President Donald Trump sabotaged his own trade negotiations with China on Friday by announcing that he doesn’t need a trade deal right now, resulting in Chinese trade negotiators cutting their trip to the United States short.
They were supposed to be here for a few days and had intended to visit farm country in Montana and Nebraska to survey the damage caused by the trade war, which could have generated sympathy for the families who are losing everything because of Trump’s tariffs and the retaliatory tariffs China has leveled in return.
Farmers have taken a major financial blow over the last couple years since Trump began the trade war, which has since escalated to the point where China refuses to purchase any agricultural products from the United States, thus closing off one of the largest markets for American agricultural goods.
Trump has repeatedly bragged about trade negotiations and how they were supposedly coming along and that a deal should happen soon. But once again, Trump shot himself and the country in the foot by claiming that he doesn’t need a deal right now because the economy is supposedly “strong.”
“No, I don’t think I need it before the election,” Trump said. “I’m not looking for a partial deal. I’m looking for a complete deal. People know that we’re doing a great job. We’re not being affected.”
Trump also claimed that Americans are not paying the tariffs, which is a lie that has been repeatedly debunked.
As a result, China’s negotiators did not bother with the rest of their trip and the stock market tumbled 159 points due to the uncertainty Trump caused.
Again, Trump had a chance to make a deal and could have generated sympathy for our farmers to move the Chinese negotiators. Instead, he made it more likely that this economic stand-off will drag on through to the 2020 Election, making it more likely that a recession will occur regardless of the Federal Reserve cutting the interest rate, a move that eliminates a key tool the Fed needs if and when a recession happens.
If it was not clear before, it’s definitely clear now. Trump has no interest in making a real trade deal and he has no clue how to manage the economy. His trade wars are hurting people across the country, including his own voters, and he does not care.
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