Tariff Rollback, U.S. Wealth Tax, Euro-Area Warning: Eco Day

(Bloomberg) --

Welcome to Thursday, Americas. Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help get your day started:

• China and the U.S. have agreed to roll back tariffs on each other’s goods in phases as they work toward a deal between the two sides, a Ministry of Commerce spokesman said
  • China sentenced three nationals to maximum punishments for smuggling fentanyl to the U.S., in one of its highest-profile moves yet against the illicit flow of opioids that Trump has made a bone of contention in broader trade talks
• The 2020 U.S. presidential election may be a year away but one policy idea is already stirring fierce debate: a big-time tax on the richest Americans. This week’s Stephanomics podcast has the details on why Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren want to implement a wealth tax, and how it might work
• The European Commission cut its euro-area growth and inflation outlook amid global trade tensions and policy uncertainty, warning that the bloc’s economic resilience won’t last forever
• The Bank of England kept rates unchanged, though two policy makers voted for a cut
• When Christine Lagarde tries to work out why the European Central Bank can’t hit its inflation goal, she might need to look at the measure itself
  • ECB Governing Council member Robert Holzmann signaled that monetary policy has reached its limit, and argued it’s time for fiscal stimulus to step in

To contact the reporter on this story: Zoe Schneeweiss in London at zschneeweiss@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net, Brian Swint

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