So Where’s the Text of Trump’s Great Trade Deal With China?

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Just a quick note that we’re still waiting to see the actual text of President Trump’s “phase one” trade deal with China. It’s supposedly waiting on translation and legal review, but that’s just a pretext. The real issue is almost certainly different: it doesn’t bind China to buy $50 billion worth of agricultural products, as Trump and his team have been loudly claiming for the past week.

This is typical Trump. Get headlines with a big claim and then wait a while to release the details. By then nobody cares anymore and the details get a small blurb on page A17 and become yet another entry on the many “Trump Lies” lists that we’re all keeping. But the big claim is what most people remember.

For the record, then: the China deal will turn out to have virtually no binding commitments for China to buy anything. They will continue to buy the stuff they need and Trump will pretend that it’s a huge win even though trade figures will make it plain that China is buying no more from us than they always have.

I will of course keep you updated if I turn out to be wrong. But don’t hold your breath for that.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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