President Trump says China 'missed a great opportunity' on trade
China has seen a steady decline in GDP since the trade war began, slowing to a 27-year low in growth this quarter and feeding speculation that Beijing is eager to make a deal; Kevin Corke reports from Berkeley Heights, New Jersey.
The uncertainty surrounding U.S.-China trade talks is steering financial markets up and down more peaks and valleys than a drive through the Himalayas. Brighter, timelier prospects for free trade might lie in the hands of two husky, showy New York natives with bold blond hair and tame blue suits: U.S. President Trump and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The United Kingdom’s new leader was born — believe it or not — in Manhattan. From his early days on the Hudson, he now governs on the Thames. As a conservative nationalist, his fervent support of Brexit parallels Trump’s skepticism about large, multilateral economic institutions. The two executives are temperamental cousins who resemble brothers and seem like pals.
“He’s a good guy. He’s a friend of mine. I think we’re going to have a great relationship,” President Trump told journalists on July 26. “Boris is going to be a great prime minister,” Trump added. “He has what it takes. They needed him for a long time.”
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These political and personal factors bode well for an Anglo-American free-trade pact. Optimists speak of concluding an accord that would commence on Nov.1, the day after the U.K. will leave the European Union, as Johnson promises — an amicable exit, if possible, otherwise through a divorce as frightful as Halloween itself.
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“I’m sure a new free-trade agreement, with Boris and your excellent ambassador in London, Woody Johnson, pushing it, will come quickly,” predicts Lord Borwick of Hawkshead, a Conservative member of the House of Lords and frequent visitor to America. He expects that U.S. ranchers and farmers will savor the result.
“European rules prohibit the importation of good American beef, but I’ve never seen an English Beefeater refuse a Texan steak in the States,” Lord Borwick tells me. “Similarly, the Europeans prohibit American chickens because they are washed in chlorinated water, even though we wash our children in chlorinated water in every British swimming pool, and I never have seen an English tourist refuse to enter a Kentucky Fried Chicken shop.”
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Lord Borwick hopes an Anglo-American bargain remains simple. He says: “If we make anything legal in the States legal in the U.K., and vice versa, as Dan Hannan MEP has proposed before, and Sen. Ted Cruz, R., Texas has proposed for U.S. pharmaceuticals, then we have a free-trade agreement that can be summarized in one sentence that everyone can understand.”
Daniel Hannan, a Tory member of the European Parliament, is considered the Father of Brexit. Like Sen. Ted Cruz, he is a thoughtful and magnificently eloquent advocate of conservative ideas. Hannan argues that both sides should “emphasize the open nature of a U.S.-U.K. deal, to underline that it is about mutual recognition instead of standardization. This mutual recognition should apply to goods, services, and professional qualifications.”
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