21 November 2016

News Story: Trump's economic advisers have opposing views on trade

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Trade has been at the forefront of 2016 U.S. presidential election. But it's still unclear what President-elect Donald Trump's trade policy will be as his small coterie of economic advisers has two opposing views on trade, according to local media.

One camp of Trump's advisers "largely rejects mainstream economic thinking on trade" and believes eliminating trade deficits should be an overarching goal of U.S. policy, while the other camp is "closer to the traditional GOP center of gravity on taxes and regulation," the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

The former views tariffs on U.S. trading partners and taxes on companies that move jobs abroad as critical tools to reverse a 15-year slide in incomes for middle-class Americans, while the latter rejects the hard-line position on trade and prefers slashing red tape and taxes to make the U.S. the top destination for businesses, the report said.

"It is the supply-siders versus the zero-sum crowd," Andy Laperriere, political strategist at research firm Cornerstone Macro LP, was quoted as saying.

Read the full story at Xinhua