Ok, so here it is.

As widely reported, the U.S. is set to levy some $50 billion in tariffs on Chinese imports in an effort to “offset” the theft of IP.

Trump’s going to sign the tariffs memo at 12:30.

The tariffs will be published within two weeks and they’ll be an open 30-day public comment period prior to their taking effect.

According to senior administration officials, “many of the proposals reflect areas where China has sought to acquire advantage through unfair acquisition or forced tech transfers” and as reported this morning by WSJ, the President will also instruct Lighthizer to pursue dispute settlement at the WTO – an effort to take up China’s licensing practices, which US officials say are “discriminatory.”

Additionally, Trump will ask Mnuchin to look at expanding limits on Chinese investment and acquisitions in America “beyond” the current CFIUS reach.

So that’s the long and the short of it. Actually, that’s not true. That’s just the short of it. For the “long” version, stay tuned to your local financial news network and also to Trump’s Twitter feed where the President will invariably explain (again) how “easy” it is to “win” trade wars and also how “good” trade wars are for the U.S. economy.

For more on what China can/will do to retaliate, see “Here’s What China Will Do Under ‘Trade War Light’ And ‘Trade War Heavy’.”

Summed up…

hhh

Print Friendly, PDF & Email