China: Unfair trade with the US? – ING

According to analysts at ING, Chinese import tariffs are much higher than US import tariffs and in terms of trade facilitation and China is less open than the US, which is why ING feel that President Trump does have a point when complaining about Chinese tariffs.

Key Quotes

“He also has a point about China being notoriously weak in protecting intellectual property.”

“However, raising US import tariffs to address these concerns may not be the best policy response, because it runs the risk of retaliation by China which would be the start of a trade war that would be damaging for both countries.”

“On net, protectionist measures by the US and the EU are roughly in balance. So raising US tariffs on imports from the EU cannot be justified by referring to higher tariffs in sectors like the automobile industry or agriculture.”