China announces 25% tariffs on $16B worth US goods

Re:China announces 25% tariffs on $16B worth US goods by friedman23 on Wednesday August 08, 2018 @12:15PM (#17717141)

>1) Given the current balance of trade between the US and China, each $1 of retaliatory Chinese tariffs has a larger impact as a percentage of trade flow than each $1 of US tariffs.

That doesn't benefit China. What you are saying is that China has less total trade that they can tariff than the US.

>2) The Chinese economy is much more nimble and diverse than the US, and – especially with government intervention – may have an easier time developing domestic alternatives to US goods.

Source? It's common knowledge that the US has the most largest and most diverse economy in the world.

https://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/profile/country/usa/

https://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/profile/country/chn/

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Re:China announces 25% tariffs on $16B worth US goods by fisherjeff on Wednesday August 08, 2018 @12:53PM (#17717417)

On (1), I mean that $16B worth of goods is 12% of US->China exports, whereas it is only 3% of China->US exports, meaning that if this continues to escalate in this manner it will disproportionately affect US->China exporters.

I will concede (2) was not well expressed. I just find it much much easier to imagine – due to differences in labor forces, natural resources, environmental regulations, etc. – a suddenly growing Chinese motorcycle industry than, say, a resurgent US steel industry.

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