Investment Conundrums: Sanlam UK CIO Smeaton highlights the unexpected success of Trump

'He has done more than people expected'

US President Donald Trump has a "valid point" for implementing trade tariffs on China, despite prompting fears of a global trade war, as it will "level the playing field", according to Sanlam UK chief investment officer Philip Smeaton.

Under the White House's latest proposal, the administration plans to identify $200bn worth of Chinese goods on which to impose a 10% tariff that Trump claimed was necessary to rebalance a $337bn US trade deficit with China.  He also indicated possible trade tariffs with Canada and Mexico as a result of re-negotiations over the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).  While the tariffs have been much maligned, Smeaton, who became chief investment officer at Sanlam in August 2016, said they were not necessarily a bad thing. Smeaton said: "The trade war is really interesting. Tru...