Don’t worry gents, this is ‘the art’ of the deal.
If you cannot see the art, it is because you are not an artist, which is fine. Go back to your clay homes and make your family a giant pot of steamed rice and just wait for the artist to complete his picture. When he is ready, like magic, everything will be better.
In other news, Trump’s China hating guy, Peter Navarro, has been cursing out people left and right during talks. This is not art, but the stick that goes with the carrot. Trump tossing Navarro out there in the wild, with the Chinese, is like tossing a PTSD Vietnam vet into the jungles of Hanoi to discuss terms on a new private prison to be built for foreign nationals.
During one trade meeting at which Chinese officials talked at length about history and international relations, Navarro used an expletive in telling his Chinese counterparts he did not need a history lesson, according to a source briefed on the exchange.
However, another source with personal knowledge of the discussions said Navarro did not “curse out” Chinese officials and described the bilateral discussions as “cordial.” The person suggested that the story about Navarro started as part of a coordinated “shivving campaign” that points back to Mnuchin.
Navarro has problems with how Mnuchin has negotiated with Chinese officials, a source familiar with the discussions said. The person said Navarro took issue with Mnuchin canceling team trade discussions in Beijing and negotiating with the Chinese delegation himself. The trade advisor has also taken issue with the path of the talks, believing the Treasury secretary is not doing enough to protect U.S. intellectual property, the source said.
The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the apparent tension between Navarro and Mnuchin.
The uncertainty over Navarro’s role clouds critical Washington trade talks between the U.S. and China, which follow a separate round of negotiations in Beijing earlier this month. The world’s two largest economies are looking to defuse escalating tensions that have prompted fears about heavy tariffs and a potential trade war.
In a statement Wednesday, the White House said Mnuchin would lead the talks, along with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. The White House added that “additional senior administration officials” would attend, but did not name Navarro.
On Wednesday, a White House official told CNBC that “Peter is going to be participating in the event” and he is “part of the talks.”
Trump has long pledged to crack down on China for alleged unfair trade practices and theft of U.S. intellectual property by Chinese companies. But he seeks to do so without retaliatory measures from China that threatened to damage the U.S. agricultural industry.
According to a list obtained by CNBC, China’s delegation in Washington includes more than a dozen high-ranking government officials managing the country’s central bank, agricultural policy and telecommunications industry.
Axios also reported that Navarro cursed out Mnuchin too, all part of the pageantry of good cop, bad cop, being acted out for the Chinese. The way it works is very simple: unleash Peter on them in a room with no hope of Mnuchin. Negotiations will be sideways, after 30 minutes of Peter telling the Chinese how much he hates them. Then, like a white knight from an evil bond film, Mnuchin will appear and save the day. The Chinese will take less, fearing Navarro might get his way and give them nothing at all.
‘Tis, the art of the deal, folks.
Markets were down more than 100, now off by just 60 on news of this article being rumored to have been written.
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