Why billionaire John Paul DeJoria doesn't see a prolonged U.S.-China trade war
Trade tensions between the U.S. and China are rising, but billionaire entrepreneur John Paul DeJoria doesn’t see a prolonged trade war.
“It’s not good for China, not that good for the United States — it’s even worse for China — and I think it’s going to be over within a relatively short period of time,” he told Yahoo Finance.
The trade tensions heated up back on May 5 following an ominous tweet from President Trump, calling for an increase in the current tariffs on Chinese imports to 25% from 10%. The tweet sent U.S. stocks falling as investors worry that more tariffs will ding margins of U.S. companies. The market largely views tariffs as a tax.
Plus, DeJoria said companies are already looking at moving production out of China and into other countries to avoid the tariff affect.
“I don't think China wants that long term,” DeJoria added.
He thinks political theater is a factor in the negotiations and that both sides should come to a deal at the very last minute. “They're playing political games, everybody does it,” he said.
DeJoria is co-founder of Patron Spirits Company, which was sold to Bacardi in 2018 for $5.1 billion. DeJoria is also co-founder of ROK Group, the company behind a new 3D smartphone.
Scott Gamm is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @ScottGamm.
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