Disentangling would cost too much: "Neither side wants to decouple," said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday, a reversal from the Trump administration's line that we needed to lessen supply-chain dependence on China for national security reasons. Earlier this week, the U.S. and China agreed to a deal that would bring American tariffs on Chinese goods down to 30 percent, from 145 percent, while China will bring its tariffs on American goods down from 125 percent to 10 percent. This is a temporary pause for 90 days while further deals are negotiated.
"Finally we have a President that will stand up to China's unfair trade practices," Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said when the original tariffs were announced a month ago. But also: "We concluded that we have shared interests, and we both have an interest in balanced trade," said Bessent this week. Which is it?
The part that's not said: The Trump administration very nearly drove the economy into the ground, and they got scared and have now backed off.
