Why should the US instigate trade wars so hard? Why not be pro-free trade as possible (even if it's imbalanced) while investing heavily in their own self-reliance. That sounds more win-win to me than throwing gasoline on the fire when there's little practical self-realiance replacements in the near term without bigger consequences than the alternative.
It's a dangerous game to play without substantial and subsequent investment domestically and among closer partner countries in stuff like manufacturing and mining - ahead of time. Pure competition instead of using bully tactics while only reacting appropriately when the gambles don't play out.
China had (and still has) higher tariffs on U.S. goods decades ago. They don’t respect copyright laws, use tech for spying, and steal technology. How is the US starting a trade war?
I didn't say they started it. I explicitly said at a known imbalance. Because without significant preperation you just make it worse where both sides lose. Expecting China to not steal and cheat when it's a core part of their modern culture is a losing game.
Expecting some demographic way-too-used to being poor via gov policy, a long history of alleged victimization by the US being the root cause of ALL their problems sold by propaganda for 50yrs+, and totally obedient to a hyper central government built on top of reality denial (aka "saving face").
...idk I feel like the only real alternative is investment into self reliance and getting whatever concessions you can via positive trade actions until then.
It's like fighting piracy with copyright laws when everyone pirates movies and Netflix doesn't exist and you have to go to Blockbuster. And allegedly if we do ban piracy we'll eventually get downloadable movies in an indefinite amount of time because our gov will suddenly care and save us.
IMO it's because shifting towards self-reliance usually means shifting investment away from international investment and implementing protectionist regulations which are seen as economically hostile towards other states. So perhaps just the act of shifting towards domestic investment and protection will be taken as instigation.
I agree with you, though, and I think the "icing on the cake" instigations are in large part political maneuvers.
It's a dangerous game to play without substantial and subsequent investment domestically and among closer partner countries in stuff like manufacturing and mining - ahead of time. Pure competition instead of using bully tactics while only reacting appropriately when the gambles don't play out.