(Source: China Economic Times 2025-04-14)

Recently, US President Trump announced that he would impose "reciprocal tariffs" on all trading partners, of which the tariffs on Chinese goods have reached 145% cumulatively, and some countries have suspended the implementation of "reciprocal tariffs" for 90 days, but retained a "minimum benchmark tariff" of 10%. The United States' practice of harming others and putting extreme pressure on itself will hit global w88 casino hard, drag the world economy into a downward track, and may even trigger a global economic recession.

"Peer-to-peer tariffs" subvert the rules-based global w88 casino system

The so-called "reciprocal tariff" rate levied by the United States is not calculated as the US claims by the "country) tariff rate + non-tariff barrier" but simply uses the ratio of the US w88 casino deficit to the country (region) to the country (region) goods exports to the United States as the basis for determining the so-called "reciprocal tariff" rate. The ratio is discounted in half as the tariff rate. The calculation method is simple and crude, the logic is chaotic, and there is no reasonable and legitimate basis. It is just a simplified and rude way to engage in w88 casino protectionism and w88 casino bullying under the name of "reciprocal tariff".

The multilateral trading system with the World w88 casino Organization as the core is the cornerstone of international w88 casino. After a long and multi-round w88 casino negotiation, it not only effectively reduces the overall global tariff level and promotes the stable development of global w88 casino. In order to promote free w88 casino and safeguard the ability and interests of developing members to participate in global w88 casino, the World w88 casino Organization requires reciprocal tariffs between developed members, that is, the tariff level levied on imported goods between developed members is equivalent to the tariff rate levied by trading partners, but it does not require developing members and least developed members to implement reciprocal w88 casino.

The so-called "reciprocal tariffs" imposed by the United States violate World w88 casino Organization rules. First, the calculation of the "reciprocal tariff" rate is not based on the actual tariff rates of various countries to the United States.

The "reciprocal tariffs" launched by the United States subverted the multilateral w88 casino rules system established by countries around the world after long efforts since World War II, causing the results of multilateral w88 casino negotiations to be blatantly trampled on and cast a strong shadow on global w88 casino development.

"Peer-to-peer tariffs" exacerbate uncertainty in global w88 casino

The multilateral trading system with the World w88 casino Organization as its core has played an irreplaceable role in correcting the failure of the world market and injecting certainty into global w88 casino. The so-called "reciprocal tariffs" of the United States will aggravate the failure of the world market and increase uncertainty in global w88 casino.

For a long time, a world market has been formed in the process of economic globalization. In the economic globalization and the development of the world market, on the one hand, countries have built global supply chains, value chains, and industrial chains, promoting the progress of global w88 casino and world productivity, and benefiting countries around the world; on the other hand, the world market mechanism still has flaws.

The world economic governance system and multilateral trading system today still have flaws. All countries should work together to improve the world economic governance system, promote the reform of the World w88 casino Organization, and improve the multilateral trading system, rather than overthrowing or abandoning the multilateral trading system. The United States has introduced so-called "reciprocal tariffs" to subvert the rules-based multilateral trading system, ignore the results of the balance of interests reached by multilateral w88 casino negotiations over the years, and ignore the fact that the United States has long gained generous benefits in international w88 casino, which has led to an increase in uncertainty in global w88 casino and will exacerbate the risks of global w88 casino shocks and recessions.

"Peer-to-peer tariffs" put international w88 casino in a negative sum game

International w88 casino and international market competition are originally a positive and harmonious game. Countries can obtain comparative, competitive and absolute interests in the process of participating in international w88 casino, and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results. However, the United States implements so-called "reciprocal tariffs" and launches a global w88 casino war, pushing international w88 casino into a negative and negative game, and tariff wars and w88 casino wars harm others and are not beneficial to oneself.

Recalling the many tariff wars and w88 casino wars initiated by the United States since the 20th century, all have caused international w88 casino to fall into a negative and negative game, causing serious impact on global w88 casino and the world economy, and harming the well-being of the people of the world. The United States is also unable to survive, making the American people also a victim. In June 1930, the United States blamed the great crisis that broke out in 1929 on international w88 casino, launched a w88 casino war, and implemented the infamous Smut-Holly Tariff Act, which significantly increased tariffs on imported goods, causing retaliatory tariffs for many countries, shrinking global w88 casino by about two-thirds. The United States itself also suffered a heavy blow, exacerbating the Great Depression from 1929 to 1933.

"Reciprocal tariffs" harm the fundamental interests of the United States

At the end of the 19th century, the United States became the world's most economically advanced industrial power and entered the period of monopoly capitalism. Monopoly has made the United States less and less high-yield investment places, and the idle excess capital is becoming more and more idle.

