Trade war, news by Hebei Longsheng
| U.S. trade policy is likely to become more rather than less complicated during the fourth quarter, with seven major issues to watch. The passage of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement may be accelerated as a result of the impeachment process, but in the meantime the U.S. trade deficit with Mexico and Canada has been increasing and reached $118.6 billion in the 12 months to Jul. 31 from $69.3 billion in 2016 due to a rise in automotive and energy sector imports. The U.S.-China trade war is moving beyond tariffs into the realm of investment controls and social-credit type assessment regimes. The next round of negotiations from Oct. 10 could be tripped up by tariff increases, and may result in a mini-deal focused on tariff reductions and purchasing commitments – a more indepth deal could be put off. There’s already signs of stockpiling in products where tariffs are due to be applied from December with a 10.5% rise in imports of toys and 39.3% in textiles in August compared to a year earlier. |
