Tag Archives: trade wars

Reuters reports: President Donald Trump on Sunday welcomed a “cash” payout to American farmers before the Thanksgiving Day holiday that he attributed to China tariffs, but that money actually is part of a U.S. government aid package. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Friday it will begin making a second round of 2019 trade aid payments to U.S. farmers …

Wisconsin’s WHBY reports: The number of farms seeking bankruptcy protection grew 24% over the last year, according to an American Farm Bureau Federation analysis of recent federal court data. The analysis found farm bankruptcies are rising fastest in the Northwest. “We’ve seen low crop prices, low livestock prices for a number of years now,” said chief economist John Newton. “On …

Agence France-Presse reports: The United States imposed tariffs on a record $7.5-billion worth of European Union goods on Friday, despite threats of retaliation, with Airbus, French wine and Scottish whiskies among the high-profile targets. The tariffs, which took effect just after midnight in Washington (0401 GMT), came after talks between European officials and US trade representatives failed to win a …

ABC News reports: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned of a coming tariff hike if China does not finalize the specifics of a newly negotiated partial trade deal announced by President Donald Trump last week. The tariffs on 15% of $160 billion worth of Chinese goods impacting consumer electronics– cellphones, laptops, toys–would go into effect by Dec. 15. It was previously …

The Hill reports: President Trump will impose 25-percent tariffs on certain E.U. agricultural exports and 10-percent tariffs on European-brand aircraft on Oct. 18, the White House announced Wednesday. A senior administration official told reporters during Wednesday briefing that the full list of European goods subject to tariffs will be released as soon as this evening by the White House Office …

MarketWatch reports: Manufacturing contracted for a second consecutive month in September, falling to lowest its level of activity in a decade, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). The group’s production manufacturing index slid to 47.8, down from 49.1 percent in August. Any reading below 50 percent indicates contraction. Trade was one of the main factors weighing down manufacturing. …

Bloomberg Business reports: China hawks in Trump’s administration want Beijing to quit subsidizing strategic industries, yet that hasn’t deterred the White House from doling out billions in aid to American farmers, who have become more dependent on government money than they’ve been in years. At $28 billion so far, the farm rescue is more than twice as expensive as the …

Axios reports: Imports of American products to China dropped to $10.3 billion in August, down 22% from the same month last year. Chinese exports to the U.S. also plummeted to $44.4 billion in August, down 16%. China’s trade surplus with the U.S. shrunk to $31.3 billion in August, down $27 billion from a year prior. Both sides of the escalating …

Via press release from a corn farming advocacy group: As harvest approaches after an extremely difficult year for agriculture, many Nebraska corn farmers are outraged by the Trump administration’s lack of support for the American farmer. President Trump’s administration continues to erode the Renewable Fuel Standards by granting 31 unjustified refinery waivers, destroying demand for corn and ultimately choosing to …

CNBC reports: One day later, China is still insisting no phone calls took place over the weekend that President Donald Trump claimed showed its willingness to talk again. “I have not heard of this situation regarding the two calls that the U.S. mentioned in the weekend,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at press conference on Tuesday. He had …

NBC News reports: President Donald Trump said U.S. and Chinese officials spoke Sunday and he is optimistic China wants to make a deal after the trade war between the two countries escalated in recent days. “They want to make a deal,” Trump told reporters Monday. “That’s a great thing.” Speaking to reporters, Trump heaped praise on Chinese President Xi Jinping …

Politico reports: Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) said Sunday that the “pain that comes with standing up to China” was a necessary aspect of the ongoing trade war between Washington and Beijing. “Every Democrat and every Republican of note has said China cheats,” Graham, one of President Trump’s most vocal allies in the Senate, told CBS’ Margaret Brennan on “Face the …

CBS News reports: President Trump’s top economic adviser says China is bearing the brunt of the escalating trade dispute with the U.S., dismissing fears that reciprocal protectionist policies between the two economic giants will harm the American economy and precipitate a potential recession. “The economic burden of these tariffs is falling most heavily on China, probably by a factor of …

CNBC reports: President Donald Trump will hike tariff rates on most imports from China in response to the latest shots in the trade war between the world’s two largest economies, he said Friday. The White House will raise existing duties on $250 billion in Chinese products to 30% from 25% on Oct. 1, the president tweeted. The tariffs on another …

CNBC reports: China said Friday it will impose new tariffs on $75 billion worth of U.S. goods and resume duties on American autos. The Chinese State Council said it decided to slap tariffs ranging from 5% to 10% on $75 billion U.S. goods in two batches effective on Sep. 1 and Dec. 15. It also said a 25% tariff will …

CNBC reports: U.S. manufacturer growth slowed to the lowest level 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 …

Business Insider reports: Morris Coffman has been a truck driver for 35 years. And he’s been a conservative for even longer than that — his whole life. “That said,” Coffman told Business Insider, “[Trump] is absolutely a moron. His idiotic ideas will tank the economy even further.” Truckers, like Coffman, lean conservative. A Verdant Labs analysis of Federal Elections Commission …

USA Today reports: As financial markets tumbled Wednesday over concerns about international trade, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to defend his administration’s tariff war with China and to take his latest swipe at the nation’s central bank. “We are winning, big time, against China,” Trump wrote on Twitter, despite few signs of progress in negotiating a new trade agreement …

CNBC reports: U.S. farmers lost one of their biggest customers this week after China officially cancelled all purchases of U.S. agricultural products, a retaliatory move following President Donald Trump’s pledge to slap 10% tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese imports. China’s exit piles on to a devastating year for farmers, who have struggled through record flooding and an extreme heat …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Thursday put renewed pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, arguing the strength of the U.S. dollar is hurting American manufacturers. In a series of tweets, Trump accused the Fed of hindering U.S. exports by keeping interest rates relatively high compared to other economic powers. He suggested the central bank should weaken …