Did the Trump administration just announce plans for a trade war with ‘hostile’ China and Russia?
‘I don’t think we’ve ever seen this aggressive and protectionist a tone before in a trade agenda’
The Trump administration on Wednesday warned that it would vigorously defend US national interests against “hostile” powers such as China and Russia, vowing to use “all available tools” to combat unfair practices – a sign that the president may be preparing to erect new trade barriers.
“Countries that refuse to give us reciprocal treatment or who engage in other unfair trading practices will find that we know how to defend our interests,” said the annual report to Congress on the president’s trade agenda.
The report, the first by US Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer, comes as US President Donald Trump was expected to act on Commerce Department recommendations to impose new limits on imported steel and aluminium.
Trump also is considering retaliating against China for forcing foreign companies to surrender their intellectual property and is seeking to renegotiate a pair of major trade deals.
Other countries are frustrated as well. The only way to rein in China is by working with like-minded countries
“The tone is very different,” said economist Christine McDaniel of George Mason University’s Mercatus Centre. “I don’t think we’ve ever seen this aggressive and protectionist a tone before in a trade agenda.”