Han Patriot
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Haier actually owns GE btw/.
China hits back at Canada with fresh agriculture tariffs
- Thread starter Beijingwalker
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Beijingwalker
VIP Member
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- #122
How Much Leverage Does the U.S. Have in New Trade Wars on China, Mexico and Canada?
by Felix Richter,
Feb 10, 2025
Historically, tariffs have primarily served two purposes, which were to raise revenue for the government and to protect domestic industries from foreign competition. President Trump has a decidedly different view of tariffs, as he considers them a bargaining chip in political disputes. In the early days of his second administration, this has become clearer than ever, as Trump is once again using tariffs to wield economic power in pursuit of his political goals.
When he announced the implementation of a 25-percent tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10-percent additional tariff on China on February 1, it wasn’t to raise government revenue or protect U.S. industries, but to stop what he describes as “the flood of illegal aliens and drugs” from pouring into the United States. During his campaign, Trump has repeatedly blamed Mexico, Canada and China for their respective roles in the illicit fentanyl trade and the latest tariffs are his way of forcing them into action.
So exactly how much leverage does the U.S. have potential trade wars with Canada, Mexico and China? First of all, it’s important to remember that these are America’s most important trade partners, accounting for 43 percent of U.S. goods imports and 41 percent of U.S. exports in 2023, meaning that U.S. tariffs on goods from these countries or reciprocal tariffs have the potential to hurt U.S. business and consumers alike. The U.S. is, however, less reliant on trade than other countries, including China and especially Canada and Mexico. According to the World Bank, U.S. trade, i.e. imports and exports of goods and services, was equivalent to 25 percent of U.S. GDP in 2023. For China, the trade-to-GDP-ratio was 37 percent, while it was much higher at 67 and 73 percent for Canada and Mexico, respectively.
As our chart shows, the latter two are extremely vulnerable to U.S. tariffs, as their powerful neighbor accounted for roughly 80 percent of both Mexican and Canadian exports in 2023. This gives the Trump administration significant leverage in future negotiations, as high tariffs could prove catastrophic to Canadian and Mexican businesses catering to the U.S. market. The same cannot be said for China, which isn’t as dependent on the U.S. as a target market for its goods. In 2023, the U.S. accounted for just 15 percent of Chinese exports, leaving Trump with a tougher position to negotiate from.
by Felix Richter,
Feb 10, 2025
Historically, tariffs have primarily served two purposes, which were to raise revenue for the government and to protect domestic industries from foreign competition. President Trump has a decidedly different view of tariffs, as he considers them a bargaining chip in political disputes. In the early days of his second administration, this has become clearer than ever, as Trump is once again using tariffs to wield economic power in pursuit of his political goals.
When he announced the implementation of a 25-percent tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10-percent additional tariff on China on February 1, it wasn’t to raise government revenue or protect U.S. industries, but to stop what he describes as “the flood of illegal aliens and drugs” from pouring into the United States. During his campaign, Trump has repeatedly blamed Mexico, Canada and China for their respective roles in the illicit fentanyl trade and the latest tariffs are his way of forcing them into action.
So exactly how much leverage does the U.S. have potential trade wars with Canada, Mexico and China? First of all, it’s important to remember that these are America’s most important trade partners, accounting for 43 percent of U.S. goods imports and 41 percent of U.S. exports in 2023, meaning that U.S. tariffs on goods from these countries or reciprocal tariffs have the potential to hurt U.S. business and consumers alike. The U.S. is, however, less reliant on trade than other countries, including China and especially Canada and Mexico. According to the World Bank, U.S. trade, i.e. imports and exports of goods and services, was equivalent to 25 percent of U.S. GDP in 2023. For China, the trade-to-GDP-ratio was 37 percent, while it was much higher at 67 and 73 percent for Canada and Mexico, respectively.
As our chart shows, the latter two are extremely vulnerable to U.S. tariffs, as their powerful neighbor accounted for roughly 80 percent of both Mexican and Canadian exports in 2023. This gives the Trump administration significant leverage in future negotiations, as high tariffs could prove catastrophic to Canadian and Mexican businesses catering to the U.S. market. The same cannot be said for China, which isn’t as dependent on the U.S. as a target market for its goods. In 2023, the U.S. accounted for just 15 percent of Chinese exports, leaving Trump with a tougher position to negotiate from.
ety
Trusted Member
Chines Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference said how China will handle Sino-US relation including the tariffs:
他强任他强，清风拂山岗; 他横任他横，明月照大江。
Let him be strong, let him be strong - the gentle breeze caresses the mountain ridges;
Let him be fierce, let him be fierce - the bright moon shines upon the great river.
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Beijingwalker
VIP Member
- Thread starter
- #125
Macron to Trump: Make trade war with China, not with us
“Come on, you cannot have a trade war with China and Europe at the same time,” Macron tells Fox News in an interview.
Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the White House to discuss the war in Ukraine was the first by a European leader since Donald Trump dramatically reversed the U.S. position on the war in Ukraine. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
FEBRUARY 25, 2025 1:06 PM CET
French President Emmanuel Macron hopes he convinced United States President Donald Trump not to wage a trade war against Europe — and to instead focus on China.
