Trump's tariffs: A boon for China, says ex‑advisor Bolton
The tariffs on imports announced by U.S. President Donald Trump represent a significant opportunity for China and demonstrate "economic illiteracy," according to former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton, who spoke on CNN.
"What Trump is doing is a significant opportunity for China on a global scale. These tariffs are a form of economic illiteracy. Trump has no idea what he is talking about. He does not understand how tariffs work," evaluated Bolton, who served as National Security Advisor from 2018 to 2019, in an interview with CNN.
Bolton: Trump's tariffs are a huge opportunity for China
On Wednesday evening, Trump once again surprised the world. In the ongoing escalation of trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, he delivered another blow to China and simultaneously postponed new tariffs on other countries by 90 days.
According to Bolton, Trump's actions have placed the U.S. in a "very vulnerable position." Instead of confronting a country that has been stealing our intellectual property for decades, uniting our allies who are also suffering from China's intellectual property theft, and taking coordinated action, we are engaging in a trade war with our biggest trading partners while simultaneously going to war with China, Bolton emphasized.
"It simply makes no sense and it’s just sad and depressing that more Republicans haven’t stood up and said that. This is illiteracy," Bolton summarized the situation from the perspective of American politics.
On Wednesday, the Ministry of Finance in Beijing announced that the Chinese government approved raising retaliatory tariffs on goods imported from the U.S. from 34% to 84%. This move is in response to the U.S. administration's implementation of tariffs at a level of 104% on imports of products from China.
