China responded to the proposed tariffs on $60 billion worth of imports by imposing tariffs on particular U.S goods including apples, pork, and steel pipes. Despite the response the U.S is expected to continue with imposing Chinese tariffs undeterred. In the capitalist economy it is possible that these tariffs could lead to a trade war. The Trump administration has stated that China has undermined United States economic competitiveness through “violations of intellectual property rights and other unfair technology transfers”. This view perceives that the United States has simply negotiated bad trade deals, and that imposing tariffs will supposedly help American workers through job creation.
This view is overly simplistic and patently false. The manufacturing cities of the American “rust belt” have been on the decline of decades and is the result of capitalist development. The uneven, unstable development of the capitalist system is responsible for the decline of American employment, not poor legislation. All countries will aim to protect their national interests with respect to international trade and China has affirmed the validity of this principle with its retaliatory tariffs. As long as the capitalist system is dominant it is possible that these economic disputes between countries can erupt into military escalation.