The ‘New Silk Road’ of Cheap Chinese Goods

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

This episode of Free Expression is brought to you by Business Roundtable, an association of more than 200 CEOs of America's leading companies. Business Roundtable member companies are at the forefront of supporting mobility, skills development and long-term career pathways for millions of workers. Learn more about how America's largest employers are leading the way in expanding opportunity at brt.org/leading the way.

Luke Vargas (0:30)

President Trump announces a dividend for American troops, saying his tariffs will pay for it. Plus, the IRS tries out a new tool in its fight to track down profits shifted to low-tax countries. And we'll drop in on some surprising stops along China's new Silk Road.

Chelsey Dulaney (0:47)

We spoke to one person who built a shed in their backyard in London. They store these packages from the Chinese exporters and then they package them up themselves when the order comes in and then they ship them off.

Luke Vargas (0:59)

It's Thursday, December 18th. I'm Luke Vargas for the Wall Street Journal and here is the AM Edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today. President Trump defended his handling of the economy in a primetime address last night, claiming to have brought down prices, announcing a warrior dividend of $1,776 for active duty service members to be funded by tariff revenue and predicting a drop in housing costs.

SPEAKER_5 (1:30)

Wait till you see the numbers are going to be shocking. And I'll soon announce our next chairman of the Federal Reserve, someone who believes in lower interest rates by a lot and mortgage payments will be coming down even further.

Luke Vargas (1:44)

The president also promised that Americans would have the largest tax refund season of all time next year. He has teased the prospect of sending $2,000 checks funded in part by tariffs to low and middle income Americans, though congressional Republicans have expressed misgivings about handing consumers cash given the size of the budget deficit and with inflation running almost a full percentage point above the Fed's target. We're set to get a fresh look at US inflation data for November at 830 a.m. Eastern. Meanwhile, we are exclusively reporting that President Trump was told by his former lawyer Alan Dershowitz this week that the Constitution wasn't clear on the issue of whether Trump can serve a third term in office. Earlier this week, Dershowitz gave Trump a draft of a book he's writing on the topic, which describes scenarios by which he could become president again. Asked by the Journal about the meeting and Trump's position on the matter, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said the country would be lucky if he served a longer period.

The US has approved more than $11 billion in arms sales to Taiwan. The sales include howitzers, missiles and anti-tank drones, along with truck-based High Mars missile launchers that would help Taiwan to inflict pain on invading forces, part of the island's goal of making China think twice before attacking. The sales come at a delicate time as President Trump tries to demonstrate support for Taiwan while pursuing trade deals with China and taking a softer stance toward the country. But reporter Zhou Yuwang in Taipei said that Beijing didn't mince words in condemning the latest news.

SPEAKER_2 (3:23)

Beijing has opposed any arms sales to Taipei, and this time is no different. A spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry expressed the reaction, saying that any efforts to arm Taiwan would backfire, and that they is basically wasting Taiwanese people's hard-earned money to buy weapons.

Luke Vargas (3:44)

The US government has accepted fault for the collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet that killed 67 people earlier this year near Washington, DC. In a filing in federal court yesterday responding to a lawsuit filed by the wife of one of those deceased passengers, the Justice Department said the Blackhawk helicopter failed to maintain vigilance to avoid the jet, and that air traffic controllers overseeing Reagan Airport's airspace didn't properly alert pilots that the aircraft were on a collision course. The government has said it's willing to pay damages to the families of those killed. Coming up, Warner Bros. tells Paramount that billionaire Larry Ellison will have to put more of his own fortune on the line if it wants a deal. And we'll look at the new Silk Road of cheap Chinese goods flooding into Europe. Those stories and more after the break.

SPEAKER_6 (4:41)

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