Tag: tariff

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin Backs Trump’s Tariff Threat Against Mexico, Predicts ‘Extraordinary Economic Expansion in America’

Tom Pappert
Glenn Youngkin

Governor Glenn Youngkin on Tuesday confirmed he supports President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to impose new tariffs against Mexico to compel the neighboring nation to cut the flow of fentanyl over the southern border. Youngkin argues that Trump’s plans will ignite an expansion in manufacturing for Virginia.

Youngkin reportedly confirmed his support for Trump’s tariffs during a Tuesday press conference, as he provided an update on the commonwealth’s efforts to curtail fentanyl overdoses with Attorney General Jason Miyares.

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President-Elect Trump Targets Mexico, Canada, and China with Heavy Tariffs over Fentanyl Crisis

Christina Botteri
Trump Canada

In a new move aimed at addressing the growing concerns over illegal immigration and the influx of drugs into the United States, President-elect Donald Trump announced Monday his plans to impose significant tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China. Trump’s statements, made on TruthSocial, outlined economic measures to tackle what he described as a “crisis” of crime, drugs, and illegal immigration.

Trump began by addressing the situation at the southern border, where he described an ongoing caravan of migrants traveling through Mexico.

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Shoe Giant ‘Steve Madden’ Speeds Up Shifting Production Exit from China Following Trump Victory

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Steve Madden

by Ireland Owens   Steven Madden said Thursday that it is accelerating plans to shift production out of China in anticipation of President-elect Donald Trump introducing increased tariffs on imported goods when he returns to office, according to Bloomberg. The New York-based retailer said in a company earnings call Thursday that it is now planning to reduce products manufactured in China by 40% within the next year, according to Bloomberg. The company had previously set a target of a 10% reduction within the next year, according to Bloomberg. “As of yesterday morning, we are putting that plan into motion,” Steve Madden CEO Edward Rosenfeld told analysts on an earnings call Thursday, Bloomberg reported. Trump beat Vice President Kamala Harris in his bid for reelection, securing 270 electoral votes by about 2 a.m. EST on Wednesday following his winning in the key battleground states of North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Georgia. The U.S. stock market soared Wednesday following the Republican’s victory. The president-elect previously proposed increasing tariffs on various imported goods, including saying in September that he would impose a 200% tariff on John Deere’s tractors if it closed an American factory and moved production outside of the U.S. to Mexico. Trump has also promised to enact policies aimed at accelerating domestic production throughout…

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Commentary: From Currency Manipulation to Intellectual Theft and More, Always Remember China Cheats

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by Rick Manning   China cheats. All of those who get worked up over negligible increases in U.S. tariffs on Chinese made goods, please remember this basic fact – China cheats. China manipulates their currency by artificially pegging it well below the dollar, and devaluing it further to offset tariff impacts, because they desperately want, no need, to maintain their U.S. market share to keep their economy running. China also steals U.S. company’s intellectual property and then sells that innovation around the world for pennies on the dollar. China then dumps products onto the U.S. market with the intent of driving U.S. manufacturers who are the innovators out of business so they can be sole source providers of critical component parts.  They not only do this directly from China but also utilize other countries as pass-throughs for Chinese originating goods, as well as steel and aluminum products, and this is a big problem for the world. America’s energy industry is thriving and the President’s stated goal of energy dominance is within sight, but Chinese dumping onto U.S. markets of couplings which hold together sections of drilling pipe threatens everything.  This three year old strategically targeted play by the Chinese to…

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US-China Trade Dispute Triggering Production Exodus

