Trump tells advisers he will not ease trade war

US President Donald Trump is telling advisers and close allies that he has no intention of pulling back on his escalating trade war with China, arguing that clashing with Beijing is popular with his base and will help him win re-election in 2020 regardless of any immediate economic pain.

Administration officials and outside Trump advisers said that they do not expect him to shift his position significantly in coming days, saying he is determined to endure an intensifying showdown with Chinese President Xi Jinping despite turbulence in global markets and frustration within his own party.

Trump’s defiance is rooted in decades of viewing the Chinese as economic villains and driven by his desire to fulfill a core promise from his 2016 campaign: that he would overhaul the US-China relationship. The confrontation is also fuelled by Trump’s willingness to flout the norms of presidential behaviour, including his suggestion that the Federal Reserve should assist his trade efforts by lowering interest rates.

“I don’t see him crying uncle anytime soon,” said Stephen Moore, a conservative economist. “It’s a highrisk strategy, but it’s not in his personality to back down.”

Trump insisted that he is in a “very, very strong position” and called the stalled negotiations “a little squabble”. Trump cast the strength of the US economy as leverage, saying, “We have all the advantage”.

He threatened to impose US$100 billion in additional tariffs.

But there have been tensions inside the White House, with some advisers uneasy with Trump’s strident nationalism and firm belief in tariffs as economic weapons.

“I don’t like directionally where it’s going,” said former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, a prominent investor. “The economy is still very strong . . . But it could put a dent in the stock and bond market.”

“Tariffs are blunt instruments. They can inflict on competitors and be a source of leverage for negotiations,” said former White House staff secretary Rob Porter. “They can also have significant consequences for global supply chains and domestic producers and consumers, and any decision on tariffs should include careful consideration of all these consequences.”