The False Premise Behind Trump's Trade Wars
The False Premise Behind Trump’s Trade Wars
Junious
Ricardo Stanton
Donald Trump ran on a platform of peace, economic revitalization, prosperity, secure borders, domestic tranquility and order. He won in a landslide because people were thirsty for a so-called “America First” common-sense program. However, in three months Trump has only delivered on the border security issue while his domestic, foreign and trade policies are creating undo anxiety and chaos with the potential for humongous blowback and repercussions at home and abroad.
When he ran
in 2016 Trump falsely claimed the world was ripping America off and that he was
going to make things right. He immediately embarked upon trade wars with Mexico,
Canada, the EU and China, claiming he was going to renegotiate better deals and
a better position for the US. Trump railed against NAFT and said he was going
to renegotiate that agreement which he did but the end result wasn’t much
different from the original deal.
Trump
reiterated the same claims in 2024, he said China was ripping the US off, that
the world was taking unfair advantage of the US and he was going to right the
ship. Just like in 2016 he picked fights with Mexico, Canada, the EU and China only
this time he went hog-wild threatening to impost tariffs of 20% or more on all
of them. Then he doubled down and imposes a universal tariff on all countries!
The blowback
was swift and immediate. The Stock Market tumbled, people lost trillions of
dollars in their 401Ks, Pension Fund principle, meanwhile the world responded vociferously
to his actions, so he had to back down or as he said “delay” for ninety-days.
His actions made him look wishy-washy; but in this case his delay demonstrated good
sense and prevented additional hemorrhaging and blowback.
The major problem
with Trump’s assertions the world was ripping America off is, it is false! If
anyone ripped America off it was the Owners and Controllers of Global Financialized
Capital (OCGFC). They were the ones who decided to shut down US
manufacturing, shutter American industry, transfer capital, jobs, technology
overseas and transform the American economy into a service economy employing
gig workers, part timers in a hollowed-out deindustrialized economy. These are
the same people who caused the 2008 financial implosion with their derivatives
Ponzi schemes.
This is the real cause of America’s
decline as a manufacturing giant, Sad to say, because of globalization and capital
flight these jobs and industries are not coming back to the US. Even if a few
do return, they will be fully automated, robotized using AI and very few
humans.
Trump’s ire was and still is
directed at China but it was not the Chinese leaders who sold American workers
out. All the Chinese leaders did was change their philosophy to allow direct
foreign investment, accept US technology and capital to help transform their
society from a poor subsistence agrarian economy into a manufacturing and
technological behemoth.
The Chinese Communist leaders
benefitted from being admitted into the World Trade Organization, given Most
Favored Nation Status by the OCGFC and their globalist minions like Richard
Nixon, Henry Kissinger, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, the Bushes
and Obama. China would not be America’s prime rival in the world today if it
had not been for these people! Trump’s indignation is misdirected.
On top of this, Trump’s misunderstanding
of the role of tariffs may prove to be his undoing. Tariffs are a means of
protectionism. A country imposes tariffs to protect its domestic markets and
businesses from foreign competition. Tariffs are a way for the home country to
provide itself with an advantage over its’ foreign competitors. Tariffs are
also a way to raise funds.
Trump may see this but he fails to
see the larger picture, there can be a downside to tariff wars. Historically trade, currency and tariff
disputes often lead to shooting wars and the US is in no position to wage war
against adversaries like China, Russia and Iran! The US doesn’t have the
industry, manufacturing, money (the US is bankrupt teetering on the brink of default)
or the technology to fight modern warfare against the nations it is currently
provoking, neither does Europe/NATO!
Trump’s bluster, saber rattling and bombast
are bluffs. But in this modern era, bluffing against people who are not afraid
of you who can go tit for tat and better against you may not work. Look at how US sanctions against Russia failed
over the years. Russia and China have the BRICS+ alliance as trading partners
and much of the Global South wants in. China has its Belt and Road Initiative
which it is aggressively pursuing all over the world.
Thanks to Trump’s tariffs and trade wars, who
can the US count on other than Israel? Yes, loss of US markets will be a major
blow to China but the Chinese personality will not allow them to lose face, be
defeated or disgraced. They will do everything in their power not to allow this
to happen so don’t expect China to capitulate, bow down or kowtow to Trump ever.
Ther is an old adage, “never let your
mouth write a check your behind can’t cash.” I say Amen to that.
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posted by Junious Ricardo Stanton @ 9:11 AM
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