The Trump administration has officially labeled China a “currency manipulator” after the Chinese central bank allowed the renminbi to fall below a key threshold, marking a dramatic escalation in the trade war between the two economic powers. This comes as US President Donald Trump has dismissed concerns about the trade war with China, while his top economic aide said the US president was committed to negotiations with Beijing after labeling the country a currency manipulator. The US Treasury designation is seen by analysts as a largely symbolic move that will serve as a political justification for more tariffs. As I understand it, there’s a clear definition of currency manipulation that has three elements, and China at this point only meets one.
Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló resigned Friday, as promised, clearing the way for veteran politician Pedro Pierluisi to be sworn in as his replacement. The down-to-the-wire maneuvering risked political chaos and sowed bitterness and pessimism among Puerto Ricans about the fate of their island, which has been battered by years by bankruptcy and Hurricane Maria in 2017, one of the worst natural disasters in US history. However, I don’t think it’s that simple.
The US is imposing a total economic embargo against Venezuela. Trump made the announcement Monday that an executive order will freeze all government assets unless exempted, like funds used to provide humanitarian aid. The embargo expands already tough sanctions Washington has leveled against the South American nation, which has been embroiled in a political and economic crisis for months. Trump singled out Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, calling him illegitimate and an abuser of human rights. The US and several other allies recognize opposition leader Juan Guaido as the rightful president. What's really going on here?
GUESTS:
Linwood Tauheed — Associate professor of economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Dr. Jack Rasmus — Professor of economics at Saint Mary's College of California and author of "Central Bankers at the End of Their Ropes: Monetary Policy and the Coming Depression."
Dr. Adriana Garriga-López — Chair of and associate professor in the Anthropology and Sociology Department at Kalamazoo College, and associate faculty member at the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research.
Netfa Freeman — Host of Voices With Vision on WPFW 89.3 FM. Pan-Africanist and internationalist organizer intimately involved with political prisoners' causes, from Mumia Abu Jamal to the Cuban Five, and an organizer with Family & Friends of Incarcerated People.
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