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by Joyce Huang   U.S. tech giant Apple has reportedly asked its major suppliers, mainly China-based manufacturers from Taiwan, to consider moving 15 to 30% of their production outside of China to avoid higher tariffs imposed on U.S.-bound exports. The production migration, which analysts say is already ongoing,will hurt the tech giant’s profit margin, but also lead to massive job losses in China. They add that such shifts have also occurred over the past year among other China-based tech suppliers and the trend will continue if the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies keeps escalating. “Over the past year, to my understanding, manufacturers in the information [technology] sector, for example, [China-based Taiwanese] suppliers of personal computers or consumer electronics have moved faster than handset makers and relocated [part of] their assembly lines outside China,” says Sean Kao, senior research manager at IDC Taiwan on worldwide hardware assembly research. Caught in the Crossfire Tech companies such as Apple are caught in the crossfire of U.S.-China trade frictions and face the threat of heavy punitive taxes on their China-made, U.S.-bound products. Earlier this month, U.S. President Trump said he would decide whether to slap Beijing with further tariffs on another…

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Huawei Founder Says Revenue Will Be Billions Below Forecast

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  Huawei’s founder said Monday that the Chinese telecom giant’s revenue will be $30 billion less than forecast over the next two years, as he compared the company to a “badly damaged plane” in the face of U.S. government actions against it. “We never thought that the U.S.’s determination to attack Huawei would be so strong, so firm,” Ren Zhengfei (pictured above), who is also the CEO, said during a panel discussion at company headquarters in Shenzhen. Ren said Huawei will reduce capacity and expects revenues of about $100 billion annually for the next two years, compared to $105 billion in 2018. In February, he said the company was targeting $125 billion in 2019. Huawei’s overseas cellphone sales will drop by 40%, Ren said, confirming a Bloomberg report published Sunday. But the Chinese market is growing rapidly, and Huawei will not allow restrictive measures to curb its research and development, he added. Huawei is embroiled in an ongoing trade dispute between China and the U.S., which has accused Chinese companies such as Huawei of committing forced technology transfers and stealing trade secrets. Last month, the U.S. placed Huawei on its “Entity List,” which effectively bars American companies from selling components…

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India Hikes Tariffs on U.S. Goods Amid Deepening Trade Friction

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  India has hiked tariffs on 28 goods imported from the United States as a trade spat between the two countries intensifies. The retaliatory move came days after Washington removed New Delhi from a list of countries that have preferential access to its market. “India has put its cards on the table,” says trade expert Biswajit Dhar at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. “The U.S. has upped the ante and it is also threatening to take further action. This required India to respond.” The trade spat has escalated ahead of a visit later this month to New Delhi by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who has pushed India to allow American companies more access to its markets and to lower barriers. Experts fear the growing tensions could cast a shadow over a deepening India-U.S. strategic partnership that aims at countering China’s growing influence. The American goods that attract higher tariffs beginning Sunday include almonds, apples, walnuts, chickpeas and lentils, as well as some stainless steel products. New Delhi is the largest importer of U.S. almonds and the second largest buyer of apples. The total impact of the Indian tariffs is estimated to be about $240 million. Increased deferred…

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US Treasury Chief: Trump ‘Perfectly Happy’ to Tax More Chinese Imports

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  Treasury chief Steven Mnuchin said Sunday that President Donald Trump would be “perfectly happy” to tax more imports from China if the U.S. leader cannot reach a trade deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping when they meet later this month. “We made enormous progress, I think we had a deal that was almost 90% done,” Mnuchin told CNBC. “China wanted to go backwards on certain things,” which Beijing has denied. “We’ve stopped negotiating,” Mnuchin said, with the next steps depending on Trump’s meeting with Xi in Osaka, Japan at the G-20 meeting of world leaders at the end of June. “The president will make a decision [on tariffs] after the meeting,” Mnuchin said. “I believe if China is willing to move forward on the terms that we were discussing, we’ll have an agreement. If they’re not, we will proceed with tariffs.” Trump has already imposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, but now is weighing whether to tax an additional $325 billion worth of Chinese products, a move that would encompass virtually all Chinese goods exported to the U.S. The world’s two biggest economies have sparred for months over a trade deal, but not been able to…

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Experts: Tariffs in the Offing for India as President Trump Wages War on ‘Unfair Trade’

