Remember when the liberal media told us Trump’s trade war with China would destroy the American economy? Well, guess who’s quietly waving the white flag now? While the mainstream media is busy chasing its latest Trump conspiracy theories, China is desperately trying to save face as it backs down on key tariffs.
In a move that has Beijing’s propagandists working overtime to spin, Chinese officials are quietly rolling back tariffs on American semiconductors. They’re even considering dropping duties on medical equipment and other vital U.S. exports. Funny how all those dire predictions about Trump’s trade policies destroying American prosperity turned out to be nothing but hot air from the usual suspects.
China has quietly exempted some semiconductors from tariffs, and is considering more exclusions for certain US industries as the world’s two largest economies attempt to navigate a trade war with potentially devastating effects, according to reports.
Taxes on at least eight classifications of US microchips have been lowered to zero, a huge drop from China’s 125% retaliatory tariff on all other US goods, Caijing, a Chinese financial magazine, reported on Friday.
Though the article was later deleted, two importers confirmed that certain semiconductors have been spared from the hefty duties, according to The Washington Post.
Chinese officials are weighing further exemptions on medical equipment and some industrial chemicals like ethane, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.
China blinked because it had to. While Democrats were busy wringing their hands about Trump’s “dangerous” trade policies, the former president understood what the Ivy League economists didn’t: China needs us way more than we need it.
“Shark Tank” star and famed entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary pointed out during a recent appearance on Fox Business that the United States has tremendous leverage over China because the United States is the largest market in the world.
In the public eye, however, China has appeared resistant to de-escalating heightened trade tensions, claiming that trade talks with the US haven’t even started yet after Trump indicated that lower rates on the nation are in the works. The nation called for the US to revoke all “unilateral” tariffs.
Later on Thursday, Trump said that the White House has been meeting with Chinese officials, claiming there had been a meeting that same morning.
Shares in Asia soared and the yuan erased losses after news of the potential exemptions circulated.
“It’s another step toward a de-escalation of the trade war,” Kok Hoong Wong, head of institutional equities sales trading at Maybank Securities Pte, told Bloomberg.
While most believe it’s unlikely that US-China tensions will ease quickly, “it would appear the worst may truly be over,” he added.
Neither Beijing nor the US want to be the first to blink in the trade war. But China’s exemptions indicate the nation is concerned about layoffs and factory closures slamming their snail-paced economy.
Trump’s hardball approach worked. While Biden spent four years cozying up to Beijing, Trump’s tariffs remained like a sword of Damocles over China’s economy. Now it’s starting to crack, proving what conservatives have said all along — the only language China’s communist leadership understands is strength.
Here’s what the media won’t tell you: This isn’t just about tariffs. This battle is about America reasserting its economic dominance and making China understand that the days of taking advantage of American workers are over. Period.
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