Courtesy of Mish.
The Left bashes Donald Trump and his trade positions day in and day out.
But other than building a wall on the Mexico border, is is there any reason to believe they are at all different?
If you think so, please consider Obama Steps Up Trade Battle With China.
Barack Obama has escalated the US’s trade battle with China, launching a formal complaint against Beijing as both of his potential successors push the domestic political debate in an increasingly protectionist direction on the campaign trail.
The new case, brought by the US president on Wednesday with the World Trade Organisation, challenges Beijing’s export restrictions on key commodities needed by US manufacturers and was accompanied by sharp rhetoric from the White House.
The complaint is the latest sign that sentiment in Washington, which had agreed a sweeping trade deal with east Asia only last year, has become increasingly volatile towards free trade amid rising anger in the electorate.
The US filing complains that Chinese duties on nine key commodities — including copper, cobalt, tantalum and tin — are unfair export restrictions that enable Beijing to make important raw materials available to its own manufacturers at artificially low prices.
The case launched on Wednesday is the 13th brought to the WTO by the Obama administration which Mr Biden said had moved “more aggressively than any previous administration in history” to take on China and enforce US trade laws.
Trade Irony
The irony runs pretty deep. The US is pissing and moaning that China does not export what we want at low prices, while also pissing and moaning that China has too low prices on everything else.
Perhaps this is what one gets when one stupidly slaps 500% tariffs on unwanted commodities.
Free Trade Paradox
