US vs China Trade War: Trump And Xi Square Off In The Ring

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The US vs China trade war is on every major headline, as President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping put their wills to the test. Each man is very powerful, both in his own country and around the world. Both of them have huge political interests to protect, and neither of them seems interested in conceding to the other side.

US vs China Trade War History

Donald Trump has never been a fan of China’s foreign trade policies and practices. He was very vocal about this even before he was elected president in 2016. The deals China did make with the US seemed to always land in their own favor. Because of this we are now seeing a trade war that began only recently. However, the underlying factors in the US vs China standoff began much earlier than 2 years ago.

The US vs China trade war began with the launching of an investigation into China’s trade policies in 2017, according to the BBC. Following the investigation billions of dollars in US tariffs were imposed on Chinese goods last year. These tariffs sparked a backdraft of tariffs on American goods by China.

In December of 2018 both countries agreed to stop adding new tariffs in the trade war and attempt to come to an agreement that would be satisfactory for both sides. However, the talks stalled and instead of a deal being reached the US more than doubled the tariffs in effect. Beijing again responded in kind with $60 billion in tariffs of their own, and the US vs China financial conflict continues.

The Battle Is Personal

According to Stephen Collinson of CNN, the battle between Trump and Jinping is more than just a political or financial standoff. It is a test of wills between two of the world’s largest superpowers. Each of these countries is led by men who have a tenacity for success and neither of them is known to back down from a fight. The US vs China trade war is something both intend to be remembered for, and it seems both are determined to be the victor when the dust settles.

While Collinson describes both men as “strong,” and claims they have both “imposed their power on their domestic governing systems by force of will,” that statement isn’t exactly true. In fact, the bias toward Trump in the article is so obvious that it can hardly be called journalism. The tariffs imposed in the US vs China trade war are not the actions of a single dictator as the far left media would have us to believe. Instead they are the collective action of a very large group of people who have researched the trade policies and found them to be detrimental to the US economy.

For Jinping the battle is his opportunity to prove to the world that he has what it takes to lead the Chinese people. He can’t afford to lose face in this US vs China standoff, so continuing the trade war is the only logical choice. Obviously he must weigh the needs of his country and make decisions accordingly, but he should also consider the world economy when enforcing trade policy. Unfortunately the “golden rule” doesn’t come into play very often when it comes to foreign trade, and it becomes distorted. In most cases the golden rule of foreign policy is “do unto others before they can do unto you.”

Market Response To Trade War

After the US imposed more tariffs last week the stock market took a large dip. News outlets reported the dip as if it were the start of another depression. If we take a step back and breathe we will see that the market is beginning to recover from the large drop it took on Monday and the fears touted by the liberal media are proving once again to be false. While it is true that crop futures, like soybean, are taking a hit on the market, this is most likely a short term problem though. The US vs China trade war will eventually come to an end and the markets will recover. Running around like Chicken Little and screaming “the sky is falling” is a bit ridiculous in light of today’s market movement. As of this moment, the Dow is up 1.08%, allaying any fears that a market crash is imminent.

Takeaway

The takeaway from all of this is not to believe the media hype surrounding every little movement in the market. There is much more at stake than a single day’s trading in this US vs China trade war. The future of both economies is the wager on the line, and it will likely take many more months to sort out the issues between the two powers.

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