As 2024 draws to a close, the global economy is dominated by two interconnected issues: the impact of Trump’s threatened tariff hikes and the industrial powerhouse that is China.
President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event in Laconia, New Hampshire on January 22, 2024. [AP Photo/Matt Rourke]
The connection between the two is that Trump’s economic war, waged under the banner of Make America Great Again, is ultimately grounded on seeking to prevent the rise of China’s high-tech development in order to maintain US economic hegemony.
But while China is the central target, the US economic warfare goes across the board. Canada, Mexico and Europe have already been threatened with tariffs of 10–20 percent, while Trump has said a tariff of 60 percent could be directed against all Chinese goods.
There is now what the New York Times described as a “scramble” by European…
