5: Trade

US Households Face Rising Prices Under Trump Trade Policy
Zoo urges people to donate their unwanted pets to feed their predators
Trump says pharma tariffs could eventually reach up to 250%
Contentious July jobs report confirms the U.S. economy is slowing sharply. Here’s why

Why China is becoming Donald Trump's biggest U-turn The shift in Trump's first presidency had such far-reaching effects on Sino-American sentiment in both capitals that former President Joe Biden found the chill of the new Cold War hard to reverse. Biden not only extended, but later expanded Trump-era tariffs and further tightened controls on U.S. tech exports over fears they were accelerating China's military modernization. .......... The reaction from President Xi Jinping's China was swift and targeted. It played the tit-for-tat tariff game for a while but reached quickly for the nuclear option of cutting American firms out of its rare earths supply chain, weaponizing its dominance in the same way the U.S. had sought to curb Chinese access to advanced computer chips. ........... Observers of the ongoing trade talks have sensed a shift in tone and approach, marked by a number of notable concessions in July—both symbolic and substantive—that they argued were overly conciliatory toward Beijing for the sake of securing an agreement. .......... Last week, it emerged that Trump had broken precedent by refusing a request by Taiwan President Lai Ching-te to transit the United States as part of his wider visit to Taipei's remaining allies in Latin American—a diplomatic coup for China, which claims Taiwan as its own. ........ A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said last week that Beijing was opposed to "politicizing, instrumentalizing and weaponizing tech and trade issues and malicious attempts to blockade and keep down China."

Why China is becoming Donald Trump's biggest U-turn
‘Biggest Deal’: Trump Responds to China Trade Negotiation
'Hot mess': Multiple senators quietly mull quitting over 'growing frustration' with Trump Both Republican and Democratic senators are frustrated with the state of their chamber and the inability to make any progress in the face of President Donald Trump's encroachment on their authority ......... "The legislative process is a hot mess, and increasingly dominated by giant omnibus bills. Cross-aisle comity is passé. Independence and ideological heterodoxy are treated as heresy." .......... “The problem is that we can’t get s---- done," adding that, "Creative obstructionism...has become 'a fine art that has reached its apex so that the institution is nearly paralyzed.'” ......... Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) "decided to pack it in after clashing" with Trump, Cottle wrote. "Two senators have announced they are pursuing the more appealing gig of governor — Tommy Tuberville, Republican of Alabama, and Michael Bennet, Democrat of Colorado — and others are considering following suit." ........ "The more that talented people are turned off or driven out by the chamber’s dysfunction, the more it populates with extremists, opportunists and self-dealers. The more that partisan lines are enforced, the less room there is for moderates and independents, who are now nearly extinct."

Republican says state's GDP has plunged 6% due to trade war—'Troubled time'