People around the world are bewildered by President Donald Trump’s manoeuvres on trade. Their confusion is understandable, because Mr Trump rejects 70 years of US policy.
This week’s tumult with China is symptomatic. Mr Trump told China to slash the bilateral trade deficit by $200bn. The Chinese are offering to buy more energy, farm products and aeroplanes, diverting trade without making fundamental changes. Beijing can also cut auto tariffs, although Japan and the EU would be the prime beneficiaries.
Because Mr Trump’s negotiators fell to bickering, the president will now delightedly direct the dealmaking himself. But he does not have the knowledge nor patience to dig into the most serious challenge, which is whether China will pursue its “Made in China 2025” innovation agenda in an open or indigenous fashion. Instead, the US will block a host of Chinese investments and demand managed trade, sector by sector.