Pick through the details of recent U.S. trade negotiations and an outline of Donald Trump’s vision for the global economy starts to come into focus. As do its contradictions.
By his telling, the president wants a world with suppliers locked in and ring-fenced from China to guarantee access to the technology and raw materials that U.S. companies need. Trump has said he’s seeking to use U.S. power to extract maximum leverage for its citizens, enacting a virtual membership fee for access to the U.S. economy and the benevolence of its military might.
But his main threat for accomplishing that goal — freezing other nations out through crippling tariffs and export controls — carries real risks that trading partners decide that doing business with the U.S. is ultimately too costly, exposing them even more to Beijing.
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