The trade war ceasefire between China and the US has lasted for a while. The US Commerce Secretary Lutnik, who has always claimed that tariffs would not affect American consumers, was embarrassed. What's more surprising is that he publicly exposed Trump's weakness and confessed that Trump had been very troubled by the tariff war with China.

American Commerce Secretary Lutnik

Not long ago, at an event, US Commerce Secretary Lutnik was publicly embarrassed by Americans themselves. This high-ranking US official has always insisted that despite the US imposing tariffs on countries around the world, it would have no impact on American consumers. Moreover, with the US reaching trade agreements with many countries, the so-called "impact" would be even less likely to exist.

However, when he asked the audience present whether they were affected by the tariffs, the response was an unhesitating "yes", and the voice was loud and consistent, collectively embarrassing Lutnik, which made him feel very awkward. Lutnik insisted that "tariff costs would be borne by foreign companies and US companies," but reality was like a loud slap in the face.

Walmart

It seemed that Lutnik quickly changed the subject due to the embarrassment of the atmosphere on site. He said that China's tariff measures had caused him great pain, and not only him, but even Trump himself felt very troubled. However, the trade war with China must continue, and this pain was very necessary.

But the reality is that China and the US have achieved a phased cooling down, and China has repeatedly emphasized that it was the US government that took the initiative to contact China. At this time, Lutnik's posture of "fighting to the end with China" was indeed like "shooting oneself in the foot". Moreover, his words successfully dragged Trump into the water, directly exposing Trump's true colors.

After the mutual reduction of tariffs between China and the US, Trump continued to insist that the agreement with the US was very much needed by China. The US tariff policy made China feel very painful. Now, one sentence from the US Commerce Secretary has completely unveiled the mask of the US government, admitting that the US was just deceiving itself.

An enterprise producing dolls in China

Tariffs are essentially "tolls". Importers either raise prices or cut jobs to reduce costs. A study by the University of Chicago shows that American consumers actually bear 125%-225% of the tariff costs. Trump once described tariffs as a "magic wand" to make America great again, but the result turned out to be a farce of "throwing stones at one's own feet".

Take Walmart, a giant retailer in the US, as an example. Trump has always boasted that by increasing tariffs, manufacturing would return to the US and create more jobs. But the reality is that Walmart, unable to bear the burden of tariffs, plans to lay off 1,500 people. Walmart is the largest importer in the US, and about 60% of its goods are sourced from China.

Trump is very troubled

Even though the high tariffs between China and the US have been reduced, at the current tariff rate, Walmart still faces the risk of bankruptcy if it doesn't raise prices. After Walmart appealed to the Trump administration, Trump criticized Walmart for making enough money and should bear the tariffs itself. If Walmart wants to continue to be profitable, it will need to raise prices, and ultimately American consumers will pay the bill.

Lutnik said that "companies would absorb the cost", but the reality is that small business owners cried out at the hearing that "raising taxes forces me to lay off workers". The outcome of this tariff war has already been decided: politicians' bold words will eventually turn into numbers on supermarket receipts. American politicians are now self-deceiving themselves.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7507448558342144564/

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