Kudos to Pitfall Harry who accurately predicted the denial and collapse of buffoonery.
Trump Offers “Substantial” Tariff Cuts to China, Waving White Flag of Surrender
In my previous post, I noted Trump Offers “Substantial” Tariff Cuts to China, Waving White Flag of Surrender
Without China offering anything, Trump backs down.
Markets Cheer the White Flag
Today, the markets are cheering the white flag and the new Mr. Nice Guy.
They cheered yesterday when Trump backed off the idiotic idea of firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
There were similar reports by Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal.
Bloomberg reports Trump Floats ‘Substantial’ China Tariff Cuts in Trade Deal
President Donald Trump said he plans to be “very nice” to China in any trade talks and that tariffs will drop if the two countries can reach a deal, a sign he may be backing down from his tough stance on Beijing amid market volatility.
“It will come down substantially but it won’t be zero,” Trump said Tuesday in Washington, following earlier comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that the standoff was unsustainable. Trump added that “we’re going to be very nice and they’re going to be very nice, and we’ll see what happens.”
Trump also said he didn’t see the need to “play hardball” with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and that during discussions he wouldn’t raise Covid-19 — an issue that is politically sensitive in Beijing. The White House recently launched a website that suggested the virus came from a lab in China, irking the nation’s diplomats.
I commented …
The cult will of course insist this is 8D chess, that tariffs will still be used to balance the budget and eliminate the need for an IRS, that Trump will make shoe and underwear manufacturing great again, and all of the other contradictory and nonsensical economic theories of the president.
Fake News
In an addendum. I posted ….
Fake News
A reader called this fake news.
That’s correct in this respect: No one can possibly believe a proven liar who does not honor his own deals.
So what is Trump really offering? Who knows because it’s likely to change tomorrow. [In retrospect, it was hours]
Nonetheless, it’s white flag by Trump. He is trying to find a way to save face. After bragging he held all the cards, Trump clearly capitulated out of the blue.
Universal Strawman
The Wall Street Journal now reports Bessent Says Trump Hasn’t Made Unilateral Offer to Cut Tariffs on China
President Trump hasn’t offered to take down U.S. tariffs on China on a unilateral basis, Bloomberg News quoted Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as saying.
The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, earlier reported that the Trump administration is considering slashing its steep tariffs on Chinese imports in a bid to de-escalate tensions with Beijing.
President Trump hasn’t made a final determination, the people said, adding that the discussions remain fluid and several options are on the table. One administration official said Trump wouldn’t act unilaterally and would need to see some action from Beijing to lower tariffs, the Journal reported.
No one ever said Trump offered to take tariffs down on a “unilateral basis”.
Let’s review one more time precisely what the WSJ said, repeated from above and my article.
President Donald Trump said he plans to be “very nice” to China in any trade talks and that tariffs will drop if the two countries can reach a deal, a sign he may be backing down from his tough stance on Beijing amid market volatility.
“It will come down substantially but it won’t be zero,” Trump said Tuesday in Washington, following earlier comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that the standoff was unsustainable. Trump added that “we’re going to be very nice and they’re going to be very nice, and we’ll see what happens.”
Trump also said he didn’t see the need to “play hardball” with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and that during discussions he wouldn’t raise Covid-19 — an issue that is politically sensitive in Beijing. The White House recently launched a website that suggested the virus came from a lab in China, irking the nation’s diplomats.
Bessent Declined to Comment on the “Nice Guy” WSJ Story
Bessent was asked to comment on the WSJ article and declined to do so. If the “Nice Guy” WSJ story was false, he would have said so.
Instead, Bessent created a strawman over the word “unilateral” after Trump was correctly portrayed as waving the withe flag.
Nothing has changed because no one can believe a thing Trump says anyway. Yet, this still leaves Trump in the same place the day started, desperate for a call from Xi, but no reason for Xi to bother, confirmed by the walk-back.
Fortunately for Trump, there is still a 90 day-delay on reciprocal tariffs, with the definition of reciprocal that has literally nothing to do with tariffs.
This the cult says is 8D chess.
A Trade War Debate, Who Has the Cards, the US or China?
On April 15, 2025, I asked A Trade War Debate, Who Has the Cards, the US or China?
As a practical matter, for now, and for totally different reasons than Alexander lists, I think Xi is in a position to wait out Trump.
Trump has to worry about midterm elections. Xi does not. Trump also has to worry about agricultural retaliations, rare earth elements, and inflation. Xi does not.
China controls 80% of the supply of rare earth minerals needed for military guidance systems, cell phones, wind turbines, car engines, and computer chips.
Moreover, Trump treated Canada and Mexico worse than China until the recent, and massive escalation.
Instead of seeking cooperation from allies to go after China, Trump went after the whole world! This was a seriously stupid mistake, even if one believes in tariffs.
Longer term, I side with Pettis. But the key questions are still unanswered, when and how? And Trump does not even understand the problem.
China should wait for Trump’s call. That offer will only improve.