President Trump made clear Friday that he’s still a tariff man, a moniker that inspired a legion of superhero memes, but suggested he’s willing to pull some punches with China if it means finally finishing a trade deal.
A great trade deal, he emphasized in a Rose Garden news conference, “better than any deal anybody ever dreamt possible.”
Negotiators who have been working with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s government toward that end since Trump agreed to halt hostilities in a trade war between the world’s two largest economies in December appear closer to a comprehensive trade agreement than ever before, he said.
If they can’t complete their work by March 1, the deadline after which Trump once said he’d double tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese shipments to 25 percent and add duties to $267 billion more of the country’s imports, well, he might be willing to wait a little longer.
“There is a possibility that I will extend the date,” he told reporters. “And if I do that, if I see that we’re close to a deal or the deal is going in the right direction, I would do that at the same tariffs that we’re charging now. I would not increase the tariffs.”
That would be a salve to Wall Street, which retreated from record highs in 2018 when the president introduced a protectionist strategy that included not only the Chinese levies but double-digit duties on steel and aluminum and the threat of tariffs on automobiles and parts.
Economists and corporate executives alike warned that the charges would push up prices and hurt consumers, whose spending accounts for about two-thirds of the $20 trillion U.S. economy. While few argue that China has treated the U.S. unfairly, limiting access to its markets and requiring access to trade secrets from companies seeking to do business there, they believe using tariffs as a remedy may prove more damaging than the original problems.
“Financial markets remain somewhat on edge over a series of risks to global growth, of which increased protectionism is but one,” said Shawn Golhar, an economist with Barclays who suggested further tariffs risk hurting business and consumer confidence, creating a drag on growth that has generally been a bright spot for the White House.
“Not surprisingly, Trump seems likely to ‘build more land’ when the March 1 tariff deadline hits, and extend the U.S.-China negotiations for another 60 days,” until May 1, said Chris Krueger, an analyst with Cowen Washington Research Group, which has tracked federal policy for the past four decades.
That stands to benefit President Xi’s government, which may be betting on a more receptive White House if Trump’s campaign for a second term fails to overcome an approval rating that has routinely averaged 40 percent or less.
“Anything that kicks the new deadline closer to the 2020 elections has to be welcome news in Beijing,” said Krueger, arguing that it “continues to play the long game far better.”
