The Trump administration’s announcement last week that it is “self-initiating” the first U.S. trade case in decades – against Chinese aluminum imports -- is an aggressive step, one that could signal the U.S. is gearing up for a trade war with Asia, suggests William Pesek in the Nikkei Asian Review. It’s the latest example of an outdated “America First” ideology that could ultimately hurt American consumers.
“Trump’s worldview is of the stopped-clock variety. In Tokyo last month, he spoke of U.S.-Japan automaker tensions as if it were 1987, not 2017. And his views on China ‘cheating’ America seem stuck in December 2001, when Beijing entered the WTO [World Trade Organization],” Pesek writes. “Few acts would thrill Trump supporters more than kneecapping an intergovernmental organization the president claims has ‘taken advantage of this country like you would not believe.’”
“With Trump blocking the appointment of new judges to the WTO body acting as the supreme court of trade, things may be about to get ugly. Does the global trade system have problems? Absolutely. Does Beijing, with its massive subsidies for state enterprises and forced joint-venture policy for foreigners, take liberties? Yes. But tossing grenades at a highly indebted and interconnected global economy is a grave threat to growth and stability.”
Back to International Relations
“Trump’s worldview is of the stopped-clock variety. In Tokyo last month, he spoke of U.S.-Japan automaker tensions as if it were 1987, not 2017. And his views on China ‘cheating’ America seem stuck in December 2001, when Beijing entered the WTO [World Trade Organization],” Pesek writes. “Few acts would thrill Trump supporters more than kneecapping an intergovernmental organization the president claims has ‘taken advantage of this country like you would not believe.’”
“With Trump blocking the appointment of new judges to the WTO body acting as the supreme court of trade, things may be about to get ugly. Does the global trade system have problems? Absolutely. Does Beijing, with its massive subsidies for state enterprises and forced joint-venture policy for foreigners, take liberties? Yes. But tossing grenades at a highly indebted and interconnected global economy is a grave threat to growth and stability.”
Back to International Relations
No comments:
Post a Comment