Trump administration officials meet with their Chinese counterparts the week of 7 January to begin trade negotiations. No one should expect a quick or easy agreement. As should now be transparent to all, Mr. Trump prefers total disruption as a negotiating style. In its ongoing effort to present itself as the “good guy” in the fight, China is initiating its third tranche of unilateral tariff reductions. These are not WTO-bound, meaning they can be raised at any time in the same manner that India raises and lowers its rates as a market management approach. China continues to use administrative hurdles to stymie imports. In fact, much of this just reminds the Trumpians of all that they see wrong in the global trading system. Indi...

TAGS – China, Europe, India, North America