Trump alleges China broke promise to buy US farm goods

1. President Trump on Thursday accused China of breaking a promise President Xi Jinping made at the G20 to buy more US farm products — ratcheting up the pressure as talks resumed over the trade war between the world’s two largest economies....

Beijing’s retaliatory tariffs last year on imports of agricultural goods have slammed many farmers — a key Trump constituency — forcing bankruptcies and a slowdown in farm lending as many operations struggle and fall deeper into debt.

The agricultural loan portfolios of the nation’s top 30 banks fell by $3.9 billion, to $18.3 billion, between their peak in December 2015 and March 2019, the analysis showed — a 17.5 percent decline....

2. Two unlucky victims – Crooked Hillary (nasty woman) and Barack Obama (failed president) – have stood out as "super crooks" in Donald Trump's long list of "rogues". Now he has added a new "super crook" in the list.

As usual, in his habit of making unsubstantiated claims, Trump accused his "good friend" -- his Chinese counterpart -- of breaking a promise made at the G20 to buy more US farm products.

Back on June 11, he also accused his Chinese counterpart of reneging on promises to make structural economic changes during months of trade talks. He said: "We had a deal with China and then they went back on the deal. They said we don't want to have four major points, five major points. ... But we had a deal with China and unless they go back to that deal, I have no interest."

Perhaps Trump had better hold a joint press conference and/or get everything down in black and white in his next meeting with his Chinese counterpart.

3. “Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth”, is a law of propaganda often attributed to the Nazi Joseph Goebbels.

As Donald Trump repeats his allegation against China, it is not surprising that the words "China's trade promises" keep cropping up in the mass media as though his allegation has become the truth.

It is unthinkable that China can make such a foolish promise to make large purchases of soybeans after an outbreak of African swine fever has decimated hog numbers.

4. While a potential ban on rare earth mineral exports to the US could be compared to an "atomic bomb” option in the so-called trade war, a permanent halt on purchase of US farm goods could be compared to a "hydrogen bomb” option in the geopolitical rivalry (thanks to Trump's desperate demand for China to buy US farm goods).

China can make the following demands (actually the list can be longer) in exchange for the purchase of US farm goods:

(a) The US must remove all tariffs on Chinese goods.

(b) US must lift its ban on Huawei including its sale in the US.

(c) The US must halt all arms sales to Taiwan.

(d) The US must close its de facto embassy in Taiwan.

(e) The US must halt all communications, whether official or unofficial, with Taiwan.

(f) The US must ban all Taiwanese officials, including the leader, from the so-called transit or stopover in the US.

(g) The US must stop sending warships to through the Taiwan Strait or to the South China Sea.