Drudge Retort: The Other Side of the News
Friday, October 02, 2026

The U.S. tried to rally countries behind its trade priorities. They rebelled. President Donald Trump wants U.S. allies to unite against China's trade tactics. He got a fresh reminder this week about how much his tariffs are making that a harder sell. At the annual G20 trade ministers meeting in Milwaukee, the U.S. asked the world's other top economies for help addressing four U.S. trade priorities, including combating a glut of low-cost Chinese manufactured products and forced labor in supply chains.

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... And even that agreement was largely meaningless, according to Polish Finance and Economy Minister Andrzej Domaski.

"There is consensus that food should not be used as a weapon. Of course, there is no consensus on who is using food trade as a weapon," Domaski said, pointing the finger at "what Russia is doing on the Black Sea" to block grain from Ukraine.

The divisions underscore the challenges the Trump administration faces trying to secure buy-in for its global trade priorities -- particularly vis-a-vis China -- after spending the better part of two years hammering traditional allies with a steady tide of tariffs. Trump's recent stances, from a chummy summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to a push to expand U.S. steel supply beyond the country's current demand, only add to the doubts.

A European Union official, granted anonymity to speak candidly about the closed door discussions, agreed that Trump's blanket tariffs on steel, aluminum and other manufacturing sectors "negatively impact" efforts to coordinate on an issue like China's flood of exports, which much of the West otherwise agree on.

The 27-country bloc has been swamped by cheap Chinese imports in recent years that are threatening to hollow out its manufacturing sector. Speaking in Spain on Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron criticized China for unfairly subsidizing its domestic producers and urged the European Commission to deploy more safeguards to protect European industry. ...


#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-10-02 12:25 AM | Reply

So, it seems that Pres Trump's ~what can you do for me today~ policies and deal-driven tactics are doing little to pull our strategy-driven allies into the fold?


#2 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-10-02 12:28 AM | Reply

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