Trump's foolish economic Cold War with China

Why is the president so set on antagonizing China?

President Donald Trump with Chinese and American flags.
(Image credit: REUTERS/Thomas Peter)

Donald Trump is a historically unpopular president. And the just-passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act may well be his peak legislative accomplishment. It's hard to see Congress passing Medicare reform or a big infrastructure spending bill before the November midterm elections, which might well bolster Democratic power in Washington for the second half of President Trump's term.

But none of that necessarily means Trump will be a lame duck for the next three years. And this might especially be true when it comes to one of his favorite issues, trade. While presidents typically need Congress to greatly expand trade, such as passing free-trade deals, they have considerable power to stifle trade — as the protectionist Trump has already shown by withdrawing the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. That action arguably remains his most significant economic and geopolitical move to date, even more than the tax cuts. Moreover, 2018 may see Trump declaring the U.S will leave the North American Free Trade Agreement.

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James Pethokoukis

James Pethokoukis is the DeWitt Wallace Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute where he runs the AEIdeas blog. He has also written for The New York Times, National Review, Commentary, The Weekly Standard, and other places.