Trump blasts proposed restrictions on selling U.S. jet parts to China

By Jeff Mason and Makini Brice

 

FILE PHOTO: Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and U.S. President Donald Trump sign "phase one" of the U.S.-China trade agreement during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., January 15, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday blasted proposals that could hinder U.S. companies from supplying jet engines and other components to China's aviation industry and said he had instructed his administration to prevent such moves.

 

The president's intervention illustrated, at least in this case, his desire to prioritize economic benefits over potential competitive pitfalls and national security concerns.

 

It also contrasts with the sharp restrictions his administration has placed on U.S. companies trading with Huawei Technologies, the world's largest telecommunications equipment maker, citing national security reasons.

 

In a series of tweets on Tuesday, Trump said national security should not be used as an "excuse" to make it difficult for foreign countries to buy U.S. products.

 

"The United States cannot, & will not, become such a difficult place to deal with in terms of foreign countries buying our product, including for the always used National Security excuse, that our companies will be forced to leave in order to remain competitive," Trump wrote on Twitter.

 

"As an example, I want China to buy our jet engines, the best in the World," he added. Trump later said before departing to California that, "things have been put on my desk that have nothing to do with national security, including chipmakers."

 

Trump's tweets apparently referred to reports over the weekend that the U.S. government was considering whether to block General Electric Co <GE.N> from continuing to supply engines for a new Chinese passenger jet. But Trump did not provide further details or identify the restrictions, and the White House declined to comment.

 

"This is ultimately akin to cutting off your nose to spite your face because ultimately you’re hurting U.S. manufacturing companies but you’re not having a material impact on your target," said trade lawyer Doug Jacobson.

 

The United States and China, the world's two largest economies, have a complicated and competitive relationship. Trump signed a first-phase trade deal with China earlier this year after a long trade war in which the countries levied significant tariffs on each others' products, many of which remain in place.

 

Washington is also eyeing limits on other components for Chinese commercial aircraft such as flight control systems made by Honeywell International Inc <HON.N>.

 

Central to the possible crackdown is whether shipments of U.S. parts to China's aircraft industry could fuel the rise of a serious competitor to U.S.-based Boeing Co <BA.N> or boost China's military capabilities.

 

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) said it welcomed Trump's comments.

 

“We applaud President Trump’s tweets supporting U.S. companies being able to sell products to China and opposing proposed regulations that would unduly curtail that ability," said John Neuffer, the group's president, in a statement. "As we have discussed with the administration, sales of non-sensitive, commercial products to China drive semiconductor research and innovation, which is critical to America’s economic strength and national security.”

 

(Additional reporting by Tim Ahmann; Editing by Tom Brown and David Gregorio)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-02-19

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You gotta be kidding me!!! 

12 minutes ago, webfact said:

The president's intervention illustrated, at least in this case, his desire to prioritize economic benefits over potential competitive pitfalls and national security concerns.

 

It also contrasts with the sharp restrictions his administration has placed on U.S. companies trading with Huawei Technologies, the world's largest telecommunications equipment maker, citing national security reasons.

It’s called hypocrisy. 

11 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

24 minutes ago, webfact said:

The president's intervention illustrated, at least in this case, his desire to prioritize economic benefits over potential competitive pitfalls and national security concerns.

 

It also contrasts with the sharp restrictions his administration has placed on U.S. companies trading with Huawei Technologies, the world's largest telecommunications equipment maker, citing national security reasons.

It’s called hypocrisy.

I think a better name for it is Brain Damage. 

For a man who looks at anything and everything as transactional in nature, it is hard for him to understand the sensitivity of selling technology to an enemy. Besides, his lobbyist friends visited him in the Oval Office and he hates to disappoint them. He rarely ever says no to a lobbyist. Corporations are his God. The people? Not all that important. 

Sooooo much winning!

This time: the trade war with China!

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

For a man who looks at anything and everything as transactional in nature, it is hard for him to understand the sensitivity of selling technology to an enemy. Besides, his lobbyist friends visited him in the Oval Office and he hates to disappoint them. He rarely ever says no to a lobbyist. Corporations are his God. The people? Not all that important. 

....another 10 years and they will manufacture it themselves and export it with devalued Yuan

That’s our Donald shoot from the hip not thought out or dare I say un encumbered by the thought process and to much hubris to ask for council 

5 hours ago, webfact said:

t also contrasts with the sharp restrictions his administration has placed on U.S. companies trading with Huawei Technologies

We can conclude that the national security reasons by US Huawei was a farce and without evidence. Just another idiosyncratic and foolishly thought out policy of the Trump administration. 

Payback for all those intellectual property rights and patents China has granted Trump and his daughter.

As I predicted over a year ago, Trump will turn out to be the biggest China dove this side of the PLA. He has done a 180 on everything to do with them. What do people expect from a narcissistic con artist whose only actions are motivated by self interest?

8 minutes ago, zydeco said:

As I predicted over a year ago, Trump will turn out to be the biggest China dove this side of the PLA. He has done a 180 on everything to do with them. What do people expect from a narcissistic con artist whose only actions are motivated by self interest?

True. Plus he cannot negotiate his way out of a paper bag. Bloomberg would blow him away on the negotiation stage. Nearly every nation he has engaged has gotten over on him. Fairly easy to do. MBS, Xi, Kim, the list goes on. 

 

Plus one more factor has to be taken into account. He adores dictators. 

7 hours ago, Tug said:

That’s our Donald shoot from the hip not thought out or dare I say un encumbered by the thought process and to much hubris to ask for council 

 I’m sure he’s actively discussing his morning policy tweets with his council, whilst atop his throne, adjourning with a morning flush.

Frightening!

Perhaps understandably, not one of Trump’s TVF apologists has come forward to defend this.

 

But then neither has any one of them criticized Trump for this.

 

As a trump has explained, economics over national security.

 

 

40 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Perhaps understandably, not one of Trump’s TVF apologists has come forward to defend this.

 

But then neither has any one of them criticized Trump for this.

 

As a trump has explained, economics over national security.

 

 

It's all about the stock market. It's all he cares about. He would sell off Washington DC if he could get 5000 points on the DOW out of it.