Whatever Happened to “Trade” Agreements?
Some more of Tru_p’s travels. This time to southern Asia to include Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, then Koreas and Japan. He expects to meet Japan’s Sanae Takaichi and has heard great things about her. The one thing about Tru_p? He is prone to making stuff up when he has little to say. Oh, to be a quiet listener to that conversation.
He is hoping China will acquiesce to his demands. Otherwise, he will keep the tariffs on come November 1. This is the country that now supplies much of the world’s rare earths. Maybe Australia will bail Tru_p out? China may pat him on the head. Doubt they will be bending a knee to Tru_p. I can only imagine the stories afterwards.
He is making things difficult for US business men and government officials to conduct business over seas by his being the bull.
“Trump Arrives in Malaysia to Witness Thai-Cambodia Cease Fire Signing,” Bangkok Post
KUALA LUMPUR – US President Donald Trump arrived in Malaysia on Sunday on the first leg of an Asian tour that will include high-stakes trade talks with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
Trump is set to meet Xi in South Korea on the last day of his regional swing in a bid to seal a deal to end the bruising trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.
As he left Washington, Trump added to speculation that he could meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the first time since 2019 while on the Korean peninsula, saying he was “open to it”.
The US president will also visit Japan on his first trip to Asia since returning to the White House in January in a blaze of tariffs and international dealmaking.
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he hoped for a “comprehensive deal” with Xi, adding that he expected China to make a deal to avoid further 100 percent tariffs that are due to come into effect on November 1.
In Malaysia on Sunday, Trump is due to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit — a meeting he skipped several times in his first term.
He is also set to sign a trade deal with Malaysia, and will witness the signing of a ceasefire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia.
“We will be signing the Peace Deal immediately upon arrival,” Trump said on social media of the truce he helped broker after the deadliest clashes between Thailand and Cambodia in decades.
Trump said he expected to meet Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on the sidelines of the Asean summit to improve ties with the leftist leader after months of bad blood.
During a refuelling stop in Qatar on the way from Washington, the US president met with leaders of the Gulf emirate, which is among the guarantors of the Gaza ceasefire deal spearheaded by Trump.
– Tariff talks –
After Malaysia, Trump is expected in Tokyo on Monday, where the following day he will meet Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
The US leader said he had heard “great things about her” and hailed the fact that she was an acolyte of assassinated former premier Shinzo Abe, with whom he had close ties.
Takaichi said she told Trump in a phone call on Saturday that “strengthening the Japan-US alliance is my administration’s top priority on the diplomatic and security front”.
Japan has escaped the worst of the tariffs Trump slapped on countries around the world to end what he calls unfair trade balances that are “ripping off the United States”.
The highlight of the trip is expected to be South Korea, where Trump will meet Xi for the first time since his return to office.
Trump is due to land in the southern port city of Busan on Wednesday ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, and will meet South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
On Thursday, global markets will be watching closely to see if the meeting with Xi can halt the trade war sparked by Trump’s sweeping tariffs, especially after a recent dispute over Beijing’s rare-earth curbs.
Trump initially threatened to cancel the meeting and announced the fresh 100 percent tariffs during that row, before saying he would go ahead after all.
South Korea’s reunification minister has said there is a “considerable” chance that Trump and North Korea’s Kim will also meet.
The two leaders last met in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas during Trump’s first term.
Kim has said he would also be open to meeting the US president if Washington drops its demand that Pyongyang give up its nuclear arsenal.
“Trump Arrives in Malaysia to Witness Thai-Cambodia Cease Fire Signing,” Bangkok Post
What happened to trade agreements ?
Surely you must have forgotten the 200 trade agreements of a few months ago ? s/
Like all “contracts” anything that can not be enforced will be subject to the whims of a raging Trump Daddy. Because he and the US “hold all the cards”, you better keep him happy – “or else”. Will he ever realize that he does NOT hold all the cards, and that things such as Soybean exports are being hurt ? Whenever he becomes aware of any particular adverse consequence of his “deals”, he strikes back. Eventually new “deals” get cut. With additional consequences to the US during the intervals, and after the deals are signed. He truly does destroy everything he touches.
Stocks touching new highs based on lack of regulation & enforcement, AI bubble, minerals deals, expected lower interest rates – all good for corporate profits. Anyone want to “bet” on how long this will last before the next stagflation or crash ?
@rich,
Meanwhile the fed is flying blind because of the GOP shutdown.
Justsome:
Yeah, I know. I am walking on a thin sheet of ice by thinking what I am thinking! It is not so difficult to imagine why he is where he is. People did not want Harris the same as they did not want Clinton. Three million people decided not to turn out for the 2024 election. Sure, people can blame the party politics. After his last presidency, did people not realize how bad it was going to be with this presidency?
Both women were sincere. One more political than the other. Both were experienced in government, Clinton a Senator and Harris a Vice President and former Senator. Each knew how the sausage was made. Instead, we get a person who thinks he knows what “he” wants at the expense of the country. I think we will have problems prying him out of the presidential office and the presidency. Hopefully the Seate would removes him from office after the House say leave rear exit please.