greater efforts to increase trade in manufactured goods and services. The statement, however, provided no dollar amounts on how much China might boost its purchases of American products. The statement also was silent on whether the talks had made progress in easing the trade standoff between the world’s two biggest...

Bloomberg Link: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-15/wto-says-boeing-hurt-in-airbus-case-paving-way-for-eu-sanctions

The Trump administration will soon unveil a “new” North American Free Trade Agreement. U.S. trade negotiators have sought, among other things, to limit its duration, impose new domestic content requirements on certain products, and weaken investor legal protections. Even with these protectionist features, congressional Democrats are unlikely to vote for President Trump’s Nafta 2.0. He will need the support of pro-trade Republicans like me to ensure passage of any new agreement. To pressure us into voting for an agreement that diminishes free trade, some in the administration suggest offering a grim choice: either approve a diminished Nafta, or the president...

President Donald Trump's trade policies are confounding Republicans as rural voters — his strongest supporters — stand to get the short end of the stick just months away from the midterms. From his dairy farm in southeastern Nebraska, lifelong Republican Ben Steffen believed Donald Trump meant what he said on the campaign trail about ripping up U.S. trade agreements. So Steffen, who produces milk, beef, soybeans, corn and wheat, wasn't shocked when Trump pulled America out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership pact, began renegotiating NAFTA or announced his intent to impose aluminum and steel tariffs on China that have drawn the...

Everything I have learned as a capitalist and a Republican is that tariffs are counterproductive. They are hidden taxes that raise the price of the goods we buy and harm trade with other countries, which is not good for America or for our trading partner. If that is so, then provide us with another path to solving the China trading problem. President Trump probably made a mistake with going after steel and aluminum importers as a class. Certainly he has a point that we must maintain our own production capabilities in those areas, but just because our industries are suffering...

President Donald Trump clarified his desire to rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), after telling members of Congress from agricultural states that he would do it. “Would only join TPP if the deal were substantially better than the deal offered to Pres. Obama,” Trump wrote on Twitter. Members of Congress and governors from agriculture states met with the president for over an hour at the White House, leaving feeling confident that he wanted to re-enter the trade agreement. “He looked right at Larry Kudlow and said, ‘Larry go get it done,’” Senator Ben Sasse told reporters after the meeting.