What’s Behind the Trade War?
Trump’s burgeoning trade war is more about asserting US dominance in the world than helping American workers.
Donald Trump is flanked by members of the business community as he holds up a signed presidential memorandum aimed at what he calls Chinese economic aggression at the White House on March 22, 2018 in Washington DC.Mark Wilson / Getty
President Trump slaps tariffs on imports from many of the US’s traditional allies, condemning their leaders for unfair treatment. The mainstream media warns of the erosion of the global order.
President Trump threatens, and then imposes, high tariffs on Chinese products and other restrictions on trade relations with China. ZTE corporation, a leading state-owned, high-tech company in China, is barred on national security grounds from importing US-made components that are essential to their products. Then the ZTE action is reversed, leading some Democratic senators to denounce Trump for going soft on China.
Whose side should we be on, if any, in this burgeoning trade war?
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