China Declares the “Biggest Trade War in History,” After More Trump Tariffs Kick in

Last updated on: July 6, 2018 at 10:18 am by Susan Wright

China Declares the “Biggest Trade War in History,” After More Trump Tariffs Kick in 2018-07-06T10:18:12-04:00 Susan Wright

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There’s no way this ends well for any of us, no matter what Donald Trump says.

Today marks the beginning of a what could be a very ugly and far-reaching trade war between the United States and China.

Just after midnight, President Trump’s 25 percent tariff increase on Chinese products kicked in. It covers over 800 products including auto parts, industrial machinery, and medical devices, adding up to around $34 billion.

For Trump, this is a necessary move to counter what they see as unfair trade practices, including theft of intellectual properties and what they say is forcing the U.S. to hand over crucial technology.

Ok. Sure, but these things don’t happen without pushback, and that’s what America is about to feel.

The United States and China are the world’s two biggest economies. Trump’s notion to start chopping off pieces of the U.S. economy by limiting trade and putting massive taxes (the less politically correct title for tariffs) on good Americans use is going to hurt.

Beijing insists it’s the injured party.

“China is forced to strike back to safeguard core national interests and the interests of its people,” the Commerce Ministry said in a statement on Friday. It accused the United States of “typical trade bullying.”

The government said previously it would hit more than 500 US export items — including cars and major agricultural goods such as soybeans and meat — worth the same as the Chinese products targeted by the United States.

So those farmers and trade workers that supported Donald Trump with such vigor during the 2016 election season are about to get the shaft.

Trump has said that they will “understand.”

Maybe they will. His tariffs on steel and aluminum have already hurt other businesses, like Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Even as jobs are ending and a once-uniquely American business is forced to relocate a portion of its manufacturing overseas, in order to save its European market, some of those workers affected by it are still reportedly saying they believe President Trump is working in their best interests.

I’m assuming it will take them seeing their families on welfare, maybe losing their every day comforts and unable to afford the increased prices that come from trade wars, all while Trump is off at another rally, boasting of how he’s just so, super-rich before the light comes on and they realize that maybe he’s not actually concerned with their well-being.

Then again, there is the case of Mid Continent, the nation’s largest manufacturer of nails, who have had to layoff workers and shut down equipment because of Trump’s trade war. Those Trump-supporting workers have taken the mindboggling stance of saying that Trump is awesome, no matter what – so maybe by acknowledging that, could he exempt them, somehow, from the policies that are hurting other American businesses?

How?

Trump love doesn’t leave a lot of room for rational thought. That’s another case where reality will have to set in, over time.

Trump isn’t done. He plans to hit another $16 billion with those tariffs, and of course, China vows to retaliate.

Economists warn that much more of this back-and-forth is going to break us.

The president, on a self-destructive streak and listening to no one (at least, no one of American origins), will not be swayed away from his mission.

But Trump has said his administration will respond to retaliation from Beijing with much bigger waves of tariffs, raising the prospect of worsening tit-for-tat reprisals. On Thursday, he suggested the possibility of tariffs on almost $500 billion more of Chinese goods.

He described the potential escalation to reporters aboard Air Force One: “Thirty-four, and then you have another 16 in two weeks and then, as you know, we have 200 billion in abeyance and then after the 200 billion we have 300 billion in abeyance. OK?” Trump said. “So we have 50 plus 200 plus almost 300.”

That amount is higher than an earlier threat from Trump to target as much as $450 billion of Chinese exports. It’s also bigger than the $506 billion of goods that the United States imported from China last year.

All this is on top of Trump’s temper tantrum against our trade partners to our immediate north and south – Canada and Mexico.

It is befuddling to consider the war that Trump is waging, seemingly unchallenged by a feckless Republican majority in Congress. They fear Trump’s tweets. They fear a low-info base that will believe Trump’s 280-character tirades above their own pocketbooks.

Some are suggesting that the American economy, at this point, is strong enough to withstand a few ripples, but if neither side gives, for how long can it hold?

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