David Fickling, Columnist

Trump’s Trade Threats Hurt the U.S. More Than China

The president justifies tariffs by arguing that China will foot the bill. That theory doesn’t hold up in the real world.

May 6, 2019 at 2:19 AM UTC

By David Fickling

David Fickling is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering climate change and energy. Previously, he worked for Bloomberg News, the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times.

Who’s got the upper hand now?
Photographer: Andy Wong/AFP/Getty Images

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Trade wars are good, and easy to win. So President Donald Trump said last year as he embarked on his first round of tariffs on foreign imports.

It seems that things have proven so good and easy that he’s readying for another bout. Trump is prepared to increase a 10 percent levy on $200 billion of imports from China to 25 percent on Friday, he tweeted on Sunday — instantly popping any hopes that trade talks were on their final approach toward an amicable resolution.