What's the endgame for Trump's trade war?

He doesn't seem to know

President Trump.
(Image credit: Illustrated | ISMODE/iStock, REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

Early this morning, the United States officially imposed a 25 percent tariff on $34 billion worth of Chinese exports. The Chinese government, which didn't want to be seen "firing the first shot," says it will immediately impose its own retaliatory tariffs on $34 billion worth of U.S. exports. The Trump administration already has tariffs on another $16 billion of Chinese exports in the works, and is threatening to impose duties on a whopping $500 billion worth if China doesn't back down.

In other words, President Trump's trade war is on. And just like an actual war, the start of hostilities begs a question: How do you win?

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Jeff Spross

Jeff Spross was the economics and business correspondent at TheWeek.com. He was previously a reporter at ThinkProgress.