The US-China trade war challenges the future economic order – Kılıç Buğra Kanat



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The trade war between the United States and China was the subject of this column two weeks ago. Despite the deferral of customs duties for products worth $ 300 billion, optimism must be cautious.

Competition and disputes between the United States and China in various areas are difficult to resolve given the changing power relations between the two countries. Shortly after the US announcement, China announced its own retaliatory measures and the Beijing authorities announced that China would impose tariffs on US imports worth $ 75 billion.

The reaction of US President Donald Trump to this measure from China is a testament to the determination of his administration to go to the end of this case. Trump, in a series of tweets, accused the Chinese authorities of not wanting to reach an agreement with the United States and announced additional measures to be taken against China.

First, in his tweets, he said the problem was more serious than the US trade deficit in their trade relations with China. President Trump added "intellectual property theft and more" to the issues to be addressed. Secondly, as he has done since the beginning of his campaign, Trump blames the previous government for "negligence" in its relations with China, costing billions of dollars in the United States because of the steadily increasing trade deficit with China. Third, Trump is considering using its tariff weapon against China once again: "As of October 1, the $ 250 billion of Chinese goods and products, currently taxed at 25 percent, will be taxed at 30 percent. goods and products from China, which were taxed at 10% from 1 September, will now be taxed at 15%. "

Growing fears among many others rose after those actions, as China issued a statement calling US equities "unilateral and intimidating business practices" and warning the US of further retaliatory strikes.

It will be difficult for both countries to reach an agreement despite intense negotiations and the major business groups that support the settlement of disputes between the two countries likely to jeopardize the markets already involved in the international system. .

What makes the situation more complicated is the existence of various conflicts between the two countries. Until now, countries have resisted any link between trade disputes and other issues relating to their bilateral relations; however, the presence of these issues may further deteriorate bilateral relations.

In recent weeks, developments in arms sales in Taiwan and some charges against the United States from China as a result of protests in Hong Kong demonstrate the potential to increase the number of minefields in the country. their relationships.

Given the presence of problems such as the dispute over the South China Sea and the difficulty of resolving them, this increase in the number of zones can generate a rather complicated picture for the future of bilateral relations.

At some point, it is possible to establish links between these problem areas, which could lead to greater insoluble in existing problems. This situation will also influence the state of the international system and superpowers alignments in the coming years.

International markets have already been affected by the ups and downs between the two largest economies in the world. Nowadays, there is every reason to believe that the rather complex competition and the differences between the two giant and interdependent economies will be the most important determinants of the future international system. Each country will become more or less sensitive to the state of its relations.

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