Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, made another version of the argument at the White House last week, positing that dolls from China might have lead paint while dolls made in the U.S. would have higher environmental and regulatory standards. He predicted that most consumers would agree.

But Trump’s tone, and that of his aides, has shifted notably in recent weeks, as they warn of sacrifice and “transition” until, by their telling, his heavy tariffs pave the

President Donald Trump said he is willing to lower tariffs on China at some point because the levies now are so high that the world’s two largest economies have essentially stopped doing business with each other.