Don’t Let Communist China Slip Away, President Trump

Negotiating with China over its unfair trading practices is like bleeding water from a stone.

AP/Alex Brandon
President Trump and President Xi at Mar-a-Lago, April 6, 2017. AP/Alex Brandon

Don’t let Communist China slip away, President Trump

We know that Mr. Trump has slapped a new 10 percent tariff on China, and for a bunch of reasons I hope he doesn’t relent.

In fact, today at a presser, feature what Mr. Trump said about talking to the Chinese dictator, Xi Jinping.

A reporter asked: “Sir, any update on when you would speak to president Xi?”

Mr. Trump replied: “No, we’ll speak to him at the appropriate time. I’m in no rush. I’m in no rush at that.” 

Good for Mr. Trump.

In terms of China’s continuous unfair trading practices we are learning that they never enforced the hard fought China Phase One trade deal negotiated by Mr. Trump in his first term.

As somebody on the China trade team, I can tell you dealing with China is like bleeding water from a stone.

The key points were China’s constant theft in intellectual property and their forced transfer of technology.

With very few exceptions they don’t let American owned companies operate in China.

They did not make the pledged purchases of farm or manufacturing commodities.

Renegotiating could be an exercise in futility.

And that brings me back to Mr. Trump’s 10 percent tariff on China.

One very brilliant part of that is the so-called de minimis exemption has not been renewed.

That’s the $800 limit on duty free goods coming into the America.

That exception has exploded exponentially in recent years with cheap Chinese retail store goods coming into the America. 

It’s put more than 7,000 mom-and-pop retail stores out of business last year and an expected 15,000 to close this year according to Coresight research

Bankrupt.

I hope nothing like this is ever permitted again.

But wait, it gets worse: Because these $800 or less packages are not searched or investigated, much if at all, when they come in to American customs. The Chinese have used this method to ship fentanyl related chemicals and other precursor parts.

Directly into this country, through the so called $800 de minimis exception.

So let’s hope Mr. Trump never goes back to that $800 exemption — or, for that matter, on any number of things.

It’s bad enough the Communist Chinese regime has bankrupted our mom-and-pop shops, but even worse they’re killing hundreds and thousands of our kids.

From Mr. Kudlow’s broadcast on Fox Business Network.


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