Trump's trade war with China split the White House into two camps - nyt

He and his assistants made it clear that they wanted to resolve trade disputes and reduce the degree of tensions around Taiwan, limit the production of fentanyl and conclude a TikTok agreement. However, analysts believe that Donald Trump's trade war with China will suffocate these negotiations before their beginning. And if they begin, the US President may be alone because he has repelled the Allies.

Over the past 10 days, several administration officials have stated that the White House is deeply split in how to treat Beijing. The Trade War exploded before the numerous fractions within the administration managed to mark their positions, not to mention that the issues were most important. The result was strategic inconsistency. Some officials spoke on television to declare that Trump's import duties were aimed at making the world's second largest economy in the agreement.

Others insisted that the US President sought to create a self -sufficient American economy that would no longer depend on its main geopolitical competitor, even if it would mean a break in bilateral trade in goods and services worth $ 640 billion. Rash Doshi, one of the leading American strategists on China, believes that Trump's administration has no strategy on China, but only a number of disparate tactics.

On April 14, Donald Trump insisted that his high duties work so well that he could introduce even more for China and other countries. Only 48 hours after he has been cited for mobile phones, computer equipment and some electronic components - almost a quarter of all trade with China - he said that he could soon announce additional tariffs aimed at imported computer chips and pharmaceuticals. Now you need to restore communication, but no one wants to be the first.

There are flats of communication with unofficial channels: Tsui Tiankay, who was an ambassador of China to the United States from 2013 to 2021, was in Washington when duties were imposed, communicated with old contacts and obviously sought a way to discharge the growing confrontation. But it indicates that freezing in relations between the US and China can be long and the relationship between the two superpowers will never be as before.

Among the issues that have now hung over the White House - whether the Trump administration will be able to develop a consistent approach to China at a time when the key members of Donald Trump's inner circle are publicly arguing about the right strategy. Recall that Ilon Musk, who rests on China, as a key supplier for his Tesla and SpaceX companies, called Peter Navarro, the Main Trade Advisor of the White House, an "idiot" and stated that he was "dumb than a bag of brick".