ASSESSMENTS

Trump Hits China With the Tariffs We've All Been Waiting For

Mar 22, 2018 | 23:00 GMT

The president promised that the first measures he rolled out on Beijing will not be the last.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks before signing trade sanctions against China on March 22, 2018, in the the White House in Washington.

(MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Highlights

  • The United States has launched its first major trade and investment measures against China, but they won’t be the last as the White House looks to make good on its protectionist promises.
  • China will be compelled to respond in kind and may prompt the United States to retaliate in the process.
  • As the United States moves forward with its aggressive trade agenda, the need to minimize the domestic fallout of its policies will restrain the White House.

The United States has finally taken a direct shot at China's trade and economic policies. On March 22, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a response to Beijing's intellectual property policies following a seven-month investigation conducted by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The measures, including additional tariffs on certain Chinese goods and cases against China in the World Trade Organization (WTO), are bound to provoke a retaliation from Beijing. Whether this is the beginning of an escalating trade war between the United States and China, however, depends on how Washington moves forward....

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