(Source: CCTV News Client, 2025-05-01)
The Trump administration has made drastic adjustments to its tariff policy since taking office. Frequent policy changes and uncertainty have continuously highlighted internal contradictions in the U.S. economy, and the White House is only trying to shirk the blame. "Global Vision" invited Zhang Jianping, deputy director of the Academic Committee of the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce,Tu Xinquan, Dean of the China World w88 Organization Research Institute at the w88 casino, brings analysis and interpretation. The following is an excerpt from the interview given by Dean Tu Xinquan.
How do you view the abnormal phenomenon of sharp decrease in cargo volume at the Port of Los Angeles caused by the US tariff policy?
Tu Xinquan:The tariff policy implemented by Trump is similar to shock therapy, causing U.S. shipping to come to a standstill. In the global supply chain system, logistics, as a key link, is most susceptible to the direct impact of changes in w88 policies, and its operation status directly reflects international w88 activities. After the imposition of tariffs, many import and export companies have terminated or suspended their w88 business due to concerns about the impact of tariffs, which has in turn caused a major impact on international logistics and port logistics. As the most important import port on the Pacific coast of the United States, the Port of Los Angeles is particularly affected by tariff policies. This impact not only affects port workers, but will also be transmitted to the upstream and downstream industrial chains. At present, the logistics link has been the first to be significantly affected, and the subsequent impact will gradually appear. Since retailers usually maintain a certain amount of inventory, there will be no problems in the retail link in the short term. However, once logistics is interrupted, the replenishment link will also be blocked, and retail companies and consumers will soon be greatly affected. U.S. manufacturers rely on imported parts and components for production. Although their inventory cycle is relatively long and the impact will be later, it is difficult to avoid being affected. Generally speaking, a series of economic impacts caused by the US tariff policy are gradually emerging, and the economic tsunami it has created for itself has already begun.
Since April, Trump’s tariff policy has been retreated again and again. To what extent will it finally be retreated?
Tu Xinquan:After the Trump administration came to power, it has announced multiple rounds of tariff policies, including the 25% tariff on steel and automobiles based on Section 232, the 20% tariff on China’s so-called “fentanyl” related products, and the so-called reciprocal tariffs announced on April 2. However, the formulation process of these tariff policies is extremely reckless and haphazard, lacks careful consideration, is entirely based on misunderstandings and one-sided obsessions, and fails to reasonably anticipate the consequences of policy implementation.
The root cause of frequent policy changes lies in the emergence of many unexpected situations. Taking reciprocal tariffs as an example, the United States implemented exemptions for some countries on April 9. This is because the U.S. financial market suffered a huge impact after the announcement of additional tariffs, forcing the Trump administration to make policy adjustments. Recently, the United States has made another change to its automobile tariff policy because domestic automobile companies in the United States and foreign automobile companies investing in the United States are unable to withstand the pressure of tariffs. The production of these companies depends on imported parts from around the world, and the United States has imposed a 25% tariff on parts and complete vehicles, causing many automobile companies to operate in trouble. They have expressed dissatisfaction and concerns to the U.S. government. Forced by the reality, the U.S. government can only adjust the tariff policy again.
The U.S. policy of increasing tariffs lacks comprehensive design and is based on wrong concepts. The implementation effect is counterproductive. It is better to directly return to the state before the tariff adjustment.
What has caused the US manufacturing industry to be hollowed out and unable to be reshaped? What's the main problem?
Tu Xinquan:In the early days after World War II, the United States was the number one manufacturing plant in the world. However, as the economy continues to develop, the U.S. manufacturing industry has gradually experienced outflows and hollowing out. The reasons are mainly as follows:
First, this is an independent decision made by American companies. In pursuit of higher profit margins and return on capital, companies choose to move manufacturing to other regions. Second, the comparative advantage of the United States' own factor endowments has changed. Its advantages are gradually tilted towards the service industry. Compared with other countries, the competitiveness of the United States in the manufacturing field is increasingly declining, and the manufacturing industry no longer has obvious advantages. Third, the unique advantages of the US dollar have played an important role. Relying on the status of the US dollar as the world currency, American companies and industries can more easily obtain high profits through financial operations. In contrast, engaging in manufacturing production requires a lot of energy and resources, which is not the best choice for American companies. Fourth, the US government also has certain responsibilities. The U.S. government has insufficient investment in building basic conditions for manufacturing development. For example, there is a lack of adequate funding and planning in the field of infrastructure construction, and vocational training and educational support for manufacturing practitioners is weak. Currently, the cost of higher education in the United States is high and the infrastructure construction is in poor condition, making it difficult to meet the needs of manufacturing development.
Attached is the original interview video link:https://content-static.cctvnews.cctv.com/snow-book/video.html?item_id=12552535450260196053&t =1746112314394&toc_style_id=video_default&share_to=wechat&track_id=e4f2ac08-694d-433f-9000-2d7a879acdbb
