This is CBSI in the world. I'm John Batchel. Gordon Chang at Gordon G. Chang, my colleague

co-host and friend, China, trade, the Trump administration, a new day. The headline in the

Financial Times tells the story. Headline after the inauguration. Record number of U.S. companies weigh China

exit as Trump tensions rise. Subhead. Technology and R&D groups among most likely to consider

relocation and brewing trade conflict. Brewing trade conflict. That sounds like Alan Tunnelson, our guide on trade and manufacturing

these many years, our pathfinder. Reality check is where he blogs. Alan, a very good evening to you.

Record number. So what part of the Trump administration tells them to get out of China now? Good

evening to you.

Hi, John. And hi, Gordon. It's very, very clear that it's the threat of Trump tariffs on China that's got these multinational companies really scrambling to figure out what to do.

And they realize that that threat's very credible,

because after all, during Trump 1.0, the president had imposed about $360 billion worth of

tariffs on Chinese goods coming into the United States. And that's really bent the curve of U.S.-China trade.

It had been growing very rapidly to America's detriment before that.

And that growth is really slowed down.

And the American trade deficit with China has also dramatically shrunk.

So I'm not at all surprised to read this news, but it also sheds light

and, in fact, delivers a hammer blow to the widespread claim that if Trump raises U.S. tariffs

or imposes more tariffs on more countries, that consumer prices are automatically going to

go up. Well, if that was the case, if most companies felt that they could simply pass the

costs of higher tariffs onto their customers, they wouldn't be scrambling to reconfigure supply

chains and trying to figure out what to do.

They'd simply pass the higher costs on.

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