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by Michael Bastach   The Trump administration’s decision to rescind trade preferences with India could be a sign that more tariffs are on the horizon, experts say. U.S. trade officials announced Friday the end of special trade treatment on $6 billion worth of goods from India because the country has “not assured the United States that India will provide equitable and reasonable access to its markets.” Those Indian goods were exempted from tariffs under what’s called the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). Special trade treatment will end Wednesday, suggesting to trade experts President Donald Trump is expanding war against the U.S. trade deficit. “This could potentially presage a new trade investigation and, possibly, tariffs,” analysts ClearView Energy Partners wrote in a report released Monday morning. ClearView analysts said the Trump administration may be weighing a Section 301 investigation, which could lead to retaliatory tariffs if trade officials find India’s trade policies hurt U.S. commerce. Trump has criticized India’s “unfair” trade practices, which he says hurts U.S. companies and workers. “As we discussed in March, the termination of India’s duty exemptions – and especially the imposition of new tariffs – could potentially draw retaliation against U.S. coal exports, a nontrivial risk for U.S. producers,”…

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Immigration Talks Already Underway as Mexico Rushes to Stave Off Tariff Threat

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by Jason Hopkins   Top Mexican government officials are in the United States as they attempt to dissuade the Trump administration from following though on tariff threats. A high-level delegation of Mexican officials, including Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard and Economy Minister Graciela Marquez, held a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Monday. Speaking from the Mexican embassy, the two leaders publicly called on the U.S. to reach a deal with their government instead of resorting to a tariff war. The press conference and meeting come before the two countries are set to kick off official negotiations Wednesday. Mexican and U.S. delegations will try to reach a deal on the immigration crisis before a White House-imposed deadline quickly approaches. The rush to reach a compromise comes after President Donald Trump on Thursday announced a 5% tax on all goods coming from Mexico beginning June 10, unless their government can prove that it is doing more to stop the record-flow of illegal migration running through its borders. Tariffs on Mexican goods, he added, would increase by 5% every month, with the rate reaching as high as 25% by October if Mexico fails to satisfy U.S. demands. Trump on Sunday continued to hammer the country for its perceived inaction…

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Trump: US to Impose Higher Tariffs on Chinese Exports

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Donald Trump, Xi Jinping

  President Trump, looking to pressure China to speed up talks on a new trade agreement, says that starting Friday he will impose sharply higher tariffs on billions of dollars of Chinese exports to the United States. Trump said Sunday on Twitter, “For 10 months, China has been paying Tariffs to the USA of 25% on 50 Billion Dollars of High Tech, and 10% on 200 Billion Dollars of other goods. These payments are partially responsible for our great economic results.” He said, “The 10% will go up to 25% on Friday. 325 Billions Dollars of additional goods sent to us by China remain untaxed, but will be shortly, at a rate of 25%. The Tariffs paid to the USA have had little impact on product cost, mostly borne by China. The Trade Deal with China continues, but too slowly, as they attempt to renegotiate. No!” ….of additional goods sent to us by China remain untaxed, but will be shortly, at a rate of 25%. The Tariffs paid to the USA have had little impact on product cost, mostly borne by China. The Trade Deal with China continues, but too slowly, as they attempt to renegotiate. No! — Donald J.…

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American Farmers Support Trump Despite Tariffs

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by Tim Pearce   American farmers are sticking behind President Donald Trump despite a trade agenda that makes selling produce to foreign countries more difficult and less profitable, Bloomberg reported. The United States’s ongoing trade war with China is a primary concern for U.S. farmers that sell crops, especially soybeans, overseas. While Trump’s view on and use of tariffs are not popular in the agriculture community, many of his other policies are. “We send [China] a lot of soybeans,” Aron Carlson, who farms corn and soy in Indiana, told Bloomberg. “They’re basically buying every other bushel in the world and we’re the last invited to the table, and I don’t like to be last. I want to be front and center, as far as that stuff goes.” “I hope he can get the whole trade thing with China figured out. I think we need to quit picking some fights,” Carlson said. Carlson voted for Trump and is still backing the president, though his support is “softening.” In the ongoing fight over the partial government shutdown and funding for a border wall with Mexico, Carlson agrees with Trump that there are “serious problems going on with that border.” Also, farmers are willing to take short-term financial hits…

