Editorial by the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The sharp rise of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since President Donald Trump’s election in 2016 is something supporters cite to show how he has helped the economy and how, despite his divisive style, the tax cuts and regulation reductions have been good for America.
But the president’s bluster about trade wars, “I am a Tariff Man,” and the important U.S.-China relationship has fueled only chaos. The Dow dropped 799 points Tuesday then had a wilder day on Thursday, closing down 79 points after falling as much as 784 points.
There’s been global fallout since Saturday, when Trump asserted that Chinese President Xi Jinping had caved in his trade war with the U.S. Trump said he’d make an incredible deal in which China would drop its 40 percent import duty on American cars in return for the U.S. dropping a planned $200 billion increase in tariffs on China’s exports.
Initially, global markets were thrilled by the news, a trade war between Earth’s two biggest economies creates headaches for nearly everyone. But as it became clear that Xi had only agreed to a 90-day truce on trade issues, not remotely what Trump claimed, investors panicked. The Dow has fallen by 2,000 points from its 2018 high, wiping out nearly all of its gains for the year. Adding to investors’ worries: the news that Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of the giant Chinese tech firm Huawei, had been arrested by Canadian authorities at the U.S. Justice Department’s behest, reportedly because she broke sanctions by doing business with Iran.
Given that she is the daughter of Huawei’s founder, Ren Zhengfei, who is revered in China for creating a tech behemoth that is a legitimate rival to U.S. firms, Beijing’s sharp reaction to her arrest was no surprise.
But the arrest only underscored the reasons why Washington has been upset with China’s trade practices. China tramples on laws and agreements it doesn’t like, not just by trading with international sponsors of terrorism and subsidizing exports, but by stealing intellectual property and business secrets from U.S. tech firms. Trump has a strong case when he says his predecessors let Beijing get away with such behavior.
But it’s his problem now. He has said trade wars are great and easy to win. It’s easy to declare nonexistent wins. It’s far more difficult to stabilize the strategically vital relationship between Washington and Beijing with the care and thoughtfulness it demands, and the world needs.