Donald Trump plans to wage far worse trade war with China than earlier

Former US President and 2024 presidential hopeful Donald Trump points after speaking at a Commit to Caucus Rally in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 27, 2024. — AFP

A US media report claimed Saturday that Donald Trump has been telling his advisors that he is going to impose hefty tariffs on Chinese imports after his re-election to the White House, as he is leading the Republican Party’s presidential primary.

According to experts, if such a decision is carried out, this would have adverse impacts on the global supply chain and the economies all across the world. This would also have impacts far worse than the trade war that Donald Trump had initiated in 2018.

According to the sources quoted in the Washington Post report stated that Trump discussed with advisers "the possibility of imposing a flat 60% tariff on all Chinese imports."

As Trump is inching closer to assuming the US presidency, he has told his supporters to reverse China's status as a most favoured nation for trade.

Those countries involved in trade with the US, all enjoy the status of MFN. For those who do not fall under this category, the US can impose tariffs on their imported goods.

The four-time indicted former president claimed that currently, the US has the world’s lowest import levies, as this money is a crucial support for the country’s budget, criticising President Joe Biden, and vowing tougher position against China.

The 77-year-old, during campaigns, also said to slash corporate taxes to increase earnings.

"The 2018 to 2019 trade war was immensely damaging, and this would go so far beyond that it’s hard to even compare to that,” Erica York, senior economist at the Tax Foundation, was quoted as saying in the Washington Post report. "This threatens to upend and fragment global trade to an extent we haven’t seen in centuries."

The current duties imposed on China are largely maintained by Joe Biden that were imposed by his predecessor. However, the 81-year-old president restricted Chinese access to semiconductors and other equipment.

During his presidency, Trump roughly added $8 trillion to the national debt during his first term through higher spending and tax cuts, the Post report mentioned.

"I took on Communist China like no administration in history, bringing in hundreds of billions of dollars pouring right into our Treasury when no other president had gotten even literally 10 cents out of China," the former president said before winning primary elections in New Hampshire. "Nobody even tried. We took in hundreds of billions of dollars."

A report by the US-China Business Council, Oxford Economics released in November noted that the end of the permanent normal trade with China would cost the country’s economy $1.6 trillion.

The total US imports from China stood at roughly $550 billion in 2022, Washington Post data stated.

“The current average tariff rate on those goods was about 12 percent — Trump imposed 25% tariffs on roughly $150 billion in goods, and an additional 7.5% on another $100 billion, while the remaining imports from China were taxed at a roughly 2 or 3% rate on average," York of the Tax Foundation said.

The Post reported citing experts that such a decision by the former president would spark a global trade war.