Trump is playing big again, this time targeting Chinese agricultural products
Former United States President Donald Trump has recently begun to toss again. At a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, he brought out the first phase of the Sino-US economic and trade deal and threatened to demand that China fulfill a $50 billion order for agricultural products.
Lao Teh began to magnify his moves again
Speaking of Trump, this guy is really a "drama spirit". Since leaving office, he has been obsessed with returning to the White House. No, I've been zooming in lately. At the campaign rally, he brought up the first phase of the Sino-US economic and trade agreement signed a few years ago to talk about the matter, and said that China had not fulfilled its commitments and demanded that China fulfill a $50 billion order for agricultural products.
To be honest, I was stunned to hear the news. How many years have passed since this agreement, why is he still holding on? And at that time, the agreement did not say that it was necessary to buy 50 billion US dollars of agricultural products. It seems that Lao Teh wants to use this matter to brush up his sense of existence and win over the votes of farmers.
But if you think about it, it's quite a clever trick. Farmers in United States, who have always been die-hard supporters of Trump, are now taking advantage of this to paint another big pie for farmers. And China, as the world's second largest economy, is indeed a good "target". Lao Teh wants to kill two birds with one stone, not only to win over the farmers, but also to establish a tough image for himself.
What's the deal with the U.S.-China trade deal?
When it comes to the phase one economic and trade agreement between China and the United States, it is really a complicated matter. In January 2020, China and the United States signed the agreement. At that time, it was said that China would buy about $200 billion of United States products on the basis of 2017. In exchange, the United States pledged to suspend some of the original tariffs and reduce the tariff rate from 15 percent to 7.5 percent.
Sounds fair, right? But in fact, the agreement was quite from the start. The figure of $200 billion is unrealistic. Although the United States has reduced some tariffs, it still maintains unreasonably high tariffs on Chinese goods with a total value of about $360 billion.
Besides, not long after the agreement was signed, the new crown epidemic broke out. The global economy has been hit hard, and trade between China and the United States has not been affected. In this case, it is necessary to fully implement the agreement, which is not embarrassing.
However, despite all the difficulties, China has worked hard to fulfill its commitments. Data show that in the first three quarters of 2020, United States' exports of goods to China were 81.509 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 2.23%. In 2021, China imported $179.531 billion to the United States, an increase of 32.7%. It's not easy, okay.
Will Trump be able to do this?
Lao Te's trick looks quite bluffing, but can it really be done? I feel hanging.
Now that the Biden administration is in power, Trump is not the president, where does he have the authority to demand that China fulfill any agreement? Even if he is elected next year, he will not be in office until the end of next year. By then, the agreement would have expired long ago.
Even if Trump does return to power, will he really dare to impose 60%-100% tariffs on Chinese products? Isn't that a joke? China is one of United States' largest trading partners. Aren't such high tariffs pushing United States consumers into the fire pit?
Besides, China is not a vegetarian either. If the US does do so, China will definitely take countermeasures. When the time comes, no one will be able to think about it.
What does this affect us?
Trump's remarks actually have little impact on us ordinary people. But if he does get elected, and does impose massive tariffs on Chinese products, it will be different.
It may be more expensive for us to buy imported goods. After all, if the tariffs are raised, the cost will definitely be passed on to consumers.
Some export businesses may be affected. If the United States market becomes unfriendly, many companies may want to consider moving to other markets.
But don't worry too much. China is now less dependent on the United States market than it once was. And we also have the "Belt and Road" initiative, emerging markets have huge potential. Even if the United States really does something, we have a way to deal with it.
I think...
To be honest, Trump's approach is quite boring. Everyone's not a child anymore, is this kind of clever trick interesting? And to talk about tariffs at every turn, isn't this using the economy as a political tool?
I believe that no matter what country leaders are, they should think about the well-being of their people, and not for their own selfish interests to undermine the international order. Trump's approach, to put it bluntly, is unscrupulous for the sake of votes.
But then again, this kind of thing can't be solved overnight. As the world's two largest economies, it is normal for China and the United States to have differences. The key is to resolve the issue through dialogue and consultation, rather than threatening sanctions at every turn.
I hope that whoever is elected president United States will be sensible and think about the interests of the two peoples, instead of blindly engaging in confrontation. After all, win-win cooperation is the right way.
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