CHINA yesterday accused the White House of ‘bullying practices’ after Donald Trump imposed 104 per cent duties on Chinese goods into the US in an attempt to destroy the Chinese Workers State.
Trump says the tariffs are ‘explosive’ and will boost the US economy, but experts warn they will push up prices for workers.
There has already been ‘aggressive’ selling of long term US government bonds. China’s foreign affairs spokesperson said that the Chinese people’s ‘legitimate right to development must not be deprived’ by huge charges on Chinese goods.
China’s Foreign Affairs spokesman Lin Jian accused the US of ‘bullying practices’, and urged Trump’s administration to ‘demonstrate an attitude of equality, mutual respect and reciprocity’, in order to resolve the dispute through dialogue.
Knowing that a dialogue was not enough, Jian added if Trump ‘insists’ on provoking a trade war, ‘China will be compelled to fight to the end’. The trade war is now on!
Already in this worldwide struggle, 60 of America’s biggest ‘trading partners’ have been hit with higher US tariffs on goods. They include 104 per cent levies on Chinese products – a figure effectively doubled overnight by President Trump after Beijing refused to back down on its pledge to retaliate. The message from Beijing is that they can defend themselves and will retaliate.
The deepening trade war has provoked further turmoil on the world’s stock markets – in the last hour, shares in Europe slumped again, following similar falls across Asia. Speaking at a Republican Party dinner yesterday, President Trump said the tariffs were ‘going to be legendary, in a positive way. Many countries … have ripped us off left and right, but now it’s our turn to do the ripping,’ he said.
Trump added, describing the tariffs as ‘somewhat explosive’ and ‘amazing’, claiming that import tariffs were already generating ‘almost $2bn (£1.5bn) a day’ for the US.
In the UK on Wednesday, the main stock market of the country’s biggest companies opened 2.5 per cent down.
The trading war initiated by Trump has ‘contributed to a material increase in the risk to global growth’ and financial stability, the Bank of England commented.
It added that US tariffs and other countries’ response also increases ‘uncertainty … for inflation globally’ while the cost of government borrowing has ‘fallen in response to the US announcement’.
The Bank added that it ‘maintained its judgement’ that UK banks could support households and businesses even if the economy turned ‘substantially worse than expected’.
The South Korean Trade Minister Cheong In-kyo spoke to reporters after arriving in the US to try to negotiate a tariff deal with Donald Trump’s team. The country, which sells large numbers of cars and electronics to the US, is being hit with 25 per cent blanket tariffs.
Seoul does not want to go down the Chinese road of retaliatory tariffs, and get into a trade war with America. Instead, it’s hoping to convince Trump to lower tariffs by promising to buy more and invest more in the US.
On Tuesday night, Trump took a call with acting president Han Duck-soo for the first time. Trump described the call as ‘great’. He also insisted that South Korea’s trade surplus was ‘tremendous and unsustainable’. Trump actually demanded more payments from South Korea for the ‘big time military protection’ Washington provides Seoul.
There is no compromise to be made. China yesterday responded by increasing its tarrif on the USA from 50 per cent to 84 per cent.
Capitalism is now in its greatest ever economic and political crisis – it is in its death agony!
The workers of the world from China and Russia to the UK and the USA and Europe are now threatened by the death agony of the capitalist system and the attempts of the US and UK ruling classes to restore their one time domination of the world economy.
There is only one way forward for the working class of the world.
This is to build sections of the International Committee of the Fourth International in every country to mobilise the working class of the world to go forward to the victory of the world socialist revolution, and replace bankrupt and disintegrating capitalism with a World Socialist Republic, where production will be based on satisfying the needs of the people and not making super profits for the ruling class.
We urge all workers and youth to join the WRP and to build sections of the International Committee of the Fourth International in every country to replace the bankrupt capitalist system with world socialism.
