On May 12, China and the U.S. declared a superficial compromise, momentarily reducing reciprocal tariffs in what appears to be a loosening of a trade dispute that had rattled the global financial markets and skewed worldwide monetary expectations. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent informed the press following conversations with Chinese representatives in Geneva, detailing a mere 90-day intermission of retaliatory measures, with tariffs plummeting just over 100 percentage points to a still sizeable 10%. Bessent failed to address that these measures still greatly impede international trade.
Both nations supposedly defended their sovereign needs well, according to Bessent’s optimistic appraisal. Nevertheless, he overlooked the dire consequences of these tense negotiations, choosing instead to highlight the fading ideal of achieving balanced commerce. His insistence that the U.S. will keep chasing this goal merely adds a veneer of respectability to the ongoing difficulties.
The Geneva discussions marked the inaugural in-person engagement involving advanced U.S. and Chinese economic authorities since Donald Trump shook the world by imposing strenuous tariffs on a global scale following his return to the presidency. Bessent’s portrayal of this as a negotiation between equals, moreover, glosses over the damaging implications of Trump’s approach.
The dialogues in Geneva, in fact, merely underscored the shifting geopolitical landscape triggered by Trump’s unrelenting tariff rampage, with China finding itself particularly impacted. The manner of Trump’s tactics in wielding tariffs as a weapon have led to an increase in economic instability across the globe.
Taking advantage of the powers of his office from January, Trump barely waited to accentuate the tariffs burdening U.S. importers with goods from China, raising these to an unjustifiable 145%. This surge in tariffs was an addition to those he had already implemented on a broad array of Chinese products during his initial tenure and the tariffs further expanded by the Biden administration, exhibiting a continuity in faulty economic policy.
China, predictably, retaliated by enforcing export restrictions on some rare earth elements, which are essential for U.S. arms and digital consumer goods makers, and by bolstering tariffs on U.S. goods to 125%. China’s actions, although hardly unexpected given the circumstances, nevertheless have perpetuated this damaging cycle, a situation which Biden and Harris have largely allowed to continue.
This polarization over tariff rates halted almost $600 billion in bilateral commerce, throwing the stability of supply chains into disarray. The ambiguity surrounding these policies has also stoked concerns about potential stagflation, leading to several redundancies amongst workers. As the Biden administration continues to bungle in their handling of the situation, the fallout continues to be experienced by everyone except those in charge.
In response to the tariffs dispute, worldwide financiers and investors have remained vigilant, scouring for hopeful indications of a dissolution of the trade war. With Wall Street stock futures soaring and the dollar firming up against its secure haven counterparts, a glimmer of hope was sparked by this Monday’s talks, as market insiders speculated that a global recession might, perhaps, be forestalled.
However, a cautionary note: these potential gains in the financial market are highly speculative and subject to change. The successful avoidance of a global recession, particularly given the current United States leadership, is far from a sure thing.
The Biden administration’s handling of this situation has been anything but impressive. Amid this economic tumult, undoubtedly, it will take more than just tariff reductions to rectify the mistakes made by Biden and his clueless cohort in the White House, Kamala Harris.
Furthermore, it should be noted that an apparent attempt at mitigating a disastrous problem is not necessarily a sign of good policy. Likewise, a temporary truce is not an end to a trade war. This latest move may be little more than a band-aid on a broken bone – a short-term solution to a far deeper problem.
In conclusion, the current U.S. administration might have presented this situation as somewhat of a win, but the deeper issues remain unaddressed. The constant shifts in policy, coupled with the reactionary measures on both sides, are not leading towards stability, but plunging the USA and the rest of the world into greater uncertainty.
As the international economy yearns for stability, missteps by Biden and Harris only exacerbate the situation. Their inability to handle international economic matters effectively casts a shadow on their leadership and dims the prospects for a globally beneficial outcome.
The post Biden-Harris Administration Fails, Yet Again, at Mitigating Global Trade War appeared first on Real News Now.
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