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Ming China, and its lessons for Trump’s trade war
If you want America to be great again, a retreat into isolationism is the worst path to follow. Just look at history.
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The US has imposed a 34 per cent tariff hike on most Chinese products, bringing total levies to at least 54 per cent.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
David Fickling
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From a certain angle, President Donald Trump’s tariff blitz looks like nothing so much as a chronic case of China envy.
Look at the losers’ list announced from the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday in the season finale of this all-too-real reality show: Every sign points towards a desire to Make America China Again, from the obsession with trade deficits to the promise to bring back manufacturing jobs from abroad. Think of a continent-sized economy with a persistent trade surplus and a booming manufacturing sector, and the most obvious candidate is China, Mr Trump’s most consistent bogeyman since he announced his first presidential run nearly a decade ago.
