‘Bound to backfire’: Chinese state media says other nations won’t idly sit by, will retaliate with high tariffs on US

The Chinese state media has warned that US President Donald Trump's tariffs will inflict significant harm on the US economy. It said that Trump’s tariffs will more likely plunge its own economy into a predicament rather than achieving its intended goals. The Chinese state media said that Trump’s approach that assumes one country’s gain must be made on another’s expense is outdated. 

Chinese nationalist tabloid Global Times wrote in an editorial that the US tariff policy has piled ever-growing pressure on the US economy and financial markets. Trump’s strategy to gain the upper hand in trade by using tariffs is an “untenable strategy”, it said.

Trump initiated trade tensions with China, Canada, Mexico, and the European Union, just two months after his return to the White House. China responded swiftly in February and March when two sets of US tariffs were implemented. It is anticipated that Beijing will react quickly if the April 2 tariffs are enacted. China imposed levies on US agriculture and food exports, placed restrictions on exports and investments involving 25 US firms, suspended soybean import licences for three US companies, and stopped imports of US logs. Additionally, it initiated investigations into certain US fibre optic products.

“The question of whether the US economy can endure such a large-scale tariff war is not even a matter of debate. The answer is clearly no,” read the editorial.  Fear of an economic slowdown has created anxiety across the financial markets. There even are chances of a US recession. US stocks have suffered and seen the sharpest selloff in months.

The editorial said that the US government’s reliance on tariffs is a double-edged sword. Imposing tariffs to put pressure on imported goods is “bound to backfire”, it said. 

“More importantly, in response to US tariffs, its trading partners will not sit idly by. Retaliating with high tariffs on US exports could become an option for many countries,” it warned.

It said that many countries are looking to diversify their economic partnerships and reduce their reliance on the US by forging new alliances. 

“In essence, while the US may believe it is holding the "bargaining chip" of tariff pressure in trade negotiations, the negative impact of these tariffs on the US economy itself, such as rising costs for domestic businesses and consumers, disruptions to supply chains, and the subsequent loss of competitiveness in the international market, have greatly weakened its bargaining position,”  it said. 

The US tariff policy is marred by a zero-sum mindset, it said, which wrongly assumes that one country’s gain must come at another’s expense. “In today's closely connected global economy, this thinking is outdated. Every policy should consider how to increase the interests of both sides rather than unilaterally pursuing the maximisation of its own interests,” it said.

The US lacks the clout to make the entire world pay for its “ill-conceived economic policies”, the editorial said. It said that the US needs to abandon its self-destructive tariff policy to salvage the economy from an impending recession.