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China’s Economy Isn’t What It’s Cracked Up to Be

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by Gabriella Beaumont-Smith   China is a rising economic power that will threaten the United States’ place as the world’s biggest economy. At least, that’s the narrative we’ve become familiar with. But does it really hold up? Economists use gross domestic product to measure the size and growth of national economies. GDP is based on the real value of what is produced. It’s usually measured by calculating how much money was spent in one country during a single year. In terms of GDP growth, no country has been hyped up more than China. The World Bank reported that in 2017, China had become the world’s largest economy with a GDP topping $23 trillion. By comparison, United States GDP in 2017 was just over $19 trillion. Indeed, China’s growth has been impressive. Over the last 25 years, its economy has grown at an average rate of 9.6 percent a year. But China’s economy still isn’t as big as it’s often advertised, and that’s because a misleading measure is used. The measure is called the purchasing power parity exchange rate. This exchange rate tells us how much money you would need in China to be as wealthy as you are in the…

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Jeff Webb Commentary: Stop Carping About Tariffs

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by Jeff Webb   The economic revival we have experienced since the election of Donald Trump is getting a new boost from what would traditionally be viewed as an unlikely source – trade tariffs. The multipronged attack by this administration on the sluggish economy of the previous eight years is based on reducing corporate and individual taxes, providing capital investment incentives, dramatically reducing strangling regulations and a full assault on unfair and one sided international trade relationships. It should now be clear that the president is using the threat of US tariffs to incent other nations to abandon their policies that have in many cases led to the elimination of millions of jobs and made it next to impossible for US companies to do business in their respective countries. Mr. Trump is playing the long game here.  He knows that addressing these unfair practices will help boost the overall economy and reverse the outflow of manufacturing jobs that has eviscerated the middle class in our country over the past 25 years.  It will also provide new markets for American companies and address the theft of intellectual property and technology. It is disingenuous to paint the picture that the president is…

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Analysis: President Trump Uses the Power of Tariffs to Correct Unfair Chinese Trade Imbalances

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President Donald Trump is levying 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods shipped to the U.S., rising to 25 percent in Jan. 2019, coming atop a 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods from China. Trump has warned if China retaliates, another $267 billion of tariffs will follow. On Twitter, Trump briefly discussed the tariffs, writing, “Tariffs have put the U.S. in a very strong bargaining position, with Billions of Dollars, and Jobs, flowing into our Country — and yet cost increases have thus far been almost unnoticeable. If countries will not make fair deals with us, they will be ‘Tariffed!’” Tariffs have put the U.S. in a very strong bargaining position, with Billions of Dollars, and Jobs, flowing into our Country – and yet cost increases have thus far been almost unnoticeable. If countries will not make fair deals with us, they will be “Tariffed!” — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 17, 2018 On the question of price increases, so far Trump is correct. While steel and aluminum have seen brief spikes in prices on commodities markets, it has no fed into overall consumer and producer inflation. If the question boils down to “Who has more to lose in a trade, the U.S. or…

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US Solar Projects Surging After Trump Tariffs

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by Jason Hopkins   Despite apocalyptic warnings from trade experts, the U.S. solar industry has experienced rapid growth since President Donald Trump enacted tariffs on foreign-made solar panels. When Trump fist announced in January that his administration would impose levies on solar panel imports, leaders in the industry predicted doom and gloom. Many critics offered fiery public condemnation of the move. “It boggles my mind that this president — any president, really — would voluntarily choose to damage one of the fastest-growing segments of our economy,” Tony Clifford, chief development officer for Standard Solar, stated at the time. “This decision is misguided and denies the reality that bankrupt foreign companies will be the beneficiaries of an American taxpayer bailout.” Clifford was far from alone in believing tariffs on foreign solar modules would stunt growth. The Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA), a major trade group in the country, predicted the Trump tariffs would result in 23,000 project managers, engineers and installers losing their jobs. The SEIA believed one-third of the 260,000 U.S. workers in the solar industry would also be at risk of unemployment in the long term. The tariffs — requested by Suniva and SolarWorld, two American companies hit hard by foreign…

