President Trump’s tirade on Tuesday shows that when it comes to trade regulations with China, it’s Trump versus his Cabinet and Congress.
Taking to Twitter, the president asserted that America “cannot, & will not, become such a difficult place to deal with in terms of foreign countries buying our product, including for the always used National Security excuse … We want to sell product and goods to China and other countries … I want China to buy our jet engines … I have seen some of the regulations being circulated, including those being contemplated by Congress, and they are ridiculous.”
Trump is referring to Sunday’s Wall Street Journal report that his administration might restrict the sale of jet engines to China.
And to be fair, on that issue, the president’s position has some legitimacy. As the Wall Street Journal observes, China has had access to advanced U.S. engine technology for years. And where it hasn’t had access, the Chinese intelligence services have successfully pilfered engine technology around the world. In this context, and considering that airline-related manufacturing is a very top U.S. export sector to China, Trump has a point here.
The problem is that this is just one small part of Trump’s evolving trade policy toward China.
Because the “America First” president seems increasingly happy to allow China access to U.S. intellectual property. Trump’s 2018 decision to allow Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE back into the U.S. market, for example, evinced his willingness to overrule advisers and ignore his intelligence briefings. But China is now pushing to see any “stage two” trade deal include technology access relief for Huawei and an assurance of its ability to buy or steal U.S. intellectual property secrets without consequence. The growing risk is that Trump will take that deal in return for China’s reciprocal offer to increase purchases of U.S. agricultural products massively.
If so, then Trump stands far apart from his Cabinet and Congress here. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have led the administration’s effort to challenge China’s use of Huawei as a thinly veiled intelligence platform. Other Cabinet officials are working to restrict China’s access to U.S. intellectual property. Congress is also restricting China in similar ways. The bipartisan Utilizing Strategic Allied Telecommunications Act is just one example.
Trump needs to think carefully here. Thus far, this presidency has been to China what Harry Truman’s presidency was to the Soviet Union — a much-needed pushback against an existential adversary. But if Trump surrenders our economic crown jewels in return for some soybean quotas, then history will remember a president who said a lot but ultimately put China first.
