Victor Davis Hanson: The ‘Trade War’ That Never Was

#finance
Since launching Liberation Day in early April, several countries, most notability South Korea and Japan, have come to the negotiating table, seeking to lessen tariffs, levied across the board, by the Trump administration.

The stock market has recently recovered, somewhat.

And now, President Trump says he’s willing to lower tariffs on China.

Many on the Left were quick to blast Trump, saying things like, “Oh, he’s caving. This was all unnecessary.”

Bottom line: The Trump administration’s “trade war” wasn’t really a “war” at all, “It was just an effort to stop a 50-year-cycle of chronic American trade deficits that had harmed the industrial interior”, argues Victor Davis Hanson on today’s edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words:

“Now the Left says, ‘Oh, he's caving, he's caving. This was all unnecessary.’ You could interpret it that way. But it's more likely "Art of the Deal." In other words, we're going to invade Panama, but we're not going to invade Panama. We just want Panama to let American companies run the exit and the entry to the canal—and that's probably going to happen.

“Canada's going to be the 51st state. No. It's not going to be the 51st state. But Canada should defend themselves and pay 2% of their GDP, and they need to address a $65-$100 billion deficit.

“But, we want to absorb Greenland. No. We don't. We want Denmark—a colonial power with this huge North American colony—we want them to help them a little bit. And indeed, they're starting to put Greenland on their imperial flags, and they gave them a billion dollars, and the base is secure. And the Greenland people, 50,000 or so, will want U.S. security. So, that is the ‘Art of the Deal.’”

00:00 Introduction to Trade Wars
00:47 Stock Market Recovery and Trade Deals
01:45 Trump's Tariff Strategy
03:08 Global Trade Dynamics
03:47 European Trade Relations
05:55 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
07:02 Closing Remarks and Subscription Info