Chuck Schumer: “President Trump's instincts on China are correct, but his execution is poor. He should stick with those instincts and…”

“President Trump's instincts on China are correct, but his execution is poor. He should stick with those instincts and not those who label anything we do to protect America against China's rapacious policies as protectionist. At the same time, he should fix his plan so it really does what he intends it to do or wants it to do. I have been one of the chief critics of the status quo on trade. Americans--and I share this view--resent all those academics who any time we try to do anything with China say: protectionist, trade war. The bottom line is simple. China is eating our lunch. China is rapacious. China, day by day, gnaws away at our economy by manipulating currency. They sometimes do it, they sometimes don't, but they will again when they can. By having no reciprocity, they don't let good American industries in, but they want to come here--and do, easily--buying our family jewels, our intellectual property, our leading companies in robotics, artificial intelligence, chips, and pharmaceuticals. China has a plan to take advantage of America, to surpass us economically by not being fair. They keep their huge market protected, steal our stuff, learn how to do it, then try to come sell it here and gain an advantage when they can by manipulating currency. The President should not be deterred by all of those business interests that are only interested in their profits, not in what is good for America.…”