Jim Rogers: Trump Will Ramp Up Trade Wars To Be Reelected

Prominent investor Jim Rogers said, U.S. President Donald Trump will ramp up trade wars again in earnest in an attempt to boost his 2020 reelection bid, Money And Markets reported.

Rogers, the 76-year-old chairman of Rogers Holdings Co. Inc., recently gave an interview with the Japan Times where he said the United States and China will soon reach a new trade agreement, which should send markets and trade soaring. But the good times will be short-lived, according to Rogers.

The reason, Rogers says, is because U.S. President Donald Trump will ramp up trade wars again in earnest in an attempt to boost his 2020 reelection bid as the U.S. economy slows down to recession levels.

"Later this year or next, when things are getting bad in the world economy — therefore America is going to start suffering — and Mr. Trump has an election in 2020, he is going to say, 'We got to bash these guys,'" Rogers told the Japan Times. "That's when Japan, China and other people are going to feel more effects of trade wars because he thinks it will help him win the election."

Rogers, who has a new book out that paints a grim future for Japan, and also warns that the worst economic recession of his lifetime is just around the corner, is in Japan this week promoting his book, "The Future of Japan and the World That Will Be Read Through the Flow of Money."

In the book, he foresees a catastrophic economic downturn within a year or two due to the "unprecedented" level of debt worldwide. The Institute of International Finance reported that global debt soared to $247 trillion in the first quarter of 2018, and Rogers said debt has increased by $75 trillion, or 43 percent, since 2008.

Rogers also portrays a stark future for Japan in the book, pointing to mounting debt, a rapidly dwindling population and a reluctance to embrace immigration.

Rogers also took a shot at central banks the world over for the practice of excessively printing money — quantitative easing — during an economic downturn, calling the practice "lunacy." - Istanbul