“Everything is on the table”

Secretary Bessent:

The Kobeissi Letter (@thekobiesi.bsky.social)

BREAKING: Treasury Secretary Bessent when asked about removing Chinese stocks from US exchanges: “Everything is on the table.”

China’s calculations:

Glenn on X (formerly Twitter): “So I guess China’s response to the April 9th deadline was this white paper, published just a few minutes ago.Link in ALT. pic.twitter.com/mdopNNfDEo / X”

So I guess China’s response to the April 9th deadline was this white paper, published just a few minutes ago.Link in ALT. pic.twitter.com/mdopNNfDEo

The trade imbalance is three things not one:

• Goods (they net export a lot)
• Services (they net export a little)
• Multinational company revenues (they are way behind)

What if China thinks like Bessent?

• Match tariffs yesterday
• Sell Treasuries yields are up (not down)
  • Mess with the basis trade yesterday
• Seize US corporate assets in PRC
  • Cash in banks 
  • Business units: Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, Pfizer, GM, Intel, J&J, P&G, Starbucks, DuPont
  • Patents and trademarks. Clone everything
• Freeze select exports, “$1 parts that disable $50k products”
  • Block rare earth and lithium, raw and refined
  • Hold select commodity semiconductors
  • Lithium-ion batteries
• Block market access to Chinese buyers
  • China is the 3rd largest market for US goods
  • Soybeans, airplanes
• Plus the usual (American?) bag of tricks like deport, disappear and arrest (business) people randomly

WSJ itemizes: https://apple.news/A3hoE1j4ySpOPyYTqYEXflA