I have seen critics of the administration saying that it was stupid to get angry at China because of the trade balance. That there were legitimate causes to get angry though: IP legislation and spying.

I may be an attempt at making a decent case, but yeah, the bullying rhetoric muddy this issue.

And that's really a dangerous slope for US to go in. If they make spying on their neighbors a criterion to impose tarrifs, I am sure Europe would be happy to push some obligations on the GAFA