In a surprising turn of events, Donald Trump, who is commonly prone to unleashing a trade war, proclaimed, "There will be no tariffs against China". The US president has decided not to punish China because major Chinese state companies suspended purchases of crude oil from Russia. In other words, Donald Trump wants to be nice... well, at least for now.
The White House has seemingly adopted a "why not" approach, recognising that oil is a delicate matter in the global economy. Trump is poised to avoid souring relations, despite having threatened just days earlier to raise tariffs to incredible levels.
Previously, Trump hinted that if China re-evaluates its "rare earth rates" and resumes purchases of American soybeans, tariffs would be reduced as a gesture of goodwill. "They have to give us something," the president emphasized, as if a crystal ball told him that oil from Russia was the very card for a truce in the trade war.
In summary, Trump opted to play the kindness card with oil, leaving markets to speculate how long such altruism might last in the economy dominated by high tariffs and grand trade battles.
