China beefs up the trade war and Trump flip flops on tax cuts

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VIEW IN BROWSER | SUBSCRIBE FRI, AUG 23, 2019 CNBC POLITICS EDITOR'S NOTE   Hello readers,   This week meant more dramatic turns for the White House's two-front economic battle. In the trade war, China on Friday unveiled retaliatory tariffs on $75 billion in U.S. goods while also resuming duties on autos. This happened as the two sides are working toward talks early next month in Shanghai.   At home, President Trump and his advisors had to contend with increasing worries about a recession in the thick of the 2020 campaign. This resulted in a hodgepodge of leaks, contradictions, walkbacks and flip flops from the administration. On Wednesday, Trump himself reversed course by saying he wasn't looking at proposing tax cuts, just a day after he said he was thinking about it. But on Thursday, his top economic advisor, Larry Kudlow, said the White House could push for a tax cut before Election Day 2020.   Kudlow, in turn, asserted that if a tax cut were on the way, it wouldn't be because the administration fears a recession is on the horizon. Rather, he argued, it would be to accelerate already-strong growth. To people outside the administration, however, it looks like economic panic is setting in, whether it's merited or not.    Thanks for reading. Have a good weekend.   Have friends or colleagues who might like this newsletter? They can sign up here. For more on the intersection of business and politics, sign up for the weekly Capital Exchange newsletter here. Mike Calia @Michael_Calia KEY STORIES  China will retaliate with tariffs on $75 billion worth of US goods China escalated its trade battle with the U.S. with a new set of tariffs while resuming duties on American autos. Billionaire industrialist and political donor David Koch dies at 79 David Koch, the billionaire, industrialist, philanthropist, political activist and onetime vice presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party, died Friday. He was 79. Larry Kudlow says there could be a tax cut before Election Day Kudlow also confirmed to CNBC that he supported a tax cut proposal floated earlier Thursday by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla. Pompeo says the US message on Huawei is clear. Trump's words say otherwise Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, who is under house arrest in Canada and facing extradition to America, is not a bargaining chip in the trade war. But President Trump previously said he could intervene if it helps secure a deal. Adelsons give a whopping $213,000 to Senate GOP fundraising committee Their massive donations came in July, with each writing checks worth $106,500 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, according to a new Federal Election Commission disclosure filed Tuesday. Texas attacks show big gaps in cyber defenses — expect more like them Though little is known about the origins of the attacks, the spread of ransomware across small-town America has exposed a deep problem in how the country approaches cybersecurity. Ted Cruz defends Hasbro's 'Monopoly Socialism' parody board game Sen. Ted Cruz came to the defense of toy-making giant Hasbro on Thursday after the company came under fire over a "Monopoly Socialism" game that takes as its slogan the phrase "Winning is for capitalists." Here's why Trump wants to buy Greenland Greenland's growing strategic value is linked tightly to new North Atlantic shipping lanes opening up due to melting polar ice caps.       Unsubscribe Manage Newsletters Terms of Service Join the CNBC Panel Digital Products Feedback Privacy Policy   © 2019 CNBC LLC. All rights reserved. A property of NBCUniversal. 900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes and Market Data and Analysis. Data also provided by THOMSON REUTERS