The latest Trump tariff threat, of course, is designed to facilitate conclusion of the trade negotiations.  Talks are scheduled for Washington DC on Thursday.  It is certainly possible that the impeding escalation of tariffs will concentrate minds once more, leading to a very speedy conclusion of talks.  Or not.  Either way, the coming few days promise more drama on the US-China front than trade watchers have seen in months-- a major escalation of the trade war will happen on Friday or a truce. A second notable set of events takes place early next week that will also help shape global trade for the future.  Dueling meetings are scheduled for Geneva and New Delhi for May 13-15.  The former is the setting for the first round of talks of what is called the “plurilateral” on e-commerce in the World Trade Organization (WTO).  Not all WTO member countries have agreed to join negotiations on the topic, so only a subset of members (74 so far) will sit down to start.