Thursday, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said that trade uncertainty issues are giving China “real” structural problems, as the nation’s supply chains are starting to “hollow out.”
“China is no longer really the cheapest place in the world to manufacture,” Secretary Ross said in a TV interview, adding the US does not know what China wants in the upcoming trade talks, but will soon find out.
He agreed China will want the US to remove tariffs that are in play, but the Key is, “what are they prepared to give us?“
“Remember, what we need is to correct the big imbalances, not just the current trade deficit, but also the structural imbalances, the impediments to market access, disrespect for intellectual property, forced technology transfers,” Secretary Ross said. “So it’s more complicated than just buying a few more soybeans.”
Meanwhile, China pulled back from a deal in April because it did not want enforcement on the theft of IP (intellectual property), and Secretary Ross said some of the country’s laws are “really bizarre relative to US standards.”
For example, private companies are required to do what the PLO (Army) wants and intelligence agency wants, and required not to disclose that they did so to anybody, Secretary Ross said. “That’s an unimaginable law in the US.”
Raising the Big Qs, Who runs the country, the State Council, the CDC or the PLO?
The Big A: The PLO.
Ross also commented on the report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which Thursday cut its economic forecast for the global economy. The forecast sees growth at 2.9% this year, down from 3.6% last year. The OECD predicts a bump back up to 3% in 2020.
The US economy, Secretary Ross, said, is “excellent, as 6.3-M new jobs have been created since President Trump came in. Wages are up 3.2% year-over-year.”
America First!
