Trump 101...I like it. You are certainly correct as to his style Rory. I don't think he understands collaboration at all, simply competition and fall back to compromise if you cannot win outright. Totally one strategy, and not a lot of tactical variation either.
On Trade, in general, Trump hates the fact that we are perennially bleeding cash to the rest of the world, especially China. He thinks our economy is bigger and more necessary to our trading partners then they are to us. To him, that spells power that should be leveraged to get a better deal. All the tariff threats (and so far none have been activated) are to try to force a better more lucrative deal.
I think Trump is underestimating the political angle though. He seems to be viewing this in purely business terms where our economy gives us the leverage and a better capacity to absorb the economic pain of honoring a threat. He believes that our trade partners will therefore blink first. However, they are NOT business people holding political office. They look at the political ramifications FIRST, and I suspect that those ramifications would include, in a number of countries, the following: "Oh, the PM just told Trump to stuff his trade threats up his posterior. Good job!"
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