Trump's Tariffs Are A Dangerous Currency Manipulation That Benefits China.

Zev Shalev exposes Trump's sleight of hand.

Yesterday, I said countries facing Trump's tariffs could zero out their trade imbalances with the US. Today, it's playing out in real time, and it hints at a major shift in global currency dynamics, particularly benefiting China's currency ambitions. Let me explain.

Trump's tariffs are not really about tariffs at all, but about trade imbalances - If every country zeroes out its trade deficit with the US by restricting exports to the US, Trump’s Tariff logic would evaporate.

This morning, we saw my "zero-out" theory play out in real time when Vietnam's Communist Party leader, To Lam, spoke with Trump:

TRUMP: JUST HAD A VERY PRODUCTIVE CALL WITH TO LAM, GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF VIETNAM TRUMP: LAM TOLD ME THAT VIETNAM WANTS TO CUT THEIR TARIFFS DOWN TO ZERO IF THEY ARE ABLE TO MAKE AN AGREEMENT WITH THE U.S

Here's why this matters:

1. The world is awash with dollars held in government reserves.

Vietnam's trade deficit with the US exists largely because it maintains heavy U…