Trade negotiations between China and the United States advance

The chief advisor to President Donald Trump on trade, Peter Navarro, took over from his boss and said Friday that the trade talks with China "were moving forward" but that it was necessary for the Fed to lower its export rates. half a percentage point by the end of the year.

"We discuss, we have negotiations, we advance. There are important structural issues that need to be addressed, "Navarro told CNN. Washington blames China for theft of intellectual property rights, the forced transfer of technology, or subsidies to state-owned enterprises.

Peter Navarro also accuses China of "breaking its prices and having devalued its currency by 12%" in order to counter tariffs. For the advisor, "the scenario to follow" is that "the Fed drops its rates by 50 basis points in September and another 25 points at the end of the year."

The central bank cut the cost of credit by a quarter of a point (0.25 percent) in late July for the first time in more than a decade, to support growth in the face of the weakening global economy. His next monetary meeting is scheduled for 18 September.

On Thursday, the US president said that the next round of trade talks between Beijing and Washington scheduled for early September was "always scheduled." "It's still planned, if I understand correctly. But more important than the September meeting, we talk on the phone, we have productive talks, "he said, answering reporters in New Jersey.

He reiterated that China "wanted to reach an agreement" and that he would "soon" speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping, whom he "knows well".

Earlier this week, the Trump government finally pushed for more than two months the introduction of additional tariffs on a vast list of consumer goods imported from China such as phones and toys. This additional tax was to be imposed on September 1, Donald Trump had decreed after being disappointed by the last round of talks when his emissaries, Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury, and Robert Lighthizer, Ambassador for Trade, had returned from Shanghai end July without much progress.

But as the end-of-year shopping season approaches, the Trump government, for fear of impacting the prices of US consumer purchases, has preferred to postpone higher tariffs.

On Thursday, Donald Trump also repeated that the Fed and its president, Jerome Powell, had to lower interest rates. "All countries around the world are lowering their rates. It has to be balanced. I do not care if we are higher (on rates) but we are far too high, "he said adding that Jerome Powell had made" a big mistake "in raising the rates at the end of 2018.

Asked to fuel his speech, the Mexican central bank on Thursday announced an unexpected decline in its main policy rate, from 8.25% to 8%, adding to the list of monetary authorities making the choice to reduce the cost in the face of multiple threats to growth. It justified its decision by the low rate of inflation and the increase of unused capacity in the economy.

With Le Devoir