The US White House brings tariffs on Chinese goods and the President speaks to reciprocity of trade rules. There is no agreement among US political elites on the veracity of tariffs as the acceptable approach, yet they seem to get choked up when asked for workable solutions that don’t involve tariffs. Amid all this, China decides to respond with tariffs of their own on Midwest agriculture products. They are focused on the voters of the Midwest who largely went with President Trump.
This is political warfare. China can shift its trade policies on a dime because they are a centralized government. They can seek other sources of pigs and soy beans and buy them awhile as the US generates enough pressure to change its mind. They will help those who want to do that, you can bet. They can live without for as long as it takes. Those voters in the Midwest have elections coming in November. They will revolt and back Democratic candidates if the have a surplus they can’t sell. This has nothing to do with the economics, and everything to do with changing US policy by manipulating the views of people outside their own country. We will see if they are right or not. If we don’t want to allow them to win, we can agitate for a change in policy, or do what I will do, eat more cereal and pork.
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