Trump Backs Softer Restrictions on Chinese Investment

History would suggest that none of this will work. China will honor international patent law conventions when they too have patents to protect and license. That day will come. Ideas and know-how cannot be contained within borders. The flow of investment capital, also, in this day of tax-havens and small nations devoted to hiding corporate ownership, cannot be restrained or restricted. The system is porous and monied, politically powerful in this country and Europe are too deeply involved in that practice to allow its demise. Those who read history will find that, at one time, British nationalists attempted to prevent their manufacturing technology from migrating here -- textile machinery for example -- and attempted to prevent other European countries from establishing trade with the "colonies" that did not flow through Britain. It did not work. The promise of greater profit by ignoring those imposed rules proved too tempting.

Every time Trump gets into a confrontation with China, China wins. Seems like he's finally learned his lesson and is going after targets America can beat. Europe? Hmm, not so fast. How about Canada? Nope, looks like they're beating us too. How about North Korea? Wow, North Korea just steamrolled us. We backed down and they gave us absolutely nothing. When is the world's Superpower going to find an enemy that doesn't leave Trump running and hiding in terror? Maybe we can pick on Costa Rica? Liberia? Liechtenstein? Fiji? Tuvalu?

It may be a matter of time before Europe starts to apply similar measures to US investment. Why allow the US to buy European technologies when they may be later used against Europe in some sanctions?

The hardliners and Trump may back off when the market drops by more than 10 or even 20% as a result of the uncertainty created by their attempts to play god by selectively impose tariffs du jour and changing their tune every other day. The Trump policies assumes that American business still has a monopoly or edge in major areas of technology, and these business will be able retain its lead. What the administration forgets is that a large majority of the cutting edge scientists trained in the US are foreign born, and the anti-foreign climate it is fomenting in the US may well drive some if not many of the best and brightest to other countries that welcome immigration of highly skilled personnel.

Such investment restrictions will be futile unless hardware companies can find US investors more easily. Chinese investors are far more focused on hardware companies than those in the US. The "Smart money" in US are pretty much all chasing after software investments. The reality is $1mm can fund five 2-people web startups, while $10mm can be barely enough for making the prototype of a new chip.

Chinese "investments" are essentially a vehicle for the transfer of know-how. The policy on them should reciprocate the Chinese policy on American investment.

Trump, the yo-yo, just bounces from one thing to the next. No clear or cohesive policies, no real insight or understanding of global markets, especially of China, and worst of all, little to no understanding of the complexities of global economic networks. He operates from a 1950s Mad Men perspective, out of touch with younger generations, and only skilled at bullying and whining. His actions on China reflect all of this. Trump's world has always been limited and small, but now he is operating on a larger stage, and can't manage it very well or really, at all.

Trump policy is based on what benefits Trump and company. Reporters should be looking into how does this policy impact Donald Trump personally.

Tariffs will mean nothing in the long term if the influx of Chinese nationals at US universities and tech companies is not reversed.

Of course, as long as the Trump Crime Family gets its CUT. Seriously.

Those tariffs look really to be a bribery system like those you have in Putin's countries...A general thought rule with the possibility to get waivers from the "mobster boss" in certain cases deemed to be "agreeable" to him...upon obtaining a recommendation from his bag's men, of course!

We need to separate 2 things. First, Trump provoking our allies in the EU and Canada is wrong and tarrifs there need to stop. But, and I did not vote for Trump, he is completely right on China. Just in this paper last week was the story of how Micron had a chip design stolen by China in Taiwan, then a state run Chinese company made a factory to manufacture said stolen design, then used the state/national government to sue Micron for infringing on the design it stole from them! So many people in different administrations kept saying 'Give China time, they will open'. Instead, China rolled out 'Made in China 2025' which explicitly states China's goal is to crowd the rest of the world out of key industries - and a clear violation of all the WTO standards. We need to be willing to accept some pain in a fight against China, and pain always happens. But China started this trade war decades ago, and to see people like Mnuchin have a more conciliatory approach is more of the same suits who sold out this country.

The Trump-Kushner American organized crime family is focused on profiting from occupying the Oval Office of the American people's White House financed by collusion, collaboration cooperation and conspiracy with Egypt, Israel, Russia and Saudi Arabia. That is why they are hiding their personal and family income tax returns and business records from the American people. The White House is not Trump's house. Bedminster, Mar-a-Lago, Trump Tower New York City and Trump International Hotel D.C. are Trump's barbarian pirate dens.

What a shocker! You mean he made a big stink and let the media blow it up for days, then softened his stance? Hello! Playbook! Stop feeding his frenzies, US media is pathetic!

Look to the Trump tariffs for the pattern to be adopted on investment. As with tariffs, there will be a dramatic announcement of restrictions and controls. As with tariffs, parties will be able to petition the White House for exceptions and waivers at its unfettered discretion. As with tariffs, Trump will a) enjoy the line of businesses coming hat in hand to grovel for his dispensations and b) hand out exceptions and waivers on whatever basis he feels like, including political and downright bribes and whether the petitioner stayed at Trump Hotel. Meanwhile, as with tariffs, actual problems with China poaching tech will be addressed poorly or not at all.

Essentially, Trump is realizing no other country of any size is going to bow to him. China has already proven they are leaders with this move by Trump. He simply destroyed any leverage that the U.S. had with combining with our allies. Going alone, the U.S. is just 330 million people and shrinking going against a growing population of billions .

I see. So he's going to play kissy-face with the Chinese at the same time that he forces Harley-Davidson to sit up and beg like a good doggie. Got it. Captain Chaos strikes again!!!

Putin's puppet is at it again. He is not making America great; he's making the USA into Trumpistan. Trump is all about ther money which is the reason he doesn't wish Mueller to pursue the investigation which is not a witch hunt.

No surprise...a bully met up with people who aren't intimidated by him.

You think his son-in-law, Jared, had anything to do with this? Nah...

The incompetence and outright stupidity of this administration seems to have no bounds.

Educating of a president always takes time and effort. Mr. Trump is no exception, probably will take more time and effort to educate a business tycoon. All of these tariffs & tic-for-tac exchange with China will end up for nothing. President Trump will realize that it is up to us to buy and use stuff made-in-China. We don't have to buy from them. Trading deficits are complicated to measure and illusive to explain at best. We make much more money in service contracts with China. And if China put a squeeze on service oriented contracts, many American companies will suffer greatly.

This is Trump to a T. Big bluster, lots of "strong" talk to appease his base, then finally a nod to reality. Yet the base hears only the tough talk.

Somebody just got trademark protection or casino-hotel financing.

As obnoxious as Trump is, I strongly support most his actions in regards to getting tough with the Chinese on Trade. The theft and forced transfer of our American industries IP has been unchecked for far to long. It will get bumpy in the short term, but in the end it will hopefully be a better bilateral relationship with China. The beef over trade with Ally's is not as clear a strategy from my perspective? I'm willing to defer to POTUS and his team in the short term, his bombastic rhetorical blustering aside.

IMHO, it's worth considering whether the Prez is yielding in his approach because of international pressure, or because he's reading the tea leaves that unless he softens his approach, he'll face even more aggressive defense in Congress of its Art I, Sec 8 (3) powers to "regulate Commerce with foreign Nations...." Or both.

Amazingly, the Administration came out in an okay place. JV's have been an unregulated vehicle for tech transfer to China for too long and closing this an other loopholes is overdue There are still three big problems: defining "emerging, foundational, or other critical technologies" is difficult without being too vague or too precise; implementing export control's is still a problem (particularly for Commerce); and these are defensive measures that do nothing to accelerate US innovation.