“There is a pause on tariffs is because there is a realisation that a course correction is needed,” Curtis said on how the administration has realised that the Trump’s tariff strategy has backfired.
Trump, on April 9, had announced a 90-day tariff pause for about 75 countries, including India, Vietnam, and 27-nations group European Union (EU), citing that the nations have called for negotiations over the tariffs. However, Trump excluded China from this decision and increased the tariffs to 125%, after China increased the tariffs to 84% from 34% on US imports.Read more: US Stock Markets Live: Dow futures fall 200 points after China raises tariffs to 125%
“Trump has been advised to go big on tariffs by Peter Navarro but it is good that the likes of Elon Musk have pushed back,” Curtis, a former state department and CIA official and also a Republican, added.
The internal conflicts have made Trump realise that a pause is needed. “Lot of infighting between pro-tariff, pro-business and traditional US policy officials in the White House,” Curtis stated.
A course correction on the US tariffs policy can be expected for China, she said.
Considering the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, Trump has started a course correction “by putting more pressure on Russia”. She added, “Trump’s peace through strength strategy cannot work without abandoning Ukraine.”
United States is in talks with both Russia, and Ukraine, to put an end to the war. While Russia wants the economic sanctions to be lifted off, Ukraine has been putting forward the idea of Russia surrendering its territory that has been annexed since the start of the war.
Read more: UK growth in surprising surge ahead of Trump’s tariff war
However, the tariffs that now stand at 145% on China can be changed to navigate the global trade ties, as the policy has received backlash from the European Union as well, though without any retaliatory measure.
The United States had raised the tariffs on Chinese goods at 145% following China’s retaliatory action by imposing 84% tariffs on American goods. In the latest development, on Friday, April 11, China has increased the tariffs to 125%.
China has also put restrictions on US companies’ market access to the country, along with a ban on Hollywood films. The trade war between the world’s two largest economies have raised fears of global recession.
“If the US insists on continuing to substantially infringe upon China’s rights and interests, China will resolutely counterattack and fight to the end,” Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a statement, adding that the new tariffs will come in effect from April 12.
Read more: ‘Fight to the end’: China hits back with 125% tariffs on US goods after Trump’s latest hike
Moving forward with its actions against the US, China also filed a complaint with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) concerning Trump’s tariff policy.
“European no longer sees US as a reliable partner and this could negatively impact Indo Pacific security,” Curtis said, possibly implying that China could emerge as a possible significant trade partner for most of the countries around the globe.
She added that it would be significant to see if China starts to fill the American soft power status due to trade wars.
