By Michael Every of Rabobank
Shill
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NOUN: an accomplice of a confidence trickster or swindler who poses as a genuine customer to entice or encourage others. "I used to be a shill in a Reno gambling club."
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VERB: act or work as a shill. "Your husband in the crowd could shill for you."
I find myself having to use the word ‘shill’ depressingly often of late, but became aware that not all readers were aware of its definition - which is why the shills are alive with the sound of music.
First example: USTR Tai’s crucial speech on US-China trade policy.
I stayed up late to watch it in full, which was a good decision given the spin was shill-tastic, e.g., the South China Morning Post reporting that “Washington set to exempt some products from tariffs”, then saying 2/3 were to be open to an exclusion process. My initial reaction was shock given this was an obvious geostrategic error. Just as global supply chains are considering shifting and ‘building back better’, the US would make them 25% cheaper staying in China, and vs. new buddies such as Vietnam and India, or even Mexico. Moreover, doubling down on “Too Big to Sail” while sailing more military vessels around China would give Beijing greater relative ability to fight while feeding its fears this might actually be needed. That’s as *56* PLA planes went through Taiwan’s ADZ yesterday, worrying even Forbes magazine, and as a US/UK/Japanese carrier group exercises nearby.
However, this is not at all what Tai said. It was, in fact, continuity-Trump trade...