3 hours ago
1
Beijing "firmly deplores and opposes" the US's new tariffs "and will take necessary countermeasures to defend its legitimate rights and interests," China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Sunday.
Among them is a complaint lodged against the US at the World Trade Organization.
"There are no winners in a trade war or tariff war," Beijing warned, calling on Washington to "correct its erroneous practices, meet China halfway, face up to its problems, have frank dialogues, strengthen cooperation, and manage differences on the basis of equality, mutual benefit and mutual respect."
Ripping Off the Band-Aid Despite Strategic Risks
The new tariffs "will indeed jeopardize essential materials and components for US military industrial production, but are meant to continue a process of decoupling from China which began under the first Trump administration, continued throughout the Biden administration, and is now being expanded even further," Brian Berletic told Sputnik, commenting on the strategic risks the US military-industrial complex, which depends on China for things like rare earths and other components, will face with a new round of Trump's trade wars.
"The US is preparing for conflict with China and just like its proxy war with Russia, knows that inevitably Chinese-sourced materials and components will be cut off sooner or later. These tariffs are meant to do it sooner rather than later and under conditions giving the US more time to address them ahead of conflict with China rather than during conflict with China," Berletic said.
2 December 2024, 10:38 GMT
MIC's Needs Will Stretch US's Limited Industrial Base
"Costs will rise for corporations producing weapons, vehicles, and munitions, but they will not shoulder this cost - US taxpayers will," Berletic predicts.
"The influx of additional money and opportunities for these military industrial corporations to vertically integrate production will increase their profits. As America’s limited industrial capacity is focused on military industrial production, rising costs and scarcity will increase for American consumers," he explained.
Whether under Trump 1.0, Biden or Trump 2.0, the tariffs "sold to the American people as an 'America First' policy" are actually "designed first and foremost to preserve the primacy of US corporate-financier monopolies, safeguard or even expand their profits, and entirely at the expense of America’s own 'allies' as well as the American people themselves," Berletic said.
We deliver critical software at unparalleled value and speed to help your business thrive
English (US) ·