Stock markets, oil prices and the yuan all plunged into new uncertainty Monday, after U.S. President Donald Trump promised a sweeping hike of tariffs on Chinese goods in one of the sharpest escalations in the months-long trade war between the world’s largest economies.
Mr. Trump’s threats on Sunday shocked markets, threw into question the latest round of trade talks between the U.S. and China, scheduled to begin Wednesday in Washington, and dramatically underscored the risk that the ongoing trade war poses to global trading patterns.This has “put the whole world into a chaotic situation once again,” said Wang Huiyao, founder and president of Center for China and Globalization, a prominent think tank in Beijing. Indications from the U.S.
“I’m not sure a deal is impossible at this stage. But markets and others were thinking about it wrong,” he said. “The closer you came, the harder it got to finalization, because you were then dealing with the stickiest possible issues.”The threat to impose new tariffs also adds weight to arguments that elements in the Trump White House are taking a hard-line approach to trade talks. “My understanding is that the U.S. negotiators basically want all or nothing,” said Mr. Polk.
The SEC should investigate Trump as he clearly loves to manipulate markets.