, Columnist
America’s Trade War With China Should Be a Team Sport
Trump’s skirmishes with Mexico and Canada are a distraction from the real threat.
What trade pact?
Photographer: Anthony Lanzilote/Bloomberg
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Donald Trump is poised to let tariffs go into effect next week on Mexico and Canada, two friendly nations that share borders and economic interests with the US. They are also party to a trade deal that the president himself negotiated in his first term. The tariffs, if instituted, will achieve little and detract from America’s top trade and national security priority: strategically decoupling from China.
The standoff with our neighbors is the most glaring example of Trump fighting trade wars on too many fronts and, in so doing, all but guaranteeing that the American people lose.