President Trump sent financial markets on a roller coaster over the weekend, raising tariffs and making dramatic threats to force American companies to stop locating production in China, only to calm things down with some conciliatory statements Monday morning that suggested the US and China are poised to head back to the table. The back-and-forth reflects the fundamental tension of Trump-era trade policy. On the one hand, the president is deeply convinced that bilateral trade deficits are harmful and therefore aggressive “trade war” measures give him the upper hand. On the other hand, the president follows the stock ... (full story)