What "adversity" has the US ever faced? It's the most pampered nation that has ever existed.I think the US will survive and prosper, as it has before through adversity, despite the naysayers who doubt.
What "adversity" has the US ever faced? It's the most pampered nation that has ever existed.I think the US will survive and prosper, as it has before through adversity, despite the naysayers who doubt.
The trade friction between two largest economies in the world does not necessarily translate into a global threat in the near term, according to Stephen Groff, Vice President of the Asian Development Bank for East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
Groff believes that both China and the US will see short-term impacts on economic growth, but “it’s not going to be a huge drag on global growth [in the] immediate term,” Groff said.
“I think it’s important to keep in mind that right now it’s words. I certainly hope it won’t be translated into actions. There is so much mutual dependence between these two countries because their economies are so intertwined. To disentangle those shared interests is going to take a lot of work and do a lot of damage to the economic potential for both countries,” Groff explained.
In fact, Chinese export-oriented companies have been impacted and began to transfer their focus to the domestic market, based on Sherri He, Partner of A.T. Kearney Greater China. If a trade war really takes place, the auto industry will be the most obviously influenced sector, He told CGTN.
“The price is going to largely increase if a trade war really occurs. That would have an impact not only on American brands but also on some Germany brands producing in the US,” she said.
She added that the significant part of the tariff list from the US side belongs to processing, assembling and packaging industry, where American companies, such Apple, gain huge profits and competitiveness. If these are taken out, the deficit would be much less, he added.
A real trade war may not happen, but Groff admitted that tariffs in certain sectors would be materialized. And he hopes those tariffs would not come to fruition.
Despite the tensions and rising protectionism, pushing forward globalization and cooperation are still significant. In his point of view, the downside of globalization is that some countries do not understand or appreciate that “the benefits of globalization are not necessary to be shared equally across segment society or countries.”
Therefore, Groff pointed out that the responsibility of any individual country or international institution is to make sure the benefits will be shared more equally. Besides, he noted that if China wants to play a leading role in globalization, “building-up trust with other countries” will be its “unique” challenge.
“This will be different from any challenge you’ve seen in the international cooperation history. Largely focused on trust, this is unique to China,” said Groff.
There is general agreement among both parties that something must be done about the many issues that come with US-China trade. This includes IP theft, the deficit, unequal tariffs, and certain policies like forcing a company to partner with a domestic company for market access. Perhaps the solution is to cut off all trade, perhaps its to cut off some trade, perhaps its a multilateral agreement with other parties, or perhaps it is some negotiated bilateral agreement with China, but the status quo can no longer hold for the US.
The ongoing trade frictions with the United States will have limited negative influence on the Chinese macro economy, experts said.
"China's economy is running stable and maintains good momentum for growth. The trend is expected to continue for the long term. The Chinese market has great leeway, strong growth impetus and resilience," said Wang Changlin, vice president of the Academy of Macroeconomic Research of the National Development and Reform Commission.
The trade friction with the United States will exert some influence on the Chinese economy, but will be limited in general, according to Wang.
The United States on April 3 announced tariffs on a proposed list of Chinese goods worth 50 billion U.S. dollars. The list was authorized by the U.S. Trade Representative's office, which in August 2017 initiated an unfounded investigation under the Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974 to probe China's intellectual property and technology transfer practices.
According to an initial estimate, declines of exports up to 50 billion dollars would drag China's GDP growth rate down by less than 0.1 percentage point, Wang said.
China is still fully capable of achieving its annual growth target of around 6.5 percent this year and maintaining the surveyed urban unemployment rate within 5.5 percent while creating more than 11 million new urban jobs.
"The industries targeted by the proposed U.S. tariff increases are not labor intensive, which means that export declines in these sectors will not cause large-scale layoffs," said Wang.
New overseas markets will be developed, as will the potential of the domestic market, further diminishing the negative influence of tariff increases, he said.
Wang also believes China's plan to impose additional tariffs on U.S. goods, including soybeans and pork, will have a minor influence on inflation.
China imported 32.85 million metric tons of soybeans from the United States, accounting for more than one-third of China's total soybean imports. Tariff increases will make U.S. soybeans uncompetitive, causing them to be replaced by products from Brazil and Argentina, according to Chen Yang, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
If there is a price hike of 25 percent on soybeans, the consumer price index (CPI) will be raised by about 0.25 percentage point. The CPI control target of around 3 percent this year will still be reached, analysts said.
For the United States, however, it will be hard to find an alternative buyer like China for its soybeans.
Also, the burden of the proposed U.S. tariff increases on Chinese products will be shouldered by the whole industrial chain, putting pressure on exporters, raw material providers and retailers, as well as U.S. buyers, rather than by Chinese enterprises only, according to Wang.
China's financial market will also remain stable, given that the country's economic growth is stable, business efficiency is improving and consumer prices are running in a low range, according to Wang.
He suggested China continue to take good care of its own affairs and avoid being misled by others.
China will not surrender to external pressure, Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao reiterated earlier this month.
"Looking at it another way, external pressure is the driving force for innovation and development," Zhu said.
