Your Questions About Trump’s Trade War, Answered

U.S. President Donald Trump went on the warpath in 2018, starting a bruising trade war that roiled global commerce. The showdown was designed to punish countries -- notably China -- that he said engaged in unfair trade practices, such as stealing American technology, subsidizing industries and underpaying workers. His tariffs, and eye-for-an-eye duties put on U.S. goods by other nations, shook the world economy and caused companies to reconfigure supply chains. The question now is whether China and other countries can defuse the trade war and reach a lasting truce.

He routinely points to the large U.S. trade deficit, the difference between imports and exports, as a symbol of a declining manufacturing base and the loss of American might. He aims to reduce the goods-and-services gap, which totaled $566 billion in 2017, by both browbeating and enticing U.S. companies to import less and export more. He’s also threatened to pull the U.S. out of the World Trade Organization, the international body that oversees global trade rules and mediates disputes.