(The Street) Yes, it could all come down to pork.
During TheStreet's daily live show from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Jim Cramer spoke on the latest on U.S. - China trade.
“The Chinese keep making the same mistake: they think this is about the balance of trade ...when in reality it’s about a whole lot more than that,” the “Mad Money” host said.
It is about the free-trade contingent of the American political class versus the populist wing, Cramer said. Those factions exist within both the Republican and Democratic parties, and their approach to ending the long-running trade war varies, Cramer said.
Cramer argued the populists within President Donald Trump’s White House will continue to get their way — and tariffs could maybe rise to 30% next month — unless Beijing takes steps to demonstrate the trade between the world’s two largest economies is a net benefit.
“How can they get a deal? I think they need to start buying American goods like tomorrow, to show Trump that the free-traders have a point and their strategy can still work,” Cramer said, arguing those goods could include “grains, and planes, you name it.”
“Otherwise, the hardliners win, the trade war keeps dragging on and ... depending on what happens in the election, it could go on for years,” Cramer added.
Before a phase 1 trade deal can be signed, Cramer said China needs to stop attempting to negotiate an agricultural deal as it grapples with a major pork shortage.
"It's not a real deal at all, they need the pork," Cramer said.
