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President Trump has signed a presidential memorandum directing the U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to draw up a list of Chinese products on which tariffs could be imposed. The list will be made public in 15 days, and tariffs will take effect after a 60-day comment period:
The US plans to impose tariffs on up to $60bn (£42.5bn) in Chinese goods and limit the country's investment in the US in retaliation for years of alleged intellectual property theft.
The White House said the actions were necessary to counter unfair competition from China's state-led economy. It said years of talks had failed to produce change. China said it was ready to retaliate with "necessary measures". Beijing also said it would "fight to the end" in any trade war with the US.
US stock markets closed lower on Thursday, as investors responded to the announcement. [...] The White House said it has a list of more than 1,000 products that could be targeted by tariffs of 25%. Businesses will have the opportunity to comment before the final list goes into effect.
Reuters portrays the action as "far removed from threats that could have ignited a global trade war". Bloomberg notes that many industry trade groups and companies are opposing the tariffs.
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(Score: 5, Insightful) by requerdanos on Friday March 23 2018, @05:36PM (3 children)
I don't think that's the right question to ask; President Trump may not expect China to change a thing.
I don't keep up with his daily antics (for which I apologize on behalf of my birth country to the civilized world), but when he was campaigning, one of his most cohesive messages was that American factories can't compete because of cheap imports, mostly from China, and if there were tariffs on Chinese products, that would "level the playing field" or some such so that it would be profitable to open and operate American factories making Made In America American goods; the factories would then be able to sell these goods to happy Americans who can't buy cheap imports instead, any longer.
Basically, this:
1. Problem: Cost of American goods is higher than that of Chinese goods, so American factories are not profitable.
2. Solution: Make Chinese goods cost more with tariffs.
3. Result: American Products are now cheaper than Chinese ones and so American factories are now profitable.
4. Secondary Result: America Is Made Great Again.
5. Expected Change On China's Part: Nothing, we are taking care of everything on this end with points 2-4. Just keep doin whatcher doin.
This plan seems simple, but it leaves a lot out.
Like 2.1, all products become more expensive for all Americans.
And 2.3, American factories can't afford their imported raw materials anymore.
And 3.1, sure, while domestic products would be relatively less expensive than artificially inflated Chinese ones, both of them would still be too expensive for anyone to really afford, making the profitability (and entire economy) questionable.
And 4.1, possibly heading for recession/depression from isolationism, but "Great" nonetheless.
Just as your question is serious, I give this answer in all seriousness. Further, I believe that such a plan could actually work if implemented gradually, quietly, and intelligently, but that's three things that the President tends to eschew.
A comparison: It's like saying it's intolerable for imported oil to be cheaper than domestic, so we will tax imported oil, making domestic oil cheaper by comparison. Requires nothing from OPEC -- we just tax their oil and theoretically buy less of it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 23 2018, @06:56PM
I think the continued success of certain American companies makes it clear that Americans will pay more for quality goods. Shitty shit will be too expensive, regardless of origin. High quality US stuff will be worth the price, like it has always been.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 24 2018, @02:02PM (1 child)
Except the competition isn't between China and the US. If China is too expensive, Americans will buy from the next cheapest source, unlikely to be America.
(Score: 2) by requerdanos on Saturday March 24 2018, @03:49PM
That's true across many markets, but specifically in the area of certain manufactured goods, China is such a world leader that it's priced basically all others out of the market. Though the price difference would be local and artificial, on products where "nobody beats China" this could at least theoretically work.