In his closing address to the Republican National Convention, Donald Trump accused China and Mexico of stealing most of the U.S. auto industry. He promised tariffs of 100 to 200 per cent on cars manufactured in Mexico by Chinese companies if he returns to the White House in January. “The way they will sell their product in America is to build it in America,” Trump said, in a context that made it hard to be sure whether he was talking about that segment of the auto sector or about trade generally. (The Logic)

Talking point: In the same part of the speech, Trump boasted about his administration’s work on free trade with Canada and Mexico: “I got rid of NAFTA—the worst trade deal ever made—and replaced it with USMCA, which is, they say, the best trade deal ever made,” he said. He went on to say that his trade pact with China was better, because “they buy $50 billion of our product,” an apparent reference to a purported promise by Beijing to buy US$50 billion of U.S. agricultural products each year—which, according to U.S. government figures, has not happened.