Trump’s trade war with China has split White House - NYT
Representatives of the administration of US President Donald Trump have not formed a unified position on the issue of a trade war with China.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to The New York Times.
Several unnamed White House officials told the publication that the "deep split" is related to the question of how the United States should deal with China.
According to them, the United States started a trade war with China before the numerous factions within the administration had time to coordinate their positions, much less decide which issues were most important.
The result was strategic incoherence. Some officials said that Trump's tariffs on Beijing were intended to force the world's second largest economy into a deal.
Other officials insisted that Trump is trying to create a self-sufficient American economy that is no longer dependent on its main geopolitical rival, even if it means giving up $640 billion in bilateral trade in goods and services.
"The stakes in these confrontations were never as high as in the unfolding trade war that could push both countries to the brink of recession - and ultimately could spill over into the power games that are taking place daily around Taiwan, in the South China Sea, and just off the coast of the Philippines," the publication adds.
US duties against China
It is worth noting that this is not the first wave of duties imposed by the United States on China. First, the US imposed 20% duties on Beijing, then added another 34%.
After that, China imposed duties on American goods, and the day before Trump threatened additional tariffs of 50%, and he kept his promise.
The Trump administration raised duties on Chinese goods to 104% on April 9.
China responded to Trump's new tariffs by raising tariffs on American goods to 84%. After that, Trump immediately raised the tariff rate for China to 125%.
Earlier, Trump also called China's decision to impose mirror 34 percent tariffs on all imports from the United States on April 10 a mistake.
