5/10起，川普課徵2000項中國產品25％之關稅

【Comment】

川普增關稅，此時忽然推自經區的人，就是紅色代言人。有很清楚的足跡。

Finally, as we prospected, President Trump announced to raise the tariffs on 2000 items Chinese goods, virtually most of the Chinese products, from 10% to 25%.

“Currently, almost half of China’s sales to America are affected by tariffs and Trump is now aiming for the remaining $325bn.,” as the Guardian stated.

Chinese companies may try to bypassing the origin through Taiwan to get a clean Certificate of Origin.  See who is promoting “FEPZs－Free Economic Pilot Zones” now.  They are definitely China-friendly politicos or even the red agitators in Taiwan.

This is a strategic move, not “making substantial progress on important structural issues and re-balancing the U.S.-China trade relationship” as the White House Press secretary Sarah Sanders indicated.

It is just a matter of time.  That is we prospected it will be as such.

Trump says tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods will increase to 25%, blames slow progress in trade talks    20190504

President Donald Trump said Sunday that tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods will increase to 25% on Friday, despite repeated claims by the administration in recent weeks that trade talks with Beijing were going well.

The tariff rate on those goods was originally set at 10%.  Trump had initially threatened to increase the tariffs at the start of the year, but postponed that decision after China and the U.S. agreed to sit down for trade talks.

In addition, Trump threatened to impose 25% tariffs on an additional $325 billion of Chinese goods “shortly.”

The president said that trade talks with China are continuing, but are moving too slowly as Beijing tries to re-negotiate.

The U.S. imports goods from China totaling $539.5 billion and the trade deficit stood at $419.2 billion in 2018, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.  If Trump follows through with his threats, virtually all goods imported from China to the U.S. would face some sort of tariff.

On Friday, Vice President Mike Pence told CNBC that Trump remained hopeful that he could strike a deal with China.

The White House said Wednesday the latest round of talks had moved Beijing and Washington closer to an agreement.  Press secretary Sarah Sanders said, “Discussions remain focused toward making substantial progress on important structural issues and re-balancing the U.S.-China trade relationship.”

There had been multiple reports that China and U.S. were close to a trade deal, and an agreement could come as soon as Friday.

Major sticking points between the U.S. and China have been intellectual property theft and forced technology transfers.  There has also been disagreement as to whether tariffs should be removed or remain in place as an enforcement mechanism.

The S&P 500 is up more than 17% this year, partly on optimism that a trade agreement with China is coming soon.  Apple CEO Tim Cook, for example, said on the company’s earnings call last week that improved dialogue on trade and Beijing’s economic stimulus had improved consumer confidence in the country.

“We certainly feel a lot better than we did 90 days ago,” Cook said.

In January, Apple cut its earnings guidance due in large part to softening demand for iPhones in China.

“If you look at our results, our shortfall is over 100 percent from iPhone and it’s primarily in greater China,” Cook told CNBC at the time.  “It’s clear that the economy began to slow there for the second half and what I believe to be the case is the trade tensions between the United States and China put additional pressure on their economy.”

However, Apple’s stock has rebounded amid White House optimism about a China trade deal.  The company’s shares are up 34% year to date.

Trump escalates trade war with China with plan to raise tariffs    The Guardian 20190504

Move to hike import tax to 25% is blow to hopes that US and China were closing in on deal

Donald Trump has escalated the trade war with China by announcing plans to hike the tariff imposed on $200bn of Chinese goods from 10% to 25% on Friday.

The US president also threatened to impose tariffs on all Chinese trade with America, a move that could further destabilise relations between the two economic powers.

The move is a blow to hopes that Washington and Beijing could be nearing a deal to end the trade dispute that began last year.

The president announced the move on Twitter, complaining that negotiations between the two countries were proceeding too slowly.

He tweeted:

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. The 10% will go up to 25% on Friday. 325 Billions Dollars....

The move will affect more than 5,000 products made by Chinese farms and factories, from fresh and frozen food to chemicals, textiles, metalwork, building materials, electronics and consumer goods.

Trump originally imposed a 10% tariff on these goods last September in an attempt to cut America’s trade deficit with China and force concessions on issues such as intellectual property rights.  It had been scheduled to jump to 25% in January but the president held back while talks between the two sides continued.

Currently, almost half of China’s sales to America are affected by tariffs and Trump is now aiming for the remaining $325bn.

He warned: “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!”

Such a move could cause further pain and disruption to the Chinese economy, and probably trigger retaliatory action by Beijing.

Patrick Chovanec, chief strategist at Silvercrest Asset Management, warned that Trump’s move could disappoint investors and push -markets down.

“The prospect of higher and broader tariffs was one factor that drove markets down in the fourth quarter of 2018, but markets have since come to believe that some sort of deal was imminent to avoid them,” Chovanec said.

But Reva Goujon, vice president for global analysis at Stratfor, suggested that Trump’s move could be a ploy to help get negotiations over the line.

Reva Goujon@RevaGoujon

#Trump threat to impose 25% #tariffs on remaining Chinese goods may ironically be a sign of real progress.  US, #China are nearing final deal but were bound to hit a wall.  China shd have been expecting the Trump threat in final stages, could have compromise in back pocket ready..

Economists have blamed the US-China trade war for a slowdown in global growth in recent months.

The US treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, and trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, held talks with China’s vice-premier, Liu He, in Beijing last week.  Liu was expected back in Washington within days.

Despite Trump’s claim that China pays these tariffs, they are actually paid by US companies when they import goods.  Those firms can choose to pass the cost on to their customers through high prices, absorb the cost and lower their profits, or try to negotiate the cost of the goods down.