By Zhong Sheng
How will the latest wave of tariffs imposed by Washington on Chinese goods affect the US itself? Obviously, the American people have already felt the impact, as the new move has extensively affected various consumer products in the US market, ranging from craft beer to musical instruments and children’s books.
All relevant analyses have indicated the same fact that some US politicians ignored the real situation when they claimed that “tariffs have had a tremendous positive impact,” and “so far our consumer is paying nothing”.
These politicians should really pay attention to the widespread protests against and condemnation of their arbitrary decision to impose additional tariffs on foreign imports and seriously face the mounting dissenting opinions and complaints of American people.
As economic globalization remains an irresistible trend in today’s world, the economic development of various countries is highly interdependent. The US was totally running counter to the basic laws of economics by constantly escalating tariff threat against other countries.
Such reckless moves of the US are hurting the interests of American enterprises and will end up causing American consumers to pay the price, and making China, the US itself, and the whole world suffer economic losses.
Researchers of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently discovered in data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics that almost all the extra costs caused by tariffs imposed on Chinese goods are borne by American importers and consumers.
A report released by the New York-based global financial services firm JPMorgan Chase & Co. suggested that the tariffs that have already been imposed by the US on Chinese imports are estimated to cost the average American family $1,000 per yearif Washington carries on with its latest plan to levy tariffs on Chinese goods.
US think tank Trade Partnership’s recent study showed that if the US imposes 25 percent additional tariffs on all US imports from China, its employment market will lose 2.16 million jobs.
Both US enterprises and public have realized clearly that by fanning the flames of trade frictions with China under the disguise of defending US interests, some American politicians just want to fool public opinions for private gains, and that such mean tricks will only drag the US into an economic downturn.
While some Americans recently preached decoupling the US from China would be better for the US, analyses of the current situation by those Americans who are still sober indicated that decoupling the US from China will only lead to recession in the US.
“In seeking to decouple the United States from China, Trump will succeed at only one thing: Decoupling the United States from the global economy,” said an article published on the website of the Foreign Policy Magazine.
This August, The Wall Street Journal published two commentaries with the topic “Navarro Recession”, criticizing the propositions of bigoted politicians in Washington’s policymaking circles, with Peter Navarro, Director of the White House National Trade Council, being a typical example.
Washington’s trade policy is “eroding the US economic growth” and “courting recession”, read the commentaries.
Andrew Collier, Managing Director and Founder of research firm Orient Capital Research, pointed out sharply that the US decision to impose new tariffs on Chinese goods is “a sword at the throat of the American economy more than the Chinese economy.”
There will be no winner in a trade war. However, some American politicians still don’t quit wielding the big stick of tariffs, regardless of the increasing pain they’ve inflicted on relevant US industries, enterprises, and consumers through willfully imposing tariffs on foreign products.
(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People’s Daily to express its views on foreign policy.)
