Trump accuses China of backtracking on trade and promises to add tariffs next month

President Trump said Thursday that he would place tariffs of 10% on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods starting in September, claiming that China was refusing to live up to prior promises made in the trade talks.

The announcement follows the return of U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin from a two-day trip to Shanghai to get trade negotiations back on track with Beijing.

In a series of tweets Thursday afternoon, Trump indicated that no progress had been made in those talks and he would therefore impose the additional tariffs he had previously threatened earlier in the year.

"China agreed to buy agricultural product from the U.S. in large quantities, but did not do so. Additionally, my friend President Xi said that he would stop the sale of Fentanyl to the United States — this never happened, and many Americans continue to die!" he tweeted. "Trade talks are continuing, and during the talks the U.S. will start, on September 1st, putting a small additional Tariff of 10% on the remaining 300 Billion Dollars of goods and products coming from China into our Country."

The U.S. currently has tariffs of 25% on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods. Placing tariffs on another $300 billion would effectively put levies on all goods coming in from China. Trump had previously threatened to impose the additional 10% tariffs on China following a May breakdown in trade negotiations. Trump said China had to restore concessions it had made earlier in the negotiations, concessions Beijing denied it ever made.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/economy/trump-accuses-china-of-backtracking-on-trade-and-promises-to-add-tariffs-next-month

This is another straw to the backs of those companies still manufacturing in China. Get out of China A$AP.

>>7295993

Thinking positive with this so… this could be the setup for going after all the shills that have been pushing violence in the bread along with the other certain posts that get continually filtered.

FTC Antitrust Probe of Facebook Scrutinizes Its Acquisitions

The Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust investigation of Facebook Inc. is examining the social media giant’s acquisitions to determine if they were part of a campaign to snap up potential rivals before they could become a threat, according to people familiar with the matter.

The company’s acquisition practices are a central component of the FTC probe, the people said. Facebook disclosed the FTC’s antitrust investigation in its earnings announcement last week, but provided few details.

FTC investigators are looking for evidence on whether Facebook and founder Mark Zuckerberg purchased startup technology firms to keep them from challenging Facebook’s empire, the people said.

The FTC has begun reaching out to people who founded companies that Facebook purchased, some of the people said.

Facebook didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. In its announcement last week, Facebook said that the FTC was investigating “in the areas of social networking or social media services, digital advertising, and/or mobile or online applications.”

An FTC spokeswoman declined to comment. The investigation comes on the heels of a separate case in which the commission fined Facebook $5 billion for alleged privacy missteps.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/ftc-antitrust-probe-of-facebook-scrutinizes-its-acquisitions-11564683965

Pompeo says US remains ready to resume talks with N. Korea

The Trump administration remains ready to resume talks with North Korea now, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday. However, he also said that he and the administration’s chief negotiator Stephen Biegun had hoped to meet with a senior North Korean official while in Bangkok for the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) forum.

No such meeting had been formally scheduled and the North’s foreign minister was not expected at the three-day event in the Thai capital, AP reported.

“We stand ready to continue our diplomatic conversation with the North Koreans,” Pompeo told reporters. “I regret that it looks like I’m not going to have the opportunity to do that while I’m here in Bangkok, but we’re ready to go.”

Pompeo said he believed a new round of working-level talks, led by Biegun and his North Korean counterpart, could happen soon.

https://www.rt.com/newsline/465594-pompeo-us-talks-korea/