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Briefing|The U.S.-China Trade War
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/briefing/the-us-china-trade-war-donald-trump.html
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The United States and China are waging a trade war. Relative to the indiscriminate trade battles President Trump has pitched against the rest of the world, a conflict with China might seem small or even justified. China, after all, is an adversary. It has taken American jobs and threatened to topple democracy in Taiwan.
But open conflict with one of America’s three largest trade partners is still a big departure from decades of U.S. policy. It will bring higher prices and lower economic growth, experts say. Is it worth it? Today’s newsletter will look at the arguments on both sides.
The case for
There are two main arguments for Trump’s 145 percent tariffs on China.
The first is about the trade imbalance. America has bought a lot from China over the years, and China has not returned the favor. To sell stuff there, American companies bend over backward to comply with Communist Party rules. Chinese companies don’t face the same barriers. Consider video games: U.S. companies have to censor their games to get into Chinese markets, if they can get in at all. Chinese developers ship their games to the United States replete with pro-China censorship.
Trump and his allies say tariffs will force China to negotiate friendlier trade rules with the United States. China can’t afford to lose America, its biggest customer, if it wants to keep its economy growing quickly. It will have to capitulate and allow more U.S. products into its markets.
The second argument is about national security. America relies on China for electronic chips, pharmaceutical ingredients and rare earth metals. (Beijing has suspended critical rare earth exports, and U.S. companies don’t have an alternative supplier.) At the same time, China is working to weaken the United States on the global stage, and America could go to war with China if Beijing invades Taiwan. The tariffs on China force the countries to decouple; companies will have to find other places, including within the United States, to source and make their products.
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