China

Trump: China “wants to make a deal. Let them work humanely with Hong Kong first!”

Four countries, three of which are openly opposed to renewing the World Trade Organization moratorium on duties on electronic transmissions, would lose more in gross domestic product than they would gain in tariffs if the moratorium were lifted, according to a new study.

President Trump’s decision to delay and remove certain tariffs on Chinese imports was made unilaterally, without any concessions from Beijing, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Wednesday.

President Trump said he delayed the imposition of a 10 percent tariff on some Chinese goods to make sure U.S. customers did not face higher prices during the holiday shopping season later this year, though he contended again that tariffs have not yet had any impact on U.S. consumers -- a point contested by industry associations and economists.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will exclude some Chinese imports from 10 percent tariffs and delay duties on others until mid-December, USTR announced on Tuesday.

 “Are there no limits on what the president can do?” law professor and former USTR official Jennifer Hillman asks in the Times.

“To all of the farmers who remain silent in the face of Donald Trump’s disastrous trade policies and incessant lies: I urge you to stop waiting for a bailout and denounce this president for the con man he is.”

With imports valued at $4.4 billion in 2018, the case is one of the largest brought against China.

U.S. consumers paid roughly $6 billion in tariffs in June, according to Tariffs Hurt the Heartland.