Trump Tariffs: The Strange Way Aides Got The President To Delay New Tariffs On Chinese Goods

As part of the ongoing trade war with China, Trump intended to place a new 10% tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods, effective Sept. 1. After the recent delay of the next round of tariffs on Chinese goods, a new report has emerged suggesting that a strange method was employed to change President Trump's mind.

The White House announced last week that tariffs had been delayed to Dec. 15 and a CNN report says Trump aides were able to convince him to issue the delay by warning that such tariffs would effectively “ruin Christmas.”

The planned tariff would target retail goods. This would result in higher prices for numerous popular consumer electronics, such as game consoles and several Apple products, like Apple Watches and AirPods.

Such increases would likely have put U.S. consumers in a bind when the time came to start Christmas shopping.

Avoiding a rough Christmas season due to trade war tactics could be a move spurred by Trump's re-election hopes. With stock market fluctuations appearing to portend a coming recession, the Trump administration might be hoping to avoid any backlash from his base of supporters.

The economy is cited as the top factor for those who say they still support Trump in 2020.