Wonkbook: Trump finds his niche

By Matt O'Brien President Trump has finally found an econom... | Sponsored by Morgan Stanley   The latest economic and domestic policy from Wonkblog   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) By Matt O'Brien President Trump has finally found an economic issue that's not too complicated for him to do something about. That's stopping China from manipulating its currency that it hasn't been manipulating for the past two years. Trump and Chinese premier Xi Jinping's met for the first time last week, following an election that featured more than the usual amount of China bashing. Indeed, ahead of the meeting, Trump himself promised that their tête-à-tête at Mar-a-Lago was going to be "very difficult" since we could "no longer have massive trade deficits and job losses" with them. The only snag, as Trump's own Treasury Department could tell him, is that that trade deficit isn't the result of economic chicanery, but rather economic forces. China, you see, isn't holding its currency down anymore to subsidize its exports. In fact, it's doing the opposite. Read the rest on Wonkblog. Top policy tweets Half of the arrests made by the federal government each year are now for immigration crimes (up from 28% in 2004) https://t.co/BSCxyyYmeZ pic.twitter.com/gEFKYODUU0 — John Gramlich (@johngramlich) April 10, 2017 Be direct, policy wonks! Indirect policies with lots of links in the chain tend to be wasteful/inequitable: https://t.co/5k497M2G1L pic.twitter.com/QsE3lu1ouT — Jared Bernstein (@econjared) April 10, 2017 No viral video, but United Airlines bribing the head of the Port Authority was also a good scandal. https://t.co/a1HUWXuC1h — Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) April 10, 2017 ADVERTISEMENT   Most Recent Posts from Wonkblog Fox News parent company investigates Los Angeles radio host’s sexual harassment claims against Bill O’Reilly The Los Angeles radio personality's claims center on a 2013 meeting By Danielle Paquette  •  Read more »   Trump finds his niche: fixing problems that no longer exist A brief history of how China used to manipulate its currency to favor their own exports -- and why they stopped long before Trump even started running for president. By Matt O'Brien  •  Read more »   Seniors could be in for a rude surprise if Paul Ryan gets his way on taxes A little-noticed provision in the GOP plan could have big consequences for some retirees. By Max Ehrenfreund  •  Read more »   Trump considers investigation of international trade partners A new order would put Trump's "America first" economic philosophy front and center, even if it means renewed tensions with major trading partners. By Damian Paletta  •  Read more » Trump will nominate former Romney adviser as top economist The nominee, Kevin Hassett, is a supporter of free trade and a former adviser to Mitt Romney and George W. Bush. By Max Ehrenfreund  •  Read more »   U.S. hiring slumped in March as employers added only 98,000 jobs Other data suggested the rough month for job growth may be a passing fluctuation rather than a sign of a deeper economic malaise. By Ana Swanson  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Recommended for you   Federal Insider Federal news and policy update, in your inbox daily. Sign Up »         Share Wonkbook:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you signed up for a Wonkblog newsletter. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. If you believe that this email has been sent to you in error or you no longer wish to receive email from The Washington Post, click here. Contact us for help. ©2017 The Washington Post, 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071