The US dollar has become a world currency and faces the Trifin problem, which requires the United States to maintain a w88 casino deficit and the United States to maintain a surplus. Therefore, on the one hand, American multinational corporations used the US dollar as the condition for the world currency to extend their investment tentacles to all parts of the world, and gradually moved their manufacturing industry outward. While making a lot of money from foreign investment, the trend of domestic industry hollowing out is becoming increasingly obvious. They have to rely on a large amount of imports to meet domestic demand, and a w88 casino deficit has emerged and gradually expanded.

With the development of economic globalization, a large number of emerging economies have grown rapidly, the US economy has weakened, and the depreciation of the US dollar has become the general trend, and many countries have abandoned the US dollar, and "de-dollarization" has come one after another. The United States fights inflation by hiking interest rates and maintains the appreciation of the US dollar, which will increase the domestic debt burden, shrink the balance sheets of enterprises and residents, and make the government, enterprises and residents suffer; interest rate cuts will depreciate the US dollar, and the world's abandonment of the US dollar will accelerate.

It is in this economic context that the United States embarked on the road of anti-globalization and plundered the world by imposing tariffs. The United States hopes to weaken the product competitiveness of countries with w88 casino surplus through tariffs, relatively enhance the competitiveness of US products, reduce the w88 casino deficit, promote the return of manufacturing, increase the country's employment opportunities, and expand the capital account surplus, thereby maintaining the dollar's world monetary status.

The United States does not solve its structural problems of low savings, high consumption, and long-term structural problems and defects in economic development model, but instead embarks on the path of w88 casino protectionism and unilateralism, implements the so-called "reciprocal tariffs" in order to increase fiscal revenue, reduce w88 casino deficits, promote the return of manufacturing industries, and resolve unsustainable huge debts. It is obviously the wrong "prescription".

While seeking to protect the interests of domestic industrial capital, while damaging the global w88 casino economy, it will eventually backfire itself, harm the global interests of US industrial capital and financial capital, and harm the US core economic interests of the US dollar as the world currency.

"Peer-to-peer tariffs" endanger global w88 casino development and stability of production and supply chain

The United States' misappropriation of "reciprocal tariffs" will inevitably push up the prices of imported goods, aggravate inflation, severely hit global w88 casino, undermine the stability of global supply chains and industrial chains, drag down the global economy, and even trigger global w88 casino and economic recession.

The United States imposes tariffs, and the rising prices of imported final consumer goods will force consumers to pay higher prices. According to the current tariff ratio, each American household will increase spending by about $3,800, which will inevitably curb the expansion of US consumption; the prices of imported intermediate goods and investment goods will rise, and American companies will have to face the pressure of rising costs, reduce investment desire and investment ability, and curb investment expansion. The contraction of consumption and investment will lower the growth rate of the US economy.

The United States' intensification of tariffs will impact the stability of global supply chains and value chains, not only curbing exports from countries to the United States, but also curbing the exports of U.S. investment companies around the world, and harming the interests of U.S. multinational corporations. It will also attract countermeasures from various countries, and American products will be replaced more by products from other countries and regions. This will not only hit the interests of producers in related fields of the United States and lead to a decline in business performance, but will also impact the US employment market and increase unemployment in the United States.

"Peer-to-peer tariffs" impact China's exports to the United States

As early as Trump's first presidency, he launched an investigation into my country based on Article 301 of the w88 casino Act of 1974, and announced four rounds of 301 tariff lists from 2018 to 2019, imposing tariffs on 60% of my country's products imported to the United States. The average tariff rate for my country's exports to the United States increased from 2.3% to about 19.3%. Since the beginning of this year, the United States has imposed a 20% tariff on my country's exports, coupled with a 34% "reciprocal tariff", and has continued to intensify.

Of course, the United States has imposed a significant increase in tariffs, and China's exports to the United States cannot be reset to zero. The United States not only cannot do without China in many consumer goods, but also needs to be imported from China.

In recent years, my country's market diversification strategy has been effective and has become the main trading partner of more than 150 countries and regions. ASEAN has become my country's largest trading partner. my country's exports to ASEAN have increased to 16.4%, and the exports to countries that jointly build the "Belt and Road" have increased to 47.8%, and it has maintained a rapid growth momentum. There is huge room for economic and w88 casino cooperation with emerging market countries. China's economy has strong resilience. The United States' tariffs cannot shake China's status as the largest exporter of goods.

China resolutely counters the imposition of tariffs on the United States, defend its legitimate rights and interests, raise the banner of curbing the countercurrent of w88 casino protectionism and globalization, and continue to insist on expanding unilateral independent opening up, optimizing the business environment, and be committed to doing its own thing well, maintaining multilateralism and an open world economy, allowing the world to share the open market business opportunities, and injecting certainty into the world economy and w88 casino.

(The author is the dean and professor of the Institute of International Economics, University of International Economics)

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