Can the US afford a trade war?

Washington

A TRADE war between the United States and China may help resolve their deep differences, but the fight won't be easy. Trade wars are hard to start, end or win. Winning requires smarts, not bravado. If the Trump administration proceeds without adequate preparation, the US and the global economy may be far worse off than if nothing had been done.

There is no doubt that China plays unfair, damaging itself and its trading partners with discriminatory policies and growing ambitions to dominate advanced technologies. Given the nation's size, a distorted Chinese economy means a distorted global economy. The tumult China has caused by overproduction in steel, aluminium and solar industries could well be repeated in electric cars, semiconductors and a host of other sectors.