Trump and his team can’t get their story straight. Who know what the truth is. I’m not saying Trump lied. I’m saying he may not know enough about the issues to have a coherent discussion and policy.
And even if there were a deal on autos, it would cut tariffs for all exporters to China, meaning most of the benefits would not go to the US. This is not optional: Most Favored Nation status is integral to the WTO 3/ https://t.co/Q3XB5K6za1
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) December 4, 2018
Fast! Trump has gone from "it's an incredible deal" to "seeing whether or not a REAL deal with China is actually possible," and "China will be buying massive amounts of product from us, including agricultural," to "China is supposed to start buying Agricultural product." pic.twitter.com/WPa8mSYsjc
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) December 4, 2018
Trump left his top advisers scrambling to explain a trade deal he claimed he’d struck with China to reduce tariffs on U.S. cars exported to the country — an agreement that doesn’t exist on paper and hasn’t been confirmed in Beijing.https://t.co/m7ig2H5scX
— Kevin Whitelaw (@KevinWhitelaw1) December 3, 2018
Trump declared on Twitter that China “has agreed to reduce and remove tariffs on cars coming into China from the U.S.” His top economic advisors are already disputing that claim. https://t.co/eR7VQYsDrd
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) December 3, 2018
Today in trade: Trump says China is cutting car tariffs, Navarro doesn’t know what he’s talking about, Kudlow gets China’s deadline off by a month, Lighthizer takes the reins from Mnuchin. https://t.co/Zsh4Dd2bxO
— Alan Rappeport (@arappeport) December 4, 2018
1) Trump: China is removing auto tariffs.
2) Kudlow: Hopefully, but no agreement.
3) China: <crickets>
4) WH: 90-day clock starts Dec 1
5) Kudlow: Jan 1
6) WH: ahem, Dec 1
7) Toomey: USMCA won't pass Congress.
8) Lighthizer has to sort it all out.
https://t.co/zk4pG0Uge0— Damian Paletta (@damianpaletta) December 4, 2018
Sad! 