No one seems worried.
The Volatility Index (VIX) is back around 13 after a brief spike to 17 when we bombed Iran and Iran bombed our bases in Iraq but that was so last week and now no one is worried about anything as we look forward to tomorrow's signing of the Phase 1 China Trade Pact, which accomplishes nothing in particular after two years of waiting.
The deal leaves out the fundamental changes to Chinese economic policy sought by many U.S. leaders and prioritized by President Trump, who has promised further negotiations. Chinese officials, though, feel they have little to gain from a second deal forcing Beijing to ease state control of the economy, and Trump has already said that a phase-two agreement probably wouldn’t conclude until after the November election.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer defended the deal Monday, saying on Fox Propaganda Network that it would include “a variety of real structural changes.” He then named only one, commitments to refrain from competitive currency devaluation, which Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced earlier in the day, already dropping Treasury’s designation of China as a currency manipulator based soley on their thin promise to behave in the Future.
“By giving away leverage with a temporary deal…these structural issues will only become more challenging to address in future negotiations,” Senator Schumer wrote. “China pledging to make short-term purchases of American goods will not address the fundamental problems that undermine long-term U.S. economic opportunity, prosperity, and security.”
Tariffs remain in place that will still cover the same $360 billion in Chinese goods that the Administration taxed before the signing. Nearly two-thirds of everything Americans buy from China are still tariffed, compared with less than 1% before Trump began his anti-China campaign, according to calculations by economist Chad Bown of the Peterson Institute for International Economics. The deal eases — but does not eliminate the trade-related uncertainty that Federal Chair Powell has blamed for weak business investment and a manufacturing slump.
The "Phase One" Trade Deal was announced back on December 12th and, since then the Dow has gained 1,000 points, or about 3.5%, putting a huge cherry on top of what had already been a 21% rally…
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