Essay Example on Trump's Trade War

China and the USA have engaged in global trade for a long time, which has led to different dimensions of growth. However, over the last decade, bilateral trade relations have gone out of control, and trade war ensued. Donald Trump viewed China as an economic enemy aiming at becoming the world's largest economy, long before his election as the USA president. After his election, Donald Trump took advantage of his influential position to fire shots of a trade war by imposing tariffs on a wide array of imports from China in 2018. A fully-fledged trade war ensued with the backdrop being the misuse of free trade laws.

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The battle intensified upon retaliation by the Chinese government on the trade tariffs. Trump, in his understanding, meant well for his state. He expected to boost local industries who would, in turn, ramp up their production to satisfy the market that was catered by China. On the flipside, unwelcome consequences followed for the industries in the US. The companies that engaged in buying and selling steel from China suffered and had to close down. The local manufactures also were not fully independent. They relied on expensive raw materials from China, and the local products increased in price.

Protectionism trade practices by individual governments impede global trade. Trump, an anti-globalization activist, is focused on neo-mercantilism. Unfortunately, the binary way of life is hitting the American economy hard. They have recorded million-dollar losses since the onset of tariffs. Initially, he thought that free trade was ripping of America and making it a laughing stock by nations such as Japan. In reality, upon imposing massive tariffs, China is not shaken and they are laughing at America. The vice-minister of commerce in China reported that the Chinese government was at the forefront of supporting their industries through subsidies and exploring other potential markets. Primarily, this model of political control has enabled the value chain of China to go up.

China's economic success is the source of attention by Trump on the ongoing trade war. Trump and his team assume that China is experiencing a trade surplus. Indeed, with the trade surplus, China will increase its financial capacity to invest in future technology and become a world leader in technology. Besides, China is pursuing legitimate ways of building wealth for prosperity and economic success. Instead of focusing on stopping China from being powerful, Trump should focus on ways of making his state more powerful as well. There are many advantages that the US can seize as a result of free trade with China. Joint ventures and collaborations would set them on a platform to learn the secrets of China, which they would, in turn, improve on.

It is uncertain whether China will experience significant losses in the near future. In essence, the trade war is derailing the US. China's economy is improving, with the middle class forming a bigger market than that of the US. These are just a few green lights to stop Trump from fixating on exports and imports. He is ignorant of the fact that global companies in China will devise other strategies. The notion of making where you sell is outdated as a result of globalization. Globalization's impact cannot be stopped by mere masculinity but through effective strategies. Moreover, substantial wealth and power is legitimately earned, not forced.

In conclusion, the conflict is all about protectionist policies and state socialism. There is a continued need for free trade since its impact exceeds the benefits of protectionism. The trade war affects the supply chains of nations that have nothing to do with the US and China. Therefore, the US should take up the challenge and focus on ways of becoming a dominant world economy again.