US-China trade war has begun

US President Donald Trump has started a direct war against a country. The country may lose the United States in this trade war started by Trump.

Trump is only escalating the trade war with China by imposing tariffs. Goods from the country will now have to pay at least 104 percent duty on goods entering the United States. This is the most serious attack on the world that Trump has launched so far.

The imposition of high tariffs on China may play the biggest role in the fear of a sharp rise in commodity prices in the US market as a result of these tariffs.

The United States and China are the two largest economies in the world. The United States has long complained that China is abusing opportunities in various ways in the trade sector, which the United States is trying to prevent.

China's influence on the world is growing day by day. Especially in the Pacific region, the country has become a 'super-power' and is challenging the dominance of the United States.

The United States has been trying to contain China's rise for more than half a century, starting with US President Richard Nixon's historic visit to China.

Nixon met Mao Zedong during his visit to China in 1972. Although Nixon's visit was said to be "bringing an isolated and poverty-stricken nation to the world court," Nixon's visit also aimed to isolate China's communist leaders from their communist brothers in the Soviet Union.

“The high tariffs on China may play the biggest role in the fears of a sharp rise in commodity prices in the US market as a result of Trump's tariffs on various countries.”

The United States took another major step toward China nearly 25 years ago. It brought China into the World Trade Organization. China joined the WTO in December 2001.

By bringing China into the World Trade Organization, the United States wanted to bring about democratic change in the country and at the same time introduce a rules-based Western-style economic system there.

Chances of a compromise agreement with China are slim

Trump has claimed that many countries would be interested in making trade deals with his country to avoid the US's steep tariffs. But China is not in that group. Instead, China has said it is ready to see an end to this trade war.

Trump quickly clashed with Chinese President Xi Jinping by threatening to impose heavy tariffs on China, the world's second-largest economy. Trump had to impose tariffs on China to maintain the credibility of his threat. China has announced retaliatory measures against Trump's tariffs.

“You're going to see a contraction in GDP, which will reduce the labor market. You're going to have inflationary pressures. Another concern is that there's no rational thinking or direction for this strategy.”

Alex Jacquez, Special Assistant for Economic Development and Industrial Strategy in the Joe Biden Administration.

"Countries like China that have chosen to retaliate and are trying to double down on their mistreatment of American workers are making a mistake," White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said on Tuesday. President Trump's spine is as strong as steel and he will not break, America will not collapse under his leadership.

Trump announced the latest round of tariffs in the Rose Garden of the White House on February 2. Since then, Trump has had to invest a large part of his personal and political power in the fight against Xi Jinping.

China has been preparing for this war for years and is starting to show all signs of outdoing Trump in this fight.

Rather, it is unclear whether Trump and his top officials are prepared for the pressure that China is going to put on US consumers or the way it is going to increase their suffering.

Trump talks about his "great relationship" with the Chinese president almost every day, and if he assumes Xi will quickly calm down and make a trade deal with him, he is mistaken.

Trump also expressed hope for a trade deal with China during his first term, which failed miserably during the Corona pandemic.

Trade tensions are at their peak due to arrogance on both sides.

Trump claims that the United States is being “raped” and “looted” by its trading partners. Although Trump’s statement is exaggerated, several other US presidents have spoken similarly about Beijing’s trade practices.

Tensions between the two countries are often seen, especially over issues such as supplying goods at low prices to destroy other countries' markets, blocking US companies from entering the market, stealing intellectual property, interfering in the currency market, and assassinating the industrial sector.

“It is unclear whether Trump and his top officials are prepared for the pressure China is about to put on US consumers, or the extent to which their suffering is set to increase.”

Previous White House administrations have taken various punitive measures to correct China's behavior.

But Trump's aggressive behavior cannot be compared to anything else. Trump's approach is emotional and indiscriminate; he does not even have a clear strategy in this regard.

At the same time, Trump has shown very little respect for China's dignity and power. He has treated other countries the same way.

Trouble is coming for US consumers

China is the largest supplier of goods to the United States. According to USTR statistics, 16 percent of total US imports in the past few years have come from China. China dominates the US smartphone, computer and toy markets.

Once the new tariffs are implemented, the prices of these products will skyrocket and put them out of reach for many Americans.

The Joe Biden administration has increased the tariffs on Chinese imports that Trump imposed during his first term. This time, Trump has imposed additional tariffs on top of the existing tariffs. Chinese goods now have to pay an average tariff of 125 percent to enter the US market.

China may not stop at just imposing tariffs in retaliation; Beijing has other weapons to punish the United States. For example, China could stop exporting rare earth minerals, which are essential for the US technology industry.

“China is the largest supplier of goods to the United States. According to USTR statistics, 16 percent of total US imports in the past few years have come from China. China dominates the US smartphone, computer and toy markets.”

This may be why Trump is desperately looking for alternative ways to get this mineral from Ukraine and Greenland.

The US supply chain was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, which led to severe inflation. China could re-create the same situation by artificially reducing supply to punish the US.

China has several other weapons at its disposal. For example, the Chinese government can impose restrictions on the operation of US laws and commercial firms in that country.

In addition, Beijing is able to strike at the core of the US agricultural sector by restricting imports of soybeans and sorghum.

All of these moves will hurt the United States, and China will not be able to avoid them. But they will all demonstrate Xi's ability to retaliate.

Other businesses will also be hurt by the US-China trade war. For example, technology companies like Apple will have to open factories outside of China.

US manufacturing companies that rely on goods and raw materials from China will also be at great risk.

The economic consequences will be huge, says Alex Jacquez, who was special assistant for economic development and industrial strategy in the Joe Biden administration.

"You're going to see a contraction in gross domestic product (GDP), which will reduce the labor market. You're going to have inflationary pressures," Jacquez said.

"Another concern is that there is no rational thinking or guidance on this strategy."