Summary
Trump escalated his trade war with China by raising tariffs to 125%, even as he dropped tariffs on other nations to ease recession fears.
China retaliated with 84% tariffs on U.S. goods, triggering a high-stakes standoff with both sides refusing to back down.
Experts warn the escalating tit-for-tat threatens global markets and diplomacy. Trump’s team calls China a “bad actor,” while Beijing frames the U.S. as a bully.
Each side believes time favors them, making de-escalation unlikely. Business leaders urge talks, but neither leader wants to appear weak.
Trump already backtracked on tariffs for most of the world and the timing makes it look like the severity of China’s retaliation is the reason. He already looks weak.
He will backtrack when new inflation figures hit. It might take 3-6 months, but China definitely has the stronger hand, by far.
Trump can avoid the inflation by allowing Chinese goods to come through countries like Vietnam or Mexico. This is basically the status quo.
It allows Trump to save face without huge inflation for US consumers.
We pay tarrif based on country of manufacture not where it ships from. Trust me I’m looking everywhere for loopholes right now.
Correct, so what China does is ship almost completed stuff to Vietnam, they do the final piece of manufacturing and export that.
It’s not as easy as a transshipment, but for the longer term it works out.
Trump looks weak by every act he does, from smearing on his orange clown makeup in the morning to vomiting out thin-skinned unhinged screeds over Xitter at night, and every insecure bullying coward act in between. He’s the weakest president the US has ever had, by a mile.