President Donald Trump would be better off not cutting a trade deal with China as it could backfire on him ahead of the 2020 U.S. election, according to the managing director and chief economist at the CME Group.
"President Trump faces a Democratic opposition that really doesn't like China, but he also faces — on part of his Republican Party — people that want him to be much tougher on China. So, he's way better off never cutting a deal. If he cuts a deal, he'll be criticized from both sides," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe."
"If he just stays tough, he rides through it just fine. Which is, by the way, the same issues Xi Jinping has: He can't give in to a bully like President Trump, so what's he going to do? He doesn't want a deal either," he added. Putnam believes there won't be any decision on a deal before next year's U.S. election. Having espoused an "America First" policy to voters ahead of the 2016 election, Trump will be aware that the opposition Democratic Party, and voters, will be quick to criticize his approach to global trade and China if the U.S. economy suffers as a result.
Since early 2018, the U.S. and China have engaged in a trade dispute with both countries imposing tariffs on billions of dollars' worth of one another's imports. Trump initiated the tariffs citing unfair trade practices from China and accused it of intellectual property theft.
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