As tensions over trade between the U.S. and China rise, leaders of the two nations are set to meet this weekend. U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping will sit down for dinner during the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires on Saturday.
Shawn Donnan has been writing about the clash between the two nations for Bloomberg. He says anticipation for the meeting is high, but it’s unclear what each side expects to achieve.
“The idea that you could have a pause in tariffs in these kind of tit-for-tat tariffs that have been going back and forth is the best-case scenario that people can hope for,” Donnan says. “I don’t think we can expect the full peace deal in the trade wars to come out of the trade wars, on Saturday night.”
Donnan says some in the administration are hoping the trade war can be paused.
Trump heads into the meeting with Xi supported by traditional U.S. allies, including the European Union and Japan, Donnan says. While the U.S. has been at odds with allies on other fronts, they’ve found common ground about how to approach conflict with China.
But many U.S. companies have been hurt by the president’s tariffs on China, including General Motors, which announced significant layoffs this week.
“One of the things [GM] has cited is a billion dollar cost that it is now bearing form the higher steel and aluminum prices that are the result of tariffs,” Donnan says.
Because tariffs are now translating into layoffs, and also because the U.S. stock market is in a decline, Donnan says President Trump is likely to be more open to a deal with China than before.
Written by Shelly Brisbin.