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Tennessee Voters Back Trump Tariff and Tax Policies

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Although the federal tax cuts promoted by President Donald Trump and passed by the Republican Congress, without a single Democrat vote in support of the plan, are not yet fully in place Tennessee voters support the plan according to a new Tennessee Star poll conducted in early September. The tax cut plan produced immediate bonuses for many workers, but most voters won’t see the actual benefits until they file their 2018 tax returns in 2019.  Nevertheless, the issue is becoming a talking point in the 2018 election cycle in Tennessee and other states. The Tennessee Star poll asked likely November general election voters whether the new tax laws had produced any impact. Forty-one percent said the new tax laws had been “for the better” for them; 16.1% said “for the worse”, 34% “not much impact so far”, and 8.9% were not sure or didn’t know. Most economic experts have credited the tax law changes, along with Trump Administration regulatory reform, with spurring the financial gains generated in the past year that have produced record lows of unemployment among blacks and hispanics, record levels of employment and wage gains, and an apparent boom in manufacturing reinvestment. Numerous “gloom and doom” predictions…

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Commentary: President Trump’s Pro-American Worker Push Makes Labor Day a Time to Celebrate

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Tennessee Star

by Jeffery Rendall   Perhaps it’s fitting heading into Labor Day weekend that we should talk about jobs – not necessarily how many Americans have them versus those that don’t and are still searching, but how conditions are improving in the employment market and who’s reaping the benefits. First came the announcement earlier this week that the United States and Mexico had agreed to ditch the old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in favor of a new pact that will help even out trade imbalances between the two countries and hopefully put smiles on the faces of workers above and below the southern border. Naturally President Donald Trump turned the significant occasion into a “must see” TV moment. Jordan Fabian and Vicki Needham reported at The Hill, “President Trump said Monday the U.S. has reached an agreement with Mexico amid contentious talks on revamping the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)… “’It’s a big day for trade. It’s a big day for our country,’ the president told reporters in the Oval Office, who were summoned to watch Trump speak by phone with outgoing Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. “Trump cast doubt on whether Canada would be party to a new trade agreement,…

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China Scrambles To Blunt The Force Of Trump’s Tariffs With Over $100 Billion Injection

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Xi Jinping

by Hannah Bogorowski   China’s central bank announced late Sunday that it is planning to unleash nearly 700 billion yuan ($107.5 billion) into the financial system by cutting the amount of cash some banks must hold as reserves by 50 basis points. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said on Sunday that the latest reduction in some banks’ reserve requirement ratios (RRRs), currently 16 percent for large banks and 14 percent for smaller banks, will take effect on July 5, according to CNBC. “This move will help support the real economy and stabilize financial markets. We’ve seen rising debt defaults and funding strains on small firms, as well as a sharp adjustment in the capital market,” Beijing’s chief economist at Zhongyuan Bank, Wang Jun said. Sunday’s announcement followed the worst weekly loss in the country’s stock market since February, as President Donald Trump’s threatening trade war looms over the country. China’s net exports were already lagging in growth for the first quarter, according to analysts at CNBC, emphasizing the need for strong and stabilized economy before the tariffs hit. This latest RRR cut will take effect a day before the awaited tariffs will be applied, as China and the United States are…

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Kudlow: Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau Betrayed Us, ‘Stabbed Us In The Back’

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Larry Kudlow

by Robert Donachie   White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Sunday that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “stabbed” the U.S. “in the back” when he announced his nation will impose retaliatory tariffs against America. President Donald Trump, Trudeau and other leaders of the G7 nations — Britain, Canada, Japan, Italy and Germany –met for a two-day summit over the weekend to discuss the possibility of ending a potential trade war. “We had long night sessions. He (the president) was a participant. Not only did we play, we were in the communique. Team players, really, really, team players here to help the Western alliance and then Trudeau throws him under the bus with very harsh language,” Kudlow told Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union.”  “Jake, it was a betrayal. It was a kip diplomatic betrayal. That is not good, and we were close to negotiating a trade deal with Mr. Trudeau,” Kudlow said. Trudeau announced in a post-summit press conference that Canada is considering imposing tariffs against the U.S. if America does not back away from tariffs on steel and aluminum. “The United States has moved forward with significant tariffs on our steel and aluminum industry,” Trudeau said. “I highlighted that it was not helping in our renegotiation of…

