Unless something significant happens in the next twelve days, Trump's tariffs on all remaining Chinese goods will go into effect on December 15th according to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
China's foreign ministry recently invited Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Trump's trade representative Robert Lighthizer to Beijing for more face-to-face talks but, during his appearance on CNBC today, Ross said there are no high-level talks scheduled to take place before the 15th.
Ross also claimed that delaying a deal for another year would be great.
“That takes off the table something that they may think gives them some leverage. Because once the election occurs — and the president seems to be in very good shape for the election — once it occurs and he’s back in, now that’s no longer a distraction that can detract from our negotiating position,” Ross said in an interview on “Squawk on the Street.” [...]
Ross told CNBC he expects staff-level trade talks between the U.S. and China to continue but added that no high-level discussions between the world’s two largest economies are scheduled before the Dec. 15 deadline.
If investors, fund managers, or anyone with a retirement account invested on Wall Street are a little terrified today, it's understandable because they should be.
If Trump imposes tariffs on all remaining Chinese goods not already subject to tariffs, and if all of his tariffs on Chinese goods remain in place for another year on top of all the other tariffs Trump is imposing on the European Union and other blocs -- I'm pretty sure you can kiss the current economy goodbye.
This idea that waiting another year puts Trump in a better position is pure insanity. I mean, politically speaking, it's debatable if it will put Trump in a better position, but even if that were the case it's going to put the whole country in a much worse position. Trump is going to tariff us into a recession and this could very well be the number one issue of the 2020 election if it the economy falters over the next ten months. The reason I pay such close attention to this topic is because it effects almost everything and every person in the country even if they don't realize it yet. Trump's trade war has the potential to spark a recession and fundamentally change the outcome of the next election and our politics for the next four years if not decades to come.
If the economy is the biggest of issue of the next election, the Democratic candidate best positioned to fight Trump will not be one who has co-signed Trump's trade war.