Self-inflicted wound: Trump would severely damage the US if he carries out his China threat |OPINION
Donald Trump is hardening his threat to "decouple" the US economy from China’s. The prospect that, if he were to win re-election in November, he might actually follow through with that threat ought to send shivers through corporate America and their western peers.
The language is typically clumsy, almost incoherent, and the understanding of trade as flawed as usual but the threat of an attempt to completely sever the economic relationships with China is, given the administration’s history, real.
He is making China a key plank in his re-election platform, trying to convince US voters that Biden and the Democrats would be soft on China – "if Biden wins China wins, because China will own this country" – even though Biden and the Democrats are also hawkish on China, albeit wary of inciting a new Cold War.
Trump said on Monday that US farmers were "very happy’ with him citing the near-$US30 billion of assistance provided to farmers to offset the impact on China’s retaliatory tariffs. US farm bankruptcies have risen to their highest levels in nearly a decade despite that US taxpayer-funded assistance. The US dollar is the world’s reserve currency. It doesn’t appear to have dawned on the administration that supplying the rest of the world with dollars implies running large current account deficits.
US companies generate about five per cent of their global revenues and hundreds of billions of dollars of profits a year from a market that is, for some of America’s biggest companies, fast becoming, if it isn’t already, a bigger market than their domestic market.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Melbourne's lockdown 'to be longer than Italy, London and China' | Sky News AustraliaSky News host Paul Murray says Melbourne will have to endure a 112 day lockdown for 661 deaths, while Italy had 35,524 deaths and a 58 day lockdown and London saw 41,549 people die and their lockdown only went for 104 days. \n\n“This doesn’t make any sense,” Mr Murray said. \n\nMr Murray said in France, the health minister announced on Sunday the country’s worst day for cases so far with 8,975 in one day but said there would be no lockdown because a lockdown was just a lid on an overflowing cooking pot. \n\n“Victoria, you have to wait to October for chance to maybe start to get the chance to go outside,” he said. \n\n“Yet the media…have set a false expectation for the people of Victoria.\n\n“You are not leaving your house until the end of October.\n\n“You can’t go back to work until October.”\n\nImage: AP
Read more »
China interference inquiry is 'baffling', says Sydney University bossSydney's leading university vice-chancellors have defended themselves against accusations they are susceptible to Chinese political interference | natassiazc
Read more »
China is our inescapable economic destinyOpinion: People who care about our economic future are wondering what game the nation’s defence and foreign affairs experts think they’re playing | 1RossGittins
Read more »
Rush to remove Aussie journalists from China ‘highly disturbing’: Penny Wong | Sky News AustraliaShadow Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has reinforced the Labor Party’s support for a free press following a rush to return two Australian journalists from China over safety concerns.\n\nAustralian journalists Bill Birtles and Mike Smith were both flown home to Sydney following an encounter between ABC journalist Bill Birtles and the local police where he was asked to surrender himself for interviews.\n\nMs Wong described the situation as “highly disturbing”.\n\n“Australians believe that the right to freedom of expression, the right to freedom of opinion and the right of the press to press freedom is a core Australian value,' she said. \n\n“We believe Australian journalists and journalist everywhere should be able to do their work safely without the risk of intimidation or arbitrary detention'. \n\nMs Wong said a core national belief was the media plays a vital role in fostering respect and mutual understanding, key themes highlighted by the Chinese Embassies Deputy Head of Mission who spoke at a recent National Press Club address.\n\n“The return of these two journalists mean that Australia is, I think, without an Australian organisation having a representation in China for the first time since the 1970s.' \n\nImage: News Corp Australia
Read more »
India alerts China after reports allege troops 'abducted' several civilians on Himalayan borderThe Indian military has alerted China to allegations five men were "abducted" by the People&x27;s Liberation Army near the countries&x27; hotly-disputed border in the Himalayas, an Indian official said.
Read more »
Disney's Mulan film criticised for shooting in and thanking areas in China linked to Uighur abuseThe film is facing fresh calls for a boycott, this time for filming and thanking authorities in China’s Xinjiang province where the government is accused of carrying out widespread human rights abuses against around one million Uighur Muslims.
Read more »