• Dazi, Powell and Trump make the Bags dance
  • China responds to Trump: new duties on 75 billion dollars of US imports, including cars
  • China threatens "countermeasures" to the war of duties. Trump: slip will help consumers
  • US tariffs on some Chinese products have slipped to December 15th

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24 August 2019

On the day of Jerome Powell's much-awaited speech at the Jackson Hole symposium, which was transformed, however, especially on the day of the harsh Chinese response to the new duties put in place by the United States, the level of the clash between the White House and the Federal Reserve never touches levels. reached before.

"My only question is, who is our greatest enemy, Jay Powell or President Xi?", Tweeted a furious Donald Trump shortly after the text of the speech was spread, accusing the Fed of doing nothing "as usual "and to" talk without knowing or asking what I'm doing, which will be announced soon ".

The words of the number one of the US central bank, it must be said, did not seem so incendiary. In front of the annual event organized by the Kansas City Federal Reserve, Powell explained that the challenge is to be able to sustain the expansion of the American economy so that the labor market can benefit from it, highlighting it as the great problem of this historical phase seems to be above all the low inflation. On the other hand, no indication came about a further rate cut in September, after July. While the governor has focused - and it is not the first time - on the fact that there is no "manual of the rules" to follow to respond with monetary policies to the uncertainties related to the commercial situation.

A situation that, in fact, touched on new peaks of tension during the day, with Beijing announcing duties of between 5% and 10% on US products for 75 billion dollars arriving on 1 September and 15 December. In addition to the restoration of 25% impositions on "made in USA" cars and 5% on car components that had been lifted in recent months as a sign of good will in the negotiations with Washington, this also from mid-December.

Non-random dates : these are the ones in which the measures promised by Trump will start, which again chose Twitter to fight back. "We do not need China and, frankly, it would be much better without them", the president's piqued response, which ordered US companies to "start looking for an alternative" to relations with the Asian superpower, thinking eventually of the return of the North American land production. The White House counteroffensive should not have stopped here, however.

A Bag closed - and with the Dow Jones that had left more than two percentage points on the ground - the announcement came on via social networks: the 25% duties already applied on Chinese assets for $ 250 billion will go up in October 30 %, while the tax that will start from 1 September on products for another 300 billion dollars passes from 10% to 15%. "In the spirit of achieving fair trade - gloss Trump - we must balance this very unfair business relationship".