The tariff war between China and the US was initiated by Trump himself. In the past half month, China has countered move for move, leaving Trump trapped. At present, China's attitude is very clear. If Trump continues to increase tariffs, China will no longer respond and let him do as he pleases. Seeing that China is not playing along, on April 17 local time, Trump made a new statement at the White House.
On April 17 local time, Trump clearly stated: "China and the US are in dialogue over tariff issues, and an agreement may be reached soon. I might lower tariffs on China." Meanwhile, he called on China to end this fierce trade war. When asked by reporters when the agreement between China and the US could be reached, Trump said: within three to four weeks.
Now, there are several points of confusion among all parties: Trump has repeatedly said that China has approached them, but the truth must not be what he claims. Recently, the White House confirmed that China has never called the White House recently. And just a few days ago, Treasury Secretary Bethune only boldly speculated: "China may send a trade representative to Washington soon to talk to me, but I don't know who they will send!" The statements from Trump, the White House, and Bethune now clearly contradict each other. It is hard to imagine that such a major international event has American high-level officials speaking so recklessly. What kind of makeshift team is this?
It is obvious that Trump is now in a hurry. There are many reasons for his urgency, and the most important one may be related to his inability to reach agreements with all three "must-win countries."
1. Trump's top "must-win country" is Japan. The Japanese delegation is currently in Washington, and the first round of negotiations between the US and Japan has already ended. Judging from the disclosed information, Japanese media commented that there was no breakthrough. Moreover, interestingly, Japan only sent a minister in charge of economic affairs to negotiate, but Trump suddenly appeared at the negotiation venue, which caught the Japanese side off guard. Everyone can see that Trump is really in a hurry to reach an agreement with Japan. However, after the fact, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba did not show much appreciation. Ishiba expressed that the negotiations would not be easy.
2. Trump's second "must-win country" is India. The Indian side has not yet sent anyone to Washington for talks, and Prime Minister Modi does not want to appear defeated in front of Trump. In this "reciprocal tariff" issue, India was taxed 26%, which exceeded the acceptance level of the Indian leadership. Therefore, in the past half month, India has strengthened its exchanges with China, Russia, and other BRICS member states, making it clear to unite with the Global South. Faced with no other options, Trump has already set a plan: next week, Vice President Vance will personally go to India to talk to Modi. However, now various sectors in India generally believe: even if Vance comes, it won't make any difference.
3. Trump's third "must-win country" is Vietnam. Since the Biden era, Vietnam has been a key target for the US. In the past two years, Biden has indeed raised the US-Vietnam relations through various inducements, reaching the same level as Sino-Vietnamese relations. After Trump introduced "reciprocal tariffs," Vietnam offered zero tariffs for the US, hoping that Trump would show leniency toward Vietnam. However, Trump was not satisfied and hoped Vietnam would offer more conditions. In this situation, Vietnam naturally became more assertive, and the US-Vietnam negotiations have also been suspended. Recently, Vietnam and China have issued a joint statement, indicating their intention to jointly address hegemony.
Of course, besides failing to reach agreements with the above three "must-win countries," Trump's bigger problem now lies with the EU. Just hours ago, Italian Prime Minister Meloni also arrived in Washington to meet with Trump face-to-face. During the meeting, a reporter directly asked Trump: "Did you ever say that Europe is America's parasite?" Trump shook his head repeatedly and denied immediately. Meloni also looked embarrassed. It seems that Trump has put aside his previous arrogance toward European countries. After all, the EU has imposed a 25% tariff on the US, and some European officials have clearly stated: countries in Europe that do not cooperate with China are fools. Trump understands: if he doesn't show some humility to the EU, these European countries will cooperate with China further and further away.
In summary, by the time Trump concedes, the tariff war has reached this stage, which is somewhat late. Although I also believe that things will eventually be resolved through negotiations, everything in front of us has made the whole world see the reality: America's attempt to play hegemony with China won't work.
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7494454053728944692/
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