xinhua commentary: the us is making a mistake on top of a mistake by increasing tariffs on china
2024-09-14
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xinhua news agency, beijing, september 14title: the united states is making a mistake by increasing tariffs on china
xinhua news agency reporter ye shuhong fan yu
faced with strong opposition at home and abroad, the us government is still running wild on the road of unilateral protectionism. on the 13th, the office of the united states trade representative issued a final decision on further actions to impose "301 tariffs" on china, determining to significantly increase import tariffs on chinese-made solar cells, semiconductors, steel and aluminum, electric vehicle batteries and other products. as one of the founders of the wto, the united states abused the 301 clause to politicize and instrumentalize economic and trade issues, and its unilateral bullying behavior is despicable. this practice of the united states is harmful to others and not beneficial to itself. as the "boomerang effect" of imposing tariffs on china emerges, the ones who will be most hurt will only be american consumers, american industrial development and its green transformation process.
the previous us administration launched a 301 investigation against china and imposed additional tariffs on china, which has been ruled by the wto as a violation of wto rules. the us is once again wielding the tariff stick, seeking unilateral interests through unreasonable suppression and disrupting the international trade order, which is tantamount to making a mistake on top of a mistake. just a month ago, hundreds of companies, industry associations, etc. submitted more than 1,000 opinions to the us government, of which the majority opposed the new tariffs on china. the reasons cited included disrupting the global trade order, raising costs and damaging the interests of enterprises and consumers, making it impossible to find alternative products, reducing employment, weakening the competitive advantage of enterprises, damaging public health, and affecting the shipping industry. it can be seen that the tax increase is unpopular.
this is the reflection of the capitol in the water taken in washington, the capital of the united states, on february 13. photo by xinhua news agency reporter liu jie
who will be hurt the most by the additional tariffs on china? in 2019, when evaluating the trump administration's tariff policy on china, us president biden wrote, "trump doesn't even understand the basics. he thinks this is about making china pay for the tariffs. but any freshman in economics will tell you that it is the americans who are paying for it." moody's data also confirms this: american consumers bear 92% of the cost of the additional tariffs on china, and each american family has increased its expenses by $1,300 per year. craig allen, president of the us-china business council, believes that maintaining previous tariffs and imposing additional tariffs will ultimately make it more difficult for american companies to compete at home and abroad, cut american jobs and increase the burden on american manufacturers and consumers during inflation.
the us government has imposed tariffs on china in the name of defending so-called "fair competition" but in fact it is trying to suppress china's new energy industry. its policy logic is exactly the same as the accusation of "china's overcapacity". however, resorting to unilateral protectionist measures such as high tariffs will only backfire on protecting the competitiveness of american companies. as drew bernstein, co-founder of the us accounting firm mackay asia, wrote on the website of forbes magazine, the united states has used tariffs in the past few decades to support some industries in which it no longer has a comparative advantage. now these industries have lost their former vitality. "if tariffs become a permanent and rigid part of the economic structure, they will eventually accelerate the decline of a country."
this is the u.s. treasury building photographed in washington, the capital of the united states, on july 29. photo by xinhua news agency reporter hu yousong
the united states is just wishful thinking to suppress china's new energy industry by imposing tariffs. china's new energy products are sold all over the world with their comparative advantages in technology and price. the opportunity for industrial development comes from china's aiming at the future direction, adapting to the trend of industrial transformation, and unswervingly taking the path of green and low-carbon development. the development relies on the "family assets" of the manufacturing industry, such as a complete industrial chain and supply chain system, strong industrial supporting capabilities and high-quality and abundant human resources. the continuous driving force comes from sufficient market competition that can stimulate technological breakthroughs and business model innovation. in short, it is the inevitable result of the combined effect of market principles and economic laws. its impact on the global economy and green transformation can be described by the feedback from an american small business owner to the us government: the motor equipment needed for the production of his own company "cannot be bought in the united states or other places except china."
seeking unilateral interests through protectionism is like looking for fish in a tree. open cooperation and mutual benefit and win-win are the rational choices in the era of globalization. recently, at a u.s. senate hearing, missouri republican senator josh hawley pressed intel's chief trade officer jeff ritner on why intel invested in china? ritner's answer was very "straightforward" - because china is the world's second largest economy, the profits created in china will be reinvested in the united states. chinese companies have many exclusive and unique technologies, and intel can also apply these technologies to the united states to produce better products. in a word, cooperation with china will benefit the united states. investing in china is investing in the united states, which is essentially reciprocal. this congressional dialogue may provide some useful inspiration for some american politicians who hold a zero-sum mentality to understand the world.
