Free Republic

WASHINGTON—President Trump’s sudden escalation of the trade war with China last month triggered a telephone call from billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson, who warned the president about the conflict’s impact on the U.S. economy and Mr. Trump’s re-election prospects, according to people familiar with the call. During his call with Mr. Trump, Mr. Adelson focused on the broader implications of the U.S.-China trade war and their potential political consequences for Mr. Trump, according to one of the people, and not on his own company’s situation. Mr. Adelson is chairman and chief executive of Las Vegas Sands Corp. The casino company...

President Donald Trump’s tariffs have created the “perfect storm” at the wrong moment for the housing industry, California builders say. The California Building Industry Association estimates tariffs have driven up the cost of an average-size new home by $20,000 to $30,000.

President Donald Trump wanted to double tariff rates on Chinese goods last month after Beijing’s latest retaliation in a boiling trade war before settling on a smaller increase, three sources told CNBC. The president was outraged after he learned Aug. 23 that China had formalized plans to slap duties on $75 billion in U.S. products in response to new tariffs from Washington on Sept. 1. His initial reaction, communicated to aides on a White House trade call held that day, was to suggest doubling existing tariffs, according to three people briefed on the matter. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S....

President Donald Trump on Friday argued “badly run and weak companies” have blamed his trade war with China for flagging business in order to mask “bad management.” His tweet comes as more companies from a range of industries have started to slam his tariffs on about $550 billion in Chinese goods. Earlier this week, more than 160 industry groups criticized Trump’s latest move to slap duties on Chinese products.

President Donald Trump on Friday attacked General Motors for its significant presence in China and questioned whether the automaker should move the operations to the U.S. Trump, in a tweet, said GM, “once the Giant of Detroit, is now one of the smallest auto manufacturers there. They moved major plants to China, BEFORE I CAME INTO OFFICE. This was done despite the saving help given them by the USA. Now they should start moving back to America again?” Many of the claims in the tweet against the Detroit automaker were misleading or inaccurate, according to industry data and officials.

The public continues to hear or read that President Trump's trade policies are hurting the U.S. economy and destroying our relationship with the world and hurting the U.S. consumer.  They say the tariffs are especially harmful and causing price increases.  I am having trouble finding factual data that support those talking points.  Why do we see general statements in the media instead of the actual data? Here are some of the data: In 2016, the last year of President Obama, exports were $1.45 trillion, and imports were $2.19 trillion. In 2017, the first year of President Trump, exports were $1.55 trillion (up around...

<p>Support for the president rebounded in the past year, with 67% of farmers saying they’d back him for reelection in 2020, according to a survey of 1,150 growers carried out by Farm Futures between July 21 and Aug. 3. That’s up from last year, when backing fell to just under 60% following the introduction of Chinese retaliatory tariffs on American soybeans...</p>

WASHINGTON/DECATUR, Ill. (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Wednesday made official its extra 5% tariff on $300 billion in Chinese imports and set collection dates of Sept. 1 and Dec. 15, prompting hundreds of U.S. retail, footwear, toy and technology companies to warn of price hikes.

President Donald Trump said the U.S. will hike tariffs on most imports from China as his trade war with Beijing escalates. The U.S. will raise duties on $250 billion in Chinese goods to 30% from 25%, and increase tariffs on another $300 billion in products to 15% from 10%. Earlier, China announced new tariffs on $75 billion in U.S. goods — and Trump ordered U.S. companies to find an “alternative” to operating in China.

Steve Bannon, former White House Chief Strategist, sits down with hedge fund giant Kyle Bass to discuss America’s current geopolitical landscape regarding China. Bannon and Bass take a deep dive into Chinese infiltration in U.S. institutions, China’s aggressiveness in the South China sea, and the potential for global conflict in the next few years. Filmed on October 5, 2018 at an undisclosed location.

