On the Radar

Chinese Tariffs

President Donald Trump plans to levy 10% tariffs on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods beginning September 1, effectively placing a tax on all Chinese products coming into the U.S.—including toys, sneakers, and iPhones.

"Trade talks are continuing, and during the talks the U.S. will start, on September 1st, putting a small additional tariff of 10% on the remaining 300 billion dollars of products coming from China into our country," Trump tweeted.

Trump also repeated his unfounded claim that tariffs have cost Chinese rather than American consumers.

"We're taking in many billions of dollars. There's been absolutely no inflation and frankly it hasn't cost our consumer anything. It cost China," Trump said. The president added that companies are moving out of China to avoid the taxes.

However the White House's Economic Report of the President, released in March, found that any benefits from the tariffs are offset by "costs paid by consumers in the form of higher prices and reduced consumption."

Do you support additional tariffs on Chinese goods?

Hong Kong Protests

As Hong Kong braces for what will be its ninth straight weekend of mass protests against efforts by China to undermine its autonomy, the Chinese military signaled that it is prepared to deploy troops to quell the unrest.

The Hong Kong Garrison of the People’s Liberation Army released a three-minute video this week showing Chinese troops firing guns & rocket launchers, using explosives, and erecting barricades. This comes after pro-Beijing officials in Hong Kong and PLA leaders condemned the protesters for endangering public safety and said PLA units could be deployed if Hong Kong’s leaders request it, prompting concerns about a Tiananmen Square-like massacre.

Should the U.S. warn China against a military intervention in Hong Kong?

Under the Radar

End of INF Treaty

The State Dept. announced Friday that the U.S. is following through with its planned withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty “due to the Russian Federation’s continuing violation of the treaty.”

A statement from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that “Russia is solely responsible for the treaty’s demise” because of its recent development of a ground-launched, intermediate-range cruise missile which violates the INF Treaty ban on ground-launched nuclear and conventional missiles with ranges between 310 and 3,420 miles. 

Do you support a new nuclear arms treaty between the U.S., Russia, and China?

Balanced Budget Agreement

On August 5, 1997, President Bill Clinton signed the Balanced Budget Act & Taxpayer Relief Act into law, which enacted a combination of reforms to Medicaid & Medicare along with tax cuts to balance the budget.

The bills, negotiated in partnership with House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), laid the economic & fiscal groundwork for four years of federal budget surpluses from 1998-2001―the first consecutive surpluses since 1956-57 and the last time the federal government didn’t operate at a budget deficit.

Things have changed since then.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that the 2019 budget deficit will exceed $1 trillion for the first time since 2012, and with the sequestration budget caps now eliminated by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019, annual deficits will likely remain above $1 trillion until the federal government once again moves to restrain spending.

How do you feel about the Clinton-Gingrich balanced budget agreement on its anniversary?

What You're Saying

Here's how you're answering Should Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Grizzly Bears Be Removed From the Endangered Wildlife List?