Turning Point?

The world may have reached a turning point in trading. For thirty years the United States allowed the world to treat us like a stepchild in international commerce. The US has ceded mercantilism to other countries ... mainly China. Now President Trump has said “enough” and is pushing back with increased tariffs and rhetoric ... which of course causes some trading “partners” to sit on their hands.

This conflict absolutely changes the previous “new world order” interactions. Tariff retaliations driven by saving face are popping up (China won’t eat America’s “bitter fruit”). So one has to worry how far these escalations will go? The United States clearly now has the strategic economic and innovative advantage. But is that enough ... or even too much? Can China’s retreat from its path to economic dominance be effected without its loss of face?

Before Japan attacked Pearl Harbor the United States had imposed an oil and gasoline embargo on Japan which caused them enough pain that they decided war was the only answer. See: Wikipedia Entry. So the United States needs some serious Asian mind reading so that it doesn’t drive China so far up the economic tree by our escalating tariffs that it feels it must resort to kinetic force ... maybe through its proxy North Korea?

Wouldn’t it be nice to have that gadfly Russia as an ally if this were to occur?