Mnuchin: 'We're Putting the Trade War on Hold'

[EasyAce]

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says Trump administration is withdrawing plan to impose 25 percent tariffs on $150 billion of Chinese imports
By Eric Boehm
http://reason.com/blog/2018/05/20/mnuchin-were-putting-the-trade-war-on-ho

The Trump administration's trade war with China is over—or at least it's not starting just yet.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, during an appearance on Fox News Sunday, said the administration is withdrawing its plan to impose 25 percent tariffs on more than 1,300 Chinese-made goods valued at more than $150 billion while the United States and China continue trade negotiations . . .

. . . There were two major developments this week that may have influenced the administration's shift. First, as Mnuchin suggested, there were two days of intense negotiations between the two countries, which concluded Saturday with the release of a joint statement including several vague promises about China's intention to buy more American products. Second, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative held three days of hearings on the proposed tariffs, with dozens of American business owners expressing their anger and frustration with the proposal, which they said would do significant damage to the domestic economy.

The Trump administration has already gone ahead with tariffs on steel and aluminum, imposed on supposed national security grounds . . . The Trump administration has sold the tariffs as a way to close America's trade deficit with China—even though a trade deficit isn't really a problem.

Trump's defenders are likely to seize on Sunday's news as proof that the president was always using the tariff threat as a negotiating tactic to bring China to the table. That may be true, but it's too soon to tell . . .