Donald Trump’s commercial war with China did not start at dawn on Tuesday, when the tariffs that the US president imposed through an executive order last weekend entered into force. This week’s shaking, … In the midst of negotiations between Washington and Beijing to reach an agreement that redirects the situation, it is only the sequel, the continuation of the first mandate of the New York billionaire.
Since yesterday, the nearly 400,000 million dollars that the US receives in imports from China – according to last year’s data – will have an additional 10%tariff. It is additional because that rate adds to the tariffs that have survived from Trump’s first commercial war with China, in which the tax affected about 60% of the products that the Asian giant sends to the first world power.
Then, Trump made that decision for unjust commercial practices of China -in special, theft of intellectual property -while the one now justifies it for the massive entry of fentanyl in the US, whose chemical ingredients come on many occasions from the another side of the Pacific.
Beijing made it clear that he would respond with reprisals in the case of new tariffs and, a few hours after the entry into force of Trump’s measures, China announced his.
From next Monday, China will apply a 15% tax to American liquefied coal and gas and 10% to crude oil, agricultural machinery and large cars, according to its Ministry of Finance. “The unilateral increase in tariffs by the US seriously violates the norms of the World Trade Organization (WTO),” the agency denounced in an official statement. “Not only does it not help solve your own problems, but also harm normal economic and commercial cooperation.”
The Chinese authorities gave Google a second blow, by opening an investigation for alleged monopolistic practices, without the state market regulation administration having offered more details about it. The search engine is censored in the country, but the American technology maintains its advertising services for local companies operational.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Commerce included in its “list of non -reliable entities” to the biotechnology Illumina and the PVH Cord group, owner of brands such as Calvin Klein. Both are accused of adopting “discriminatory measures” against their Chinese counterparts and “damaging their legitimate rights and interests.”
And one more measure, although this is not necessarily centered exclusively in the US: China will restrict the export of some critical minerals for industrial production, such as Wolframium, Telurio or Molybdenum.
United States President Donald Trump, in the Oval Office of the White House
“Perverse measures”
The Beijing Government had so far maintained an indeterminate response, limiting itself to criticizing US tariffs and threatening with a replica with a symbolic complaint before the WTO. This waiting beat, partly attributed to the lunar New Year holidays that have paralyzed the country during the last week and until yesterday, has come to an end at the same time when Trump’s measures entered into force.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce described Trump’s measures as “perverse”, while the country’s embassy in Washington defended that Beijing’s counteroffensive is a “necessary response” with “completely justified and reasonable” measures.
Who has not yet spoken is the country’s leader, Xi Jinping. He had not done it last night with Trump himself, after the US president said on the eve that he planned to talk to his Chinese counterpart “in the next 24 hours.” In the morning, Peter Navarro – Trump Commercial Assessor and US commercial representative in his first mandate – said the call was going to occur during the day. Something similar assured the head of the White House press, Karoline Leavitt, who said the contact “will happen very soon.” Later, government sources assured Reuters that the call was finally not going to occur.
The comings and coming about the conversation between the presidents to announce an agreement or advances in the negotiations are the evidence of the differences of the US tariff war with Canada and Mexico, on the one hand, and China, on the other.
Canada and Mexico are allied countries and neighbors of the US, united for decades by free trade treaties that have given rise to economic sectors – like that of automotive – very interconnected. They have a constant and friendly relationship and share thousands of kilometers of border with the first world power. And, the US is, by far, the main market of its exports, its economy is very exposed to a tariff fight. The leaders of both countries, Justin Trudeau and Claudia Sheinbaum, did not take the phone and offer concessions to Trump – in essence, commitments for the reinforcement of the border – so that the president of the US can sign up so many politicians of doors of doors Inside in two popular matters: the fight against fentanil and the control of massive immgration.
China is a very different story. He is a direct rival, the great challenge to the global leadership of the US containing China has been the intention of the last two administrations. Trump tried in his first term through the commercial war, which ended an agreement in 2020 between both powers. In the so -called ‘One Phase’ of that agreement, China promised to import additional American products worth 200,000 million dollars. He did not fulfill in his entire for wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
Stick and carrot
Now Trump recovers his original effort. And his diplomacy of stick and carrot. One of the first people he spoke after his November electoral victory was with XI. He even invited the Chinese president to his investiture in Washington last month, when it is uncommon that foreign leaders go to the Capitol for this act, much less than rival powers (a vice president did attend, the greatest Chinese representation of history in a swearing presidential).
Next to good forms, the commercial attack. Trump warned that 10% tariffs are only the “initial save.” China is much less exposed than Canada or Mexico to US tariffs. But that does not prevent the commercial war from being very expensive. The Asian giant is weighed by a stagnation in its economic growth, and the only aspect in which its economy is shining is in exports, which last December broke a historical record.
Trump’s tariffs are dangerous and perhaps that explains an answer, for the moment, determined, with a sample that it can punish the US for several flanks, but also calibrated. The newly announced Chinese tariffs would affect US exports worth 20,000 million dollars, far from the 400,000 million in Chinese exports on which 10% of Trump weigh.
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