Trump on China is all quiet at the moment

On Day One, Donald Trump said, he would impose mighty tariffs on Chinese imports. Why hasn't this happened? Perhaps he had so many other things to do on Day One that he rwn out of time? But tariffs on Chinese goods appeared to be his top priority in the lead-up to Inauguration Day. By all accounts, anticipating such a move, China has been piling containers onto every ship available and sending them off to customers in the US and Europe in the hope of beating the tariff deadline. But nothing has happened yet. Perhaps after the rush of Inauguration Day, Trump thought it wise to put a little more thought into the trade tariffs policy. Mexico and Canada can now expect 10 per cent tariffs on February 1, but no hint of timing or size of the tariffs being planned for China. I suspect Trump is doing a little revision of some of his pledges, especially China because he and the Treasury need to work out what the fall-out will be. Inevitably, a lot of American companies with good trading relations with China are going to be negatively affected, and that could mean job losses. Trump wants America to be Great Again but if he makes China Enemy Number One, there could be a serious backlash for American citizens and for the US economy. Perhaps he will try another tack and go to Beijing for a friendly chat with Xi Zinping. That's if the Chinese leader is interested in reuniting with his old sparring partner.