(04-04-2018, 09:14 AM)StroudCrowd1 Wrote:

(04-04-2018, 09:06 AM)The Real Marty Wrote: Now China is threatening tariffs on a lot of products that are produced in states that voted for Trump.  Like soybeans.   That's a disaster for soybean farmers, who export one third of their crop to China.  

And this is an example of why it's not so easy to win a trade war against a dictatorship.  Xi can do what he wants, and unlike Trump, he is not subject to the whims of the voters.   Xi has no 2018 off-year elections to worry about.  

It's a huge mistake to overestimate our prospects in a trade war with China.  They can withstand a lot more pain than we can, because they're not a democracy.

So, what do you propose then? That we continue trading at a deficit allowing other countries to take advantage of us?

Personally, I am willing to call China's bluff.