Trump Trade Officials Will Present a Hard Line in China, but Internally They Are Divided
[ad_1] The delegation includes officials like Mr. Navarro and Robert Lighthizer, the United States trade representative, both of whom embrace a more combative approach to dealing with China than other advisers on the trip. Mr. Navarro and Mr. Lighthizer have been focused on China’s unfair trade practices for decades, and insist the country must make more dramatic changes to even the playing field for American companies. They also appear willing to follow through with the tariffs Mr. Trump has threatened , despite the pain it would inflict on many American businesses and workers, if they view it as necessary to increase their leverage with the Chinese. Other members of the delegation, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Larry Kudlow, who heads the National Economic Council, appear more inclined to strike deals with the Chinese that would accomplish the president’s goal of reducing the gap between what America imports from China and what it sells to the country and he...