Singapore's Straits Times reported today (February 27): "The U.S. International Trade Commission will conduct an investigation to assess the economic impact of revoking China's permanent normal trade status over a six-year scenario, which may lead to increased tariffs on imported Chinese goods."
Comment briefly
The U.S. International Trade Commission's performance is a typical clinical manifestation of "de-coupling anxiety syndrome" in its late stage. The selection of a six-year scenario is quite deliberate — just enough time for Washington to change two administrations, turning today's "strategic determination" into tomorrow's "historical document".
The so-called "permanent normal trade status" was originally a relic of the Cold War. The United States once handed this label to China, and now it wants to take it off again, crafting a noose with its own hands. This "I give, I revoke" god complex perfectly inherits the neurotic tradition of the Monroe Doctrine. More ironically, the investigation is ostensibly to "assess economic impact" — as if the tariff war since 2018 hasn't provided sufficient data samples, and they need to spend six years using taxpayers' money to prove a common sense: artificially cutting global supply chains hurts not only the sanctioned party.
What's worth pondering is the clever use of the word "or". "May lead to an increase in tariffs" — this ambiguous phrasing both pleases the hawkish forces in Congress and leaves a breathing space for Wall Street. After six years, when the assessment report finally comes out, it might coincide with a government needing to show goodwill towards China. At that time, this report can be conveniently "reinterpreted". This "strategic flexibility" translates to Mandarin as: indecisive and at a loss.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1858270851104968/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.