Many of our Allies and Foes are trying to figure out what the man-child psycho is going to end up doing. As with all members of the GOP cult, you can’t believe a single word they tell you, and the sooner we Democrats learn that, the better off we’re going to be.
Well China is having none of this nonsense of saying one thing one moment and the complete opposite the next. If Trump and his band of fools wants to talk about a trade war with China, China is going to be ready to respond in a way that hurts Trump supporters first.
Yesterday, Trump named Peter Navarro as a trade adviser. Navarro has been a big critic of trade with China. Well China is taking no time to respond:
Trump team’s threats to name China a currency manipulator and to erect high tariffs against it—drew fire in China outside official circles.
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“China is now preparing some weapons,” Ms. Cheng said. China’s Commerce Ministry “is quite busy now, I’m sure.”
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“Their objective will be to parry what Trump does with targeted reprisals in areas of U.S. vulnerability.”
Among China’s likely targets, say trade experts: Boeing Co. aircraft and U.S. farm exports from Midwestern Republican states. Canceled Boeing orders would hurt U.S. shareholders, labor unions and the U.S. trade deficit, prompting pressure on the new administration, said Derek Scissors, an economist at data provider China Beige Book International. As of last month, China is awaiting delivery of 292 Boeing jets.
Blocking soybean or other U.S. food exports would prompt action by Republican Senators whose constituents lack a large manufacturing base,
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Beijing also could look to pressure U.S. multinationals such as General Motors Co., which relies on China as its largest sales market. “Some companies that already invest in China, we’re likely to push them to lobby Trump,” Ms. Cheng said.
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To retaliate, China also could make use of informal trade barriers—making health claims against American food products, for example—that are highly technical and difficult to counter in the WTO but hurt U.S. exporters, some experts said.
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“Even if U.S. companies move back to the U.S., it doesn’t mean manufacturing jobs will come back since U.S. companies will use automation to save money,” said Ms. Cheng
The Chinese are not going to mess around with Trump’s threats, they’re going to respond, and they’re going to respond where it hurts. The ever Republican farmers who are already suffering low crop prices, are about to learn the lesson that willful ignorance of a candidate and an entire party is going to have a high price. The same will hold for the white working class in those Midwestern states that ignored the racism, the threats on religion and millions of people, the suffering to millions of others they knew was coming, and instead voted for a “change”, wink wink, nudge nudge.
Before he even takes office, Trump and the GOP have nations around the world getting ready for the chaos that an uninformed electorate, manipulated by attacks from without and within on an antiquated election system, have unleashed on our entire planet.