A trade war with China will not be the last one, and it will get worse, Axios’ Kevin Cirilli reported Thursday.
Obama will face pressure to take a tougher stance against China, but the president’s policy of unilateralism could become even more fraught with risk, Cirilli writes.
“The president’s ability to do this will hinge on the political winds of the day, not the weather.”
Obama’s first executive order restricting the importation of goods from China was overturned by the Supreme Court last year, and the president has since pushed to lift a moratorium on its entry into the U.S. “I don’t know whether he will have to do anything to change his mind,” said Michael McKenna, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.
“He can just say, ‘I think we should look at this more.'”
The president has repeatedly said that China must “do more” to rein in its currency manipulation, and he has also repeatedly urged Chinese officials to do more to reinstate the country’s currency controls, which were put in place in the 1980s.
But in the wake of the Supreme Courts ruling, the White House has signaled that it will push for a different approach, and Obama may end up using the Supreme and lower courts to argue that China should not be able to manipulate its currency.
China has already used the courts to try to stop the import of several U.N. arms and food aid, but Cirilli said that could change under the administration’s more aggressive approach.
“What you might see is the administration saying, ‘We are going to take the case to the Supreme court.
Trump will also be pressured to take action against China as his administration faces a barrage of criticisms over the election-year budget cuts. “
That could be a win for the president.”
Trump will also be pressured to take action against China as his administration faces a barrage of criticisms over the election-year budget cuts.
“We are in a position where the president can take this action or the other,” Cirilli wrote.
“There is no question about it.
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Trump could also try to get Congress to pass a bill that would punish Chinese trade abuses, something Obama did not do during his term.”