China's trade surplus with the United States grew 13 percent year on year to 1.87 trillion yuan last year, data showed.
The trade imbalance between the two countries is structural, with China exporting more commodities to the United States while importing more services, according to Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan.
China has repeatedly voiced its commitment to further opening up and support for economic globalization to facilitate both domestic and global development.
Chinese President Xi Jinping's pledge to lower tariffs on US cars sounds like great news for American workers and companies.
In some respects, it is.
US auto exports to China have already been surging, despite the current 25% tariff. In 2017, the United States sent $10.5 billion of cars — new and used — to China, up from $1.1 billion in 2008, to the US Census Bureau. Last year's exports were up from $8.8 billion in 2016.
With a lower tariff, car companies in the United States would presumably be able to export more cars to China, the world's biggest consumer market. That would benefit American workers.
But a few realities make Xi's promise a little less exciting.
President Donald Trump often mentions that the United States has only a 2.5% tariff on Chinese cars imports. His argument is that the playing field isn't level. On a tariff basis, that's true. In reality, the tariffs haven't stopped automakers in the United States from shipping cars to China.
The United States imported $1.6 billion in new and used cars made in China last year, roughly six times less than US auto industry exports to China, to the Census Bureau.
Most of the cars sold in China by iconic US automakers are made in China
America's most iconic automakers, such as Ford and General Motors, already make cars in China for Chinese customers in joint-venture factories. That means Ford and GM partner with Chinese firms to make and sell cars.
China is GM's biggest market and has been for six years straight, to the company. Both Ford and GM manufacture the majority of their cars sold to Chinese customers in China. The 25% tariff doesn't apply to cars made in China.
From January to October last year, Ford sold 939,000 cars in China, but only 2% of those were imported, to the company's most recent report on China.
GM and Ford do export certain models from the United States to China, such as the Ford F150 Raptor. But those models make up a small share of overall sales in China.
The bottom line: It's more cost effective to make cars in a region where they will be sold. That's one reason why Ford and GM build cars in China, rather than ship them from America. By the way, Japanese automakers like Toyota and Honda follow the same principle: They make most of the cars they sell to US customers in North America.
German automakers with US factories actually stand to gain the most
The US factories for BMW and Mercedes could be the big winners if the tariff is pulled. But they too make cars in China.
BMW is the largest auto exporter in the United States by value with its plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, to the automaker. It's unclear how many cars made in Spartanburg go to China. BMW didn't respond to a request for that information.
Mercedes has a plant in Vance, Alabama. A Mercedes spokesperson said the majority of the SUVs it produces in Alabama are exported around the world, but declined to provide China-specific data.
As major auto exporters with US operations, BMW and Mercedes would benefit more from China lowering its tariff than the iconic American automakers. But even the German car companies make the majority of their cars sold to Chinese customers in China.
Mercedes sold 170,000 cars in China between January and March, and more than two-thirds of which were cars made in China, according to a press release last week.
BMW sold 517,000 cars in China in 2016. Its plant in Shenyang, China, produced 305,000 autos that same year, to the company's most recent annual report. It can't be assumed that BMW's cars made in America fill in the gap between those two figures. The company also exports certain models from Germany to China.
It's still unclear how much would be accomplished by removing the tariff. BMW and Mercedes sell to wealthy clientele who can generally stomach the higher price tag a 25% tariff can cause.
China often says it will cooperate on trade. And then doesn't
Chinese officials they would lower auto tariffs, but they provided no time line. Xi didn't provide any timing either on Tuesday.
Xi's appeasing comments also stand in contrast to rhetoric from China's Foreign Ministry, which on Monday said trade talks with the United States would be impossible "under current circumstances." Between Monday and Tuesday, neither nation changed its proposed trade tariffs.
Xi has been China's president since 2013 and this year he was effectively granted the presidency for life. So far, he has defied calls to meaningfully change China's trade behavior. It remains to be seen if his words will translate to action.
So what? He's some random radio host, he doesn't represent the US government's views. If he's trying to create a narrative for a real issue its on him. It doesn't change that its a real issue though.
Maybe you should take your own advice when trying to extrapolate a random radio host to the government.
and as for nationality I guess I assumed given the way you speak. It felt like you identified not as American but a different nationality, or perhaps less as American than a foreign nationality. Its not unheard of.
So are you American? Not that it really matters on a forum, so if you'd rather not answer feel free, its beside the point really that the status quo cannot hold.
Interesting article narrowing the trade gap is possible, easier access to Chinese market is also possible But halting Chinese industry advances like "Made in China 2025" is a pipe dream that will never be realized
Via Emperror
Trade talks between the world’s biggest economies broke down last week after the Trump administration demanded that China curtail support for high-technology industries, a person familiar with the situation said, signaling that a resolution may be some ways off.
Liu He, a vice premier overseeing economics and finance, told a group of officials Thursday that Beijing had rejected a U.S. request to stop subsidizing industries related to its “Made in China 2025” initiative, the person said. The U.S. has accused China of using the policy to force companies into transferring technology in areas like robotics, aerospace and artificial intelligence.