China and U.S. Battle for Trade War Advantage

As the United States and China continue to battle in a trade war, both of the nations are looking to reshape the trade system as we know it. Both the U.S. and China are aiming to get what they want and do whatever has to be done to set the countries up for future success. As a result – leaders are willing to slow trade to do so.

“Both see trade as beneficial, but neither side wants to accept certain outcomes of competitive markets,” Maxwell economics professor Mary Lovely told the Christian Science Monitor. “China wants to use industrial policies and state support to shape its economy. The Trump administration wants to use American market power to force our trading partners to adopt policies that help us shape our economy. Neither accepts the damage this behavior does to the rules-based system they both rely upon.”