A new year brings new optimism that the U.S.-China trade war might not blow up the global economy after all. The two sides are on track to sign a “phase one” deal within weeks. Oddly, no one has stopped to ask if America is ready for what will happen if President Trump “wins” the trade war. Mr. Trump’s premise is that China exports too much, and the U.S. exports too little. That’s an economically dodgy proposition—trade surpluses and deficits are neither “good” nor “bad”—and as a factual matter Mr. Trump’s thinking is roughly...

Source: Wall Street Journal January 02, 2020 23:51 UTC