HUGE! China Caves — Announces Willingness to Seek Calm End to Trade War After Markets CrashThe regime can either give the US what it wants or perish. President Trump recognizes that China is in an all out war with the US in regards to information and economics. For years Western leaders have done nothing but negotiate into weak positions, never standing up to the Communist regime. Former US Presidents treated China like they did Russia 50 years ago, as their superior always giving them what they wanted and never standing up to their abuse and criminal acts.

President Donald Trump is attending the G7 Summit in Biarritz, France this weekend. The liberal mainstream media was pretty certain this would be a complete disaster and that the countries were at odds. This is what they reported for several days before the summit began. Then President Trump dropped this wonderful news on Sunday.

U.S. manufacturer growth slowed to the lowest in almost 10 years in August, the latest sign that the trade war may be exacerbating the economic slowdown. The U.S. manufacturing PMI (purchasing managers index) was 49.9 in August, down from 50.4 in July and below the neutral 50.0 threshold for the first time since September 2009, according to IHS Markit. Any reading below 50 signals a contraction. “Manufacturing companies continued to feel the impact of slowing global economic conditions,” Tim Moore, economics associate director at Markit, said in a statement on Thursday. “August’s survey data provides a clear signal that economic...

On the eve of World War II, the Republican Party was a shell of the one that had dominated presidential politics from the Civil War through the onset of the Great Depression. Two individuals saved the GOP and made it relevant again. Dwight Eisenhower ran on an internationalist platform in 1952, favoring foreign aid to Europe, the new military alliance called NATO and an aggressive stance against Soviet Communism, thereby asserting U.S. world leadership. He vanquished his isolationist foe, Sen. Robert Taft, for the GOP nomination in 1952 and then won the first Republican presidential victory in 20 years. In...

The popular narrative goes that because President Trump launched a trade war against China, China has retaliated by tariffing agriculture products from red states that voted for Trump. False. You’ve all seen the headlines: “China is hitting the U.S. where it hurts: Soybeans,” and “China takes aim at America’s soybean farmers,” and “Soybean farmers are still paying for Trump’s trade war” (all from CNN).The popular narrative goes that because President Trump launched a trade war against China, China has retaliated by tariffing America’s chief export to China—agricultural products—which happen to mostly come from red states that voted for Trump. China...

Beneath a blazing mid-August sun at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines last week, liberal voters crowded around the Des Moines Register’s political soapbox to hear the Democratic presidential candidates speak. Meanwhile, on the other side of the fairground, farmers in the sheep, cattle and swine barns tended to their animals. A Trump poster hung from a rafter in the sheep barn and a Trump flag flew in front of a row of massive black cows in the cattle barn. Yet the farmers—who will play a key role in the 2020 presidential race in Iowa—didn’t talk much about politics...

"Trump says he delayed tariffs because of concerns over Christmas shopping season" “We’re doing this for the Christmas season,” Trump told reporters on an airport tarmac around noon Tuesday. “Just in case some of the tariffs would have an impact on U.S. customers.” “So far they’ve had virtually none,” the president added. “But just in case they might have an impact on people, what we’ve done is we’ve delayed it, so that they won’t be relevant to the Christmas shopping season.”

A new Pew Research Center poll finds that 60% say they have an unfavorable view of China — up from 47% last year to the highest proportion since Pew started asking the question 14 years ago. The survey results being released Tuesday found that 24% of Americans regard China as America’s top threat for the future, the same percentage that said so of Russia. North Korea (12 was the only other country to draw double-digit concern. […] Still, the poll finds that only 41% of Americans believe that China’s growing economy is a bad thing for the United States, compared...

The pace of companies moving production out of China is accelerating as more than 50 multinationals from Apple to Nintendo to Dell are rushing to escape the punitive tariffs placed by the U.S., according to the Nikkei Asian review. The trade war between the U.S. and China has dragged on for more than a year with 25% tariffs placed on $200 billion of Chinese goods. President Donald Trump is still threatening to slap duties on another $325 billion of goods. In wake of the intensifying battle, more and more companies announced plans or are considering shifting manufacturing from China. American...