China and Trump trade punches in tariff war

The tariff war between China and the United States is now on steroids, with neither side willing to back down.

China’s latest threat, however, had Trump laughing.

Raising the Tariff

After the first round of tariffs, China pushed back and said it was going to raise US tariffs to 84%.

Trump responded in kind, then China came back with 125% tariffs, as well as stating that it would file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization against the Trump administration for placing the tariffs.

Chinese President Xi Jinping added, “There are no winners in a tariff war. For more than 70 years, China has always relied on itself ... and hard work for development, never relying on favors from anyone, and not fearing any unreasonable suppression.”

Well, if that is the case, back down and eliminate tariffs and Trump would be more than happy to do the same.

Not Backing Down

While President Xi talks out of one side of his mouth, the Commerce Ministry is talking out of the other side for him, putting up a tough front that China will not back down.

A spokesperson for China’s Commerce Ministry stated, “The successive imposition of excessively high tariffs on China by the US has become nothing more than a numbers game, with no real economic significance.

“It merely further exposes the US practice of weaponizing tariffs as a tool of bullying and coercion, turning itself into a joke.”

Keep in mind, the tariffs China had in place prior to Trump going to war on this front were far higher than what the United States had in place against China. We were and have been on the wrong side of this for decades, but now everyone is trying to make the United States out to be the bad guy.

Laughing It Off

As part of this trade war, China announced that it would be targeting imported American films. When Donald Trump was informed that China would be imposing cultural import restrictions, he laughed it off, stating, "I think I've heard of worse things.” The entire room broke out into laughter over the comment.

After China announced the new restrictions, Reuters did a report, claiming that the impact would be very minimal, as box office returns in China over the last few years have bottomed out, so this was truly an empty threat.

My guess is that this was a move by China to further enrage Hollywood liberals against the administration, but China only accounts for about 5% of all Hollywood box office sales, so this is really like spitting into the wind.

When push comes to shove, China knows it needs the American consumer dollar to be successful, so, eventually, China will break, or at least that is what I believe. I don’t think this particular little war will end anytime soon, but Trump is clearly making progress with other countries on tariffs. Eventually, China will have no choice but to come to the table and bargain.