Just as the world thought that the US and China were headed for a truce on their trade war, US President Donald Trump has sprung a surprise, threatening to raise tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports as early as Friday. No wonder investors around the world were shocked at the sudden turn of events and equity markets tanked. Trump’s threat could yet be no more than a playbook move aimed at negotiating a better deal ahead of a Chinese trade delegation’s arrival in Washington on Wednesday. International relations suffered a breakdown and it wasn’t long before myriad tensions took the form of various geopolitical wrangles across borders that fed the hostile impulses which culminated in World War II. In other words, the US trade deficit is best reduced by the country’s own efforts, not artificial clamps on imports.

Source: Mint May 06, 2019 17:15 UTC