Trade War : Crisis of Deepening Inter-imperialist Contradictions
One year ago, there was a
conflict among the western
imperialist countries over the
refusal of US to endorse
commitment
to
“resist
protectionism”. This phrase had
been regularly used by the
international financial organizations
and the western leaders used to
pledge to stand by this.
After one year in June 2018,
the US imperialism has imposed
tariffs of up to 25 per cent on steel
and aluminum imports on EU,
Canada and Japan. The EU had
imposed retaliatory tariffs.
On July 6, the U.S. imposed 25
per cent tariffs targeting $34 billion
of machinery, electronics and other
components imported from China.
Trump had threatened to expand
the tariffs to target $200 billion
dollars of Chinese exports to the
U.S. if China retaliates. China,
which is being targeted for not
complying with Washington’s
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)
regime which stands in the way of
facilitating technology transfer to
the country, did retaliate by
imposing 25 per cent duties on $34
billion of U.S. imports into the
country, including automobiles and
agricultural commodities.
In a further escalation of the
ongoing trade war between the
U.S. and China, the Trump
administration is preparing to
announce 10% tariffs on an
additional $200 billion worth of
Chinese exports to the US,
including a variety of consumer
goods. The full list of goods on
which the tariffs will be imposed is
likely to be released later.
Tariffs may also be imposed
on another $16 billion of Chinese
goods after a public hearing later
this month. China has refused to
capitulate to the IPR regime and
4
has promised to retaliate dollar-to
dollar, imposing tariffs on $16
billion worth of U.S. exports to the
country, targeting coal and oil.
Many see these develop-
ments as the result of irrational
behavior of President Trump and
vainly hope somehow Trump can
be persuaded to see the reason. It
is not the madness of Trump. It is
the imperialist interests of US that
are dictating these measures which
may blow into a full-scale trade war.
While the Democratic Party’s
leaders have criticized the
imposition of tariffs on their allies
like EU, Japan, Canada and others,
they loudly praised the US
President’s trade war measure
against China and even demanded
their expansion. This makes it clear
that the trade war is not merely a
product of Trump, but of the ruling
class - financial monopoly
capitalists – of US imperialism.
Peter Navarro, Trump’s
economic advisor, writing in The
Wall Street Journal in the third
week of June made clear that
“Beijing’s audacious plan to
dominate emerging technology
industries” would not be tolerated,
that China’s investment in
“strategic technologies” posed “the
gravest risk to America’s
manufacturing and defense
industrial base” and that “economic
security is national security”.
Again Dan Coats, Director of
National Intelligence Agency, said
that China had second largest
defence budget, largest standing
army, third largest Air Force and a
navy with 300 ships and 60
submarines. All this is in the
process of modernization and
upgradation and this is perceived
as a threat to the US security.
Now it is clear that the prime
cause for unleashing trade war on
China is not the trade deficit of US
in bilateral trade. China offered to
reduce the trade deficit by
importing more from the US and the
offer was rejected by the US
administration.
China has drawn a plan, Made
in China 2025, to enhance its
industrial and technological
capabilities many folds. The US
imperialism wants to curb the
growth of China as an economic
power and to push it back to the
stage of a semi colony.
The financial meltdown in 2008
was the severest crisis faced by the
world capitalist system since 1930s
recession which triggered trade
wars among the imperialist powers.
The present trade war started by
the US imperialism is the outcome
of deep rooted and irresolvable
contradictions
among
the
imperialist powers, which are
contesting to protect and expand
their markets and profits and are
colluding to subjugate the
countries of Asia, Africa and Latin
America.
During the last decade since
the financial crisis in 2008, the ruling
monopoly bourgeoisie of the
imperialist countries had imposed
harshest austerity measures on the
working people to increase their
profits and concomitant oppression
and repression on the people. This
led to deepening of social
inequalities. While a handful of rich
have become richer and richer,
hundreds of millions of working
people
are
thrown
into
unemployment, poverty and misery.
They are seething with unrest and
anger. The ruling classes of
western imperialist countries are
diverting this anger to national
chauvinism by raising the slogans
like ‘America First’ and by
unleashing
anti-immigrant
contd. on page 5
Class Struggle