The week was full of mixed signals on China, with President Donald Trump concerned enough about the newest tariffs and the order to withdraw business from China that he began the week by telling of phone calls from Chinese officials. Unfortunately, neither the Chinese nor his own staff could confirm this communication.

The Chinese did respond to the apparent softer Trump rhetoric by agreeing not to immediately retaliate against the last round of tariffs and left open the possibility of sending representatives to Washington, D.C., to negotiate in September. However, in my view any additional China bashing by the President will lead to the Chinese cancelling this next round of trade negotiations.

The President’s political team remains concerned about Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and implications for trade policy in these states could be critical for China trade talks over the next few weeks. (For more on this see this week’s Signal From Noise, “Soybeans Won’t Cost Trump in 2020, but Auto Tariffs Might,” Aug. 29)

From the Democrat’s side, the 2020 presidential race was whittled down to ten candidates who qualified for the next debate September 12. This could get higher viewership and give greater focus to the issues. Perhaps the candidates will realize ...

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