Who Blinked First in US-China Trade War? Who Cares?
Negotiators have a chance to lay out a path to lowering unnecessary and unsustainable tariffs. They shouldn’t waste it.
Just don’t ask for more dolls.
Photographer: Adek Berry/AFP/Getty Images
The fact that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are traveling to Switzerland to meet with Chinese officials this weekend represents one of the first signs of sanity in the two nations’ ruinous tariff war. Both sides have an obligation to ensure it’s not the last.
At this point, neither the US nor China should need reminding how disastrous an open-ended standoff will be. Triple-digit retaliatory tariffs are already paralyzing bilateral trade worth $600 billion a year. The number of cargo ships sailing to the US is rapidly shrinking. Mainland factories are furloughing workers; nearly 16 million could lose their jobs. Bloomberg Economics predicts a 2% to 2.5% hit to Chinese gross domestic product. In the US, retailers are warning of empty store shelves within months. Manufacturers fear broken supply chains. The possibility of a recession — entirely self-inflicted — has risen alarmingly.