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Trump to EU: We’ll Drop Our Tariffs If You Drop Yours First

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President Donald Trump said Saturday he would spare the European Union his steel and aluminum tariffs if the bloc halts its own trade barriers to US products, in his latest round of economic hardball. The duties of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum have stung the EU, along with other major partners including Japan, and European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem said earlier Washington had failed to clarify how its allies could be spared.

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Trump’s Steel Tariffs Protect National Security, End $8 Billion in Foreign Aid Annually to Canada, Mexico, South Korea and Brazil

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By Robert Romano   President Donald Trump is keeping the promise he made in 2016 and is protecting the American steel industry, instituting a 25 percent tariff across the board on steel imports. No nations are excluded. The move comes as the U.S. imported 34.5 million metric tons from around the world, a 16 percent increase from 2016 when it was 30 million metric tons. In comparison, while America’s steelworks are heating up once again, they comparatively only grew by 3.4 percent in 2017 according to the International Trade Administration to 81.6 million metric tons from 78.5 million metric tons. This flooding of U.S. markets is designed to drive down prices here by dumping subsidized steel products here, making it harder for domestic producers to maintain market share. The imported steel is much cheaper. In the event of war, keeping U.S. productive capacity at high levels is critical, to prevent shortages at a time when production would be needed the most and imports cannot be guaranteed. As the Commerce Department noted in its recommendation for instituting the tariffs: “Domestic steel production is essential for national security applications. Statutory provisions illustrate that Congress believes domestic production capability is essential for defense requirements and critical…

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Trump: Sometimes ‘Trade Wars Are Good’

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President Donald Trump responded Friday to strong criticisms that his pursuit of punitive trade measures will trigger a trade war with a tweet arguing that sometimes “trade wars are good.” Following recent decisions to place tariffs on imported washing machines, solar panels, and aluminum foil, the president announced Thursday that the U.S. will put tariffs of 25 percent on foreign-made steel and 10 percent on aluminum. This move was set in motion by a Department of Commerce report released last month that recommended restricting imports of foreign steel and aluminum to protect national security.

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US Subsidiary of South Korea’s LG Will Increase Washing Machine Prices Due to US Tariffs

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The US subsidiary of South Korea’s LG Electronics warned retailers on Wednesday that it will raise prices of its washing machines following import duties imposed by the Trump administration this week. It was the first concrete reaction to the trade measures announced this week that have angered US trading partners. “As a result of the trade…

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Rick Manning Commentary: Reciprocity Is the Key to Lasting, Prosperous Trade

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by Rick Manning   You know, as a non-economist, when I received the invitation to participate in this forum, I kind of felt like a Christian being invited into the Coliseum to meet the lions for lunch.  However, since this debate is largely a political and not an economic question, I am confident that the audience will find that I have some smooth stones at my disposal to take down Goliath. After listening to the affirmative, I want to remind the audience of what this debate is about. The affirmative must prove this resolution: “The U.S. government should unilaterally abolish all tariffs and duties on imports and all subsidies to exports, thereby making all reciprocal trade agreements with other countries unnecessary.” This resolution rises or falls on three words: UNILATERALLY, SHOULD and UNNECESSARY. Because ultimately, the affirmative demands that the U.S. should, in the real world, take unilateral actions, which in practical application will cause reciprocal trade agreements to become unnecessary. So, as we begin we will exam these three areas. Let’s start with the terms unilateral and reciprocal. Unilateral action is the opposite of seeking reciprocal trade agreements as a precondition to lowering tariffs and lifting subsidies. But reciprocity is not merely a negotiating…

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