, Columnist
China Has Already Trade-War-Proofed Its Economy
Companies and consumers will feel the pain from tariffs much less than Americans.
Was anything in this picture imported from the US?
Photographer: Qilai Shen/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
A common maxim of trade wars is that the best retaliation is not to retaliate at all.
Such conflicts, after all, are counterproductive in the first place. Raising levies on imports simply increases costs for domestic consumers, more than offsetting the benefits that local producers may enjoy from the higher prices they receive from the shift in spending. The best solution is just to stand aloof from this contest of economic self-harm, however much you’re provoked.