Nobody else is engaging in the punitive tariff rates the US is imposing, so the rest of the world is economically more attractive than the US on the score. I don't see how China will be more hurt by this than the US.
Everyone will be hurt, of course, which is one of the reasons why the US starting this trade war is insanity.
> that doesn't mean other countries weren't engaging in unfair or protectionist trade policies either
True, although Trump massively overstates how much of this is actually happening. However, there are numerous ways to address this that don't involve self-harm. We're just choosing not to do them.
Also, the US engages in these practices as much as everyone else. There's more than a whiff of the pot calling the kettle black here.
> Also, the US engages in these practices as much as everyone else.
I don't know that this is factually true. I suspect it is. I also want to make it very clear that I'm not defending Donald Trump nor am I suggesting that the way he's going about things is the only or even an optimal way.
With those disclaimers aside:
> Nobody else is engaging in the punitive tariff rates the US is imposing, so the rest of the world is economically more attractive than the US on the score. I don't see how China will be more hurt by this than the US.
When you say nobody else is engaging in punitive tariff rates, well we just got started I think last week right? We're only seeing effects in the stock market today (and of course suppliers and importers are in nightmare mode as well). I've already linked an article discussing the EU telling China to turn shipments around or face tariffs. There's 0 chance that this doesn't continue to cause reactions.
I'm also not sure what the rest of the world being "more attractive on that score" means. Sure, prices may rise for American citizens on imported products, but if you postulate that Americans are the ones who "pay the tariff" as so many say then what's exactly the problem for exporters? Of course when we look at reality they will have to reduce their own costs to make their products more competitive to the US market to account for tariffs, or sell fewer products. But in this scenario the United States is still are far more attractive market to sell to than many other countries.
Everyone will be hurt, of course, which is one of the reasons why the US starting this trade war is insanity.
> that doesn't mean other countries weren't engaging in unfair or protectionist trade policies either
True, although Trump massively overstates how much of this is actually happening. However, there are numerous ways to address this that don't involve self-harm. We're just choosing not to do them.
Also, the US engages in these practices as much as everyone else. There's more than a whiff of the pot calling the kettle black here.