“Come on, you cannot have a trade war with China and Europe at the same time. I hope I convinced him,” Macron told Fox News in an interview after meeting Trump in Washington Monday.
Macron said Washington’s “priority is to put tariffs on China” and that fighting a trade war with Europe at the same time would go against U.S. interests.
“I hope I did convince him on trade and tariffs," Macron told Trump’s favorite TV station. “I told him: It’s very important for you not to launch new tariffs.”
Macron’s visit to the White House to discuss the war in Ukraine was the first by a European leader since Trump dramatically reversed the U.S. position on the war in Ukraine, accusing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of being “a dictator without elections” and opening talks with aggressor Russia on how to end a three-year-old war.
In Washington, the two leaders tried to convince the world of their special relationship, exchanging compliments, hugs and jokes. But they still disagreed on how to end the Russia-Ukraine war, and on how to head off a full-scale transatlantic trade war.
Earlier this month, Trump floated 25 percent tariffs on a wide range of imports, including from Europe. He also threatened “reciprocal” tariffs in retaliation against a wide range of regulations and taxes that Washington sees as discriminatory, including value-added taxes that are collected by the vast majority of nations of the world.
Macron said he tried to convince Trump not to impose those tariffs, stressing that Europe has not done anything that deserves a U.S. retalation. “VAT is not a tariff, and I argued it,” Macron said, adding that “we didn't tariff the U.S.”
Macron also stressed that European countries will be unable to boost defense spending, as demanded by the U.S., if they also face a transatlantic trade war.
“How do you want us to increase security and defense expenditure if we are in a trade war?” Macron said.
Macron will brief leaders of other EU countries Wednesday on his meeting with Trump, ahead of a special gathering of EU leaders scheduled for next week.
Beijingwalker
VIP Member
- Thread starter
- #126
This approach to a bully is so pathetic, spineless Europe.
SiliconBit (silicon0000)
Trusted Member
The global landscape is undeniably shifting towards a multipolar system, with the US, Russia, China, and the nascent EU/Canada bloc leading the charge. Other regions, such as the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific/South China Sea, may also ascend to greater prominence, particularly if US foreign policy continues its current trajectory of confrontation. This multipolar trend is further amplified by the growing influence of established and emerging blocs like BRICS, the OIC, ASEAN, the SCO, the AU, the Turkic Council, and various Latin American alliances including the Pacific Alliance, Mercosur, SICA, UNASUR, and CELAC. It appears we are rapidly transitioning to this new world order, arguably with recent Trump/US foreign policy playing a catalytic role.
tower9
Registered Member
We are already in a multi-polar world. Trump's administration is the first American administration to recognize that, while Biden's govt spent four years in complete denial.
China is also the world's most powerful nation state now and the world will quickly recognize this fact in the next few years.
SiliconBit (silicon0000)
Trusted Member
I would say it was bipolar, with the US, the West, and other US allies on one side, and Russia, China, and some other countries on the other. However, it has changed into a multipolar system now.
Developereo
Elite Member
mythbuster
Trusted Member
ety
Trusted Member
That depends on what the US can offer Russia, how Russia view and trust US motives and what Russia wants its relation with China. I doubt US is willing to lift all of its crippling sanctions against Russia and trust it as a truly equal trustable strategic partner. Putin must be wary of US motives considering US has tricked and cheated Russia after the cold war, and who knows what American policy towards Russia will be after 4 years of "friendly" Trump presidency, Trump is considered an anomaly in politics. What does Russia want its relation with China ? I don't think Putin wants China to be an enemy as its largest neighbor but to avoid what happened between the two countries in the cold war, so it's unlikely that Putin will align with Trump against China for the sake to befriend with US, but Russia maybe want to become more independent from China esp in economic sense when its relation with US improves after the Ukraine war.
Putin just called Xi two days ago before meeting Trump , they reaffirmed the two countries' long term strategic partnership hasn't changed.
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tower9
Registered Member
Russia and especially Putin's Russia won't go against China.
Of course they will make nice with Trump when he is basically giving them everything they want. They will pursue their interests and make deals. China does the same, making deals with Europe and the West. However, Russia won't align itself with the US against China because of several reasons.
1. The US has been very hostile to Russia and there is no guarantee that the Democrats won't return in four years and undo everything Trump has done.
2. China is a much more important country to Russia, economically, geopolitically, militarily. Plus, why would Russia antagonize a friendly country that is now proving to be the dominant economic and technological superpower in the world, and if hostile, could probably seize huge swathes of your territory? Just doesn't make sense.
MH.Yang
Trusted Member
Putin won't offend China for Trump. No one with a normal IQ would do that. Putin has been in frequent contact with the Chinese government lately, apparently to avoid prejudgement by the Chinese government.
But it would also be seriously damaging to China's interests if the whole of Europe were to fall into turmoil, or even if the stability and order of the whole world were to be undermined.
Do not forget that we are a country that relies on trade to develop its economy, and we need a peaceful and stable world.
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