Charles Gasparino
Breaking: The talk on Wall Street based on their sources inside the White House is that Team Trump is looking for a face saving off ramp on trade even with China. It’s why you see the conflicting responses out of Bessent; they’re an attempt to negotiate through the media, acting tough but signaling the need for a deal (calling the China contretemps unsustainable because they are). I hear one possible way out of this is not to do done deals, but to announce some broad outline that avoids what people inside the administration know but won’t say: An economic catastrophe if the original plan with China is implemented given just how much US businesses deal with the Mainland and the rest of Asia. It won’t be easy primarily because China isn’t even talking to us yet and the deals they are poised to cut with say India dont matter that much in the scheme of things. Trump inherited a lousy trade system particularly w China that takes advantage at every step. But you would think they would know that and plan accordingly given the complexity of dealing with so many nations at once and the other variables