April 3: On This Day In 2018
During the 2016 campaign, Trump turned complaints about our “unequal” trade with China into a hot issue; he thought it made him seem macho if he talked “tough” on the trail. Once elected, he began imposing tariffs on certain foreign goods such as washing machines and solar panels. China retaliated by imposing punitive tariffs on American wares, including airplanes and soybeans.
But OTDI 2018, Trump took his grievances to the next level: He unveiled plans for 25% tariffs on 1,300 Chinese products, worth about $50 billion.
The tariffs didn’t help anyone. “Unilaterally imposing…new tariffs without a long-term strategy that leads to economic reforms in China will only hurt America’s businesses, workers, and families,” observed the Business Roundtable.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce opined that “imposing taxes on products used daily by American consumers and job creators is not the way to achieve…fairness in our trade relationship with China.”
As we’ll see in future OTDIs, Trump’s impetuous chest-thumping trade war was deeply destructive to the United States economy, on multiple levels, for several reasons.
Dive deeper
Scan a timeline of the conflict produced by Reuters
Get a general overview from the New York Times
Summary: Trump Pounds His Chest Over His Disastrous Trade War with China