The US president said he will introduce the extra tariff unless China withdraws its own 34% counter-tariff on American goods.
  • @Wispy2891@lemmy.worldEnglish
    80•9 days ago

    The problem is that China can live very easily without American goods, while the opposite isn’t true. They already called his bluff even before inauguration, good luck continuing bluffing.

    Now I understand how he managed to bankrupt a casino

    • @mmddmm@lemm.eeEnglish
      9•9 days ago

      The problem is that China can live very easily without American goods

      A lot of it is food. They probably can, but it will not be not easy at all.

        • @mmddmm@lemm.eeEnglish
          7•8 days ago

          Yes, but the other countries that buy from elsewhere will want their normal amounts too.

          Can other food producers increase their production while the US spirals down? Nobody really knows, we are in shock due to both global warming and the war in Ukraine. And the US is a really major food exporter.

          Can people make do with less food? Probably, but it’s not trivial.

          Anyway, China’s tariffs are completely self-imposed. They can cut them at any time.

          • ℍ𝕂-𝟞𝟝English
            2•8 days ago

            What I mean is that this could totally end with China going “fuck this, we subsidize food for our citizens” and Africa starving yet again.

            Or, hopefully, food prices rising in the developed world while the only place the US would be able to sell being Africa, below normal prices, like it happened with Russia and India and oil. But then I’m expecting too much from the world.

            • @mmddmm@lemm.eeEnglish
              1•8 days ago

              If the US manages to reduce their imports, what will probably happen is that the rest of the world will cut the more optional consumption from there so that they can keep buying the food. What means that US industry will suffer.

              But your first feeling that sellers and buyers will redistribute who they deal with is probably correct too. Anyway, the tariffs shouldn’t have an immediate effect of changing how much food moves around, but nobody knows what domino pieces they will hit on the fall.

              On the very short term, China is tariffing stuff that hurts. What means they are serious about not buying from the US and will pay extra for the privilege. And yes, also means somebody else will probably take their place.

    • @Nighed@feddit.ukEnglish
      21•9 days ago

      The idea is that China can’t live without selling stuff to the US… But it’s easier for them than it would be for the US.

      • @AwkwardBroccolli@lemmy.mlEnglish
        12•9 days ago

        There will be supply chain shocks. There is no country in the world that can absorb the entirety of Chinese production like US could. This would cause recession for China which would highly increase the chances of war in Taiwan strait.