Trump was dealt a very strong hand given the global macroeconomic state, and he had no compunction about playing it to achieve nationalistic goals.
It’s wading into ideological territory not best treaded on HN, but IMO tariffs are an important tool in the arsenal, and they are being used to good effect here. The upcoming G-20 summit will be an important data point on whether we are going to see a beneficial resolution soon.
I think China is doing the math on whether a Democrat President will be less likely to wield the cudgel of tariffs so strongly, and if they can afford to wait it out, it would be much more effective if the tariffs were a bipartisan effort. Obviously that was never going to happen.
I think the US will find that national economic responses from other nations will drive the response.
The US may consume large amounts of the world's resources, but there are ample markets outside the US. These markets are growing rapidly and are open to Chinese investment.
Tariffs on specific countries is a mercantilist, short sighted, zero sum policy. It is not backed by any reality, other than the effect of the Smoot-Hawley act in the 1930s.
Tariffs on specific products to protect local industry, or subsidies to local industry have some economic sense in some circumstances, particularly as an aid to transition that industry.
But Trump's manner and mechanism of trade policy has achieved very little other than froth. The USMCA is a rewarmed NAFTA, trade policy with the EU is stagnant, the US has withdrawn from APAC in terms of economic engagement.
It’s wading into ideological territory not best treaded on HN, but IMO tariffs are an important tool in the arsenal, and they are being used to good effect here. The upcoming G-20 summit will be an important data point on whether we are going to see a beneficial resolution soon.
I think China is doing the math on whether a Democrat President will be less likely to wield the cudgel of tariffs so strongly, and if they can afford to wait it out, it would be much more effective if the tariffs were a bipartisan effort. Obviously that was never going to happen.