This is from an article in the Washington Post:
Even before the overnight developments, Trump supporters — and those cheerleading his get-tough approach to trade with China — began reckoning with the likelihood that the president is abandoning the cause.
Trump all but confirmed he’s backing away from a showdown with the nation’s leading economic rival in a series of tweets Monday. Trump’s tell: Rather than pledging to keep up the pressure on Beijing, the president began declaring a premature victory over a deal not yet sketched in pencil.
Let me start by saying I have very little idea what's going on with Trump's trade policy. What are the U.S. goals on China, NAFTA, the WTO, and everything else? I'm really not sure.
With that caveat in mind, I'll say that I would be surprised if what we have heard over the last few days from Trump and his trade team is the final word on their China policy. They may have reasons to be conciliatory at the moment, but my guess is that, at some time in the near future, we will see a return to tough talk and tariff threats. I hope not, of course, but that's my prediction.
