{"id":3210,"date":"2025-04-04T10:59:48","date_gmt":"2025-04-04T14:59:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/politicalbourbon.com\/en\/?p=3210"},"modified":"2025-04-04T10:59:50","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T14:59:50","slug":"steel-resolve-how-trumps-tariffs-fought-back-against-chinas-trade-playbook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/politicalbourbon.com\/en\/2025\/04\/04\/steel-resolve-how-trumps-tariffs-fought-back-against-chinas-trade-playbook\/","title":{"rendered":"Steel Resolve: How Trump\u2019s Tariffs Fought Back Against China\u2019s Trade Playbook"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Trump\u2019s tariffs on Chinese steel weren\u2019t just a unilateral move\u2014they mirrored how other countries, like China, tax U.S. goods to protect their own industries. Tariffs are a common tool nations use to shield domestic businesses from foreign competition, and a couple of examples can shed light on this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"474\" height=\"263\" src=\"https:\/\/politicalbourbon.com\/en\/file\/2025\/04\/bourbon-flag.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3214\" srcset=\"https:\/\/politicalbourbon.com\/en\/file\/2025\/04\/bourbon-flag.jpg 474w, https:\/\/politicalbourbon.com\/en\/file\/2025\/04\/bourbon-flag-768x426.jpg 768w, https:\/\/politicalbourbon.com\/en\/file\/2025\/04\/bourbon-flag-756x420.jpg 756w, https:\/\/politicalbourbon.com\/en\/file\/2025\/04\/bourbon-flag-696x386.jpg 696w, https:\/\/politicalbourbon.com\/en\/file\/2025\/04\/bourbon-flag-1068x592.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/politicalbourbon.com\/en\/file\/2025\/04\/bourbon-flag-1920x1065.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>First, consider how China taxes U.S.-made bourbon. Before Trump\u2019s presidency, China slapped a 20% consumption tax and a 13% VAT on bourbon imported from the U.S. For a $100 bottle:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Consumption Tax: $100 \u00d7 20% = $20<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>VAT: ($100 + $20) \u00d7 13% = $15.60<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Total Cost: $135.60<br>This markup makes U.S. bourbon less competitive, boosting China\u2019s domestic producers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, let\u2019s look at steel imports from China to the U.S. in 2018. Back then, China exported a ton of steel worth $4,500, facing a modest U.S. import duty of 0\u20135% (let\u2019s assume 5%):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Import Tax: $4,500 \u00d7 5% = $225<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Total Cost: $4,725<br>This seems reasonable\u2014until you consider the bigger picture. In the 1970s, the U.S. was the world\u2019s top steel producer, supplying its own industries like automaking and appliances. Then China ramped up its steel production, outpacing everyone. By 2025, China will produce 1 billion tons annually\u2014more than all other countries combined\u2014while the U.S. makes just 90 million tons. <strong>This dominance aligns with China\u2019s &#8216;Made in China 2025&#8217; initiative, launched in 2015, which aims to make China a global leader in high-tech industries, including advanced steel production. By targeting self-sufficiency and innovation, the plan has fueled China\u2019s ability to export cheap steel, intensifying pressure on U.S. producers and prompting Trump\u2019s tariff response.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/politicalbourbon.com\/en\/file\/2025\/04\/Trump-Steel-Tariff-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3213\" srcset=\"https:\/\/politicalbourbon.com\/en\/file\/2025\/04\/Trump-Steel-Tariff-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/politicalbourbon.com\/en\/file\/2025\/04\/Trump-Steel-Tariff-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/politicalbourbon.com\/en\/file\/2025\/04\/Trump-Steel-Tariff-64x64.jpg 64w, https:\/\/politicalbourbon.com\/en\/file\/2025\/04\/Trump-Steel-Tariff-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/politicalbourbon.com\/en\/file\/2025\/04\/Trump-Steel-Tariff-2048x2048.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Surrounded by steel and aluminum workers, President Trump holds up the order on steel imports that he signed in Roosevelt Room at the White House on Thursday.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>China\u2019s surplus floods markets like the U.S. with cheap steel, priced so low that domestic producers can\u2019t compete. Before Trump\u2019s tariffs, this led to U.S. steel plant closures, shrinking an industry critical to national security. Imagine a war where the U.S. can\u2019t produce steel for tanks or ships\u2014it\u2019s a vulnerability we can\u2019t afford. In his first term, Trump imposed a 25% tariff on Chinese steel, raising the cost of a $4,500 ton to $5,625. This leveled the playing field, helping U.S. steelmakers stay in business and even expand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tariffs aren\u2019t just about economics\u2014they\u2019re about reciprocity and survival. When other nations protect their industries, the U.S. can\u2019t afford to stand idle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sources: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/fact-sheets\/2025\/02\/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-restores-section-232-tariffs\/\">Whitehouse.gov<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/enforcement.trade.gov\/download\/factsheets\/factsheet-multiple-fabricated-structrual-steel-ad-cvd-final-012420.pdf\">trade.gov<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/unitedpipe.com\/steel-tariffs-explained\">UnitedPipe.com<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sino-shipping.com\/china-import-tariff-duty-and-tax-rates\/\">Sino-shipping.com<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketplace.org\/2025\/02\/11\/us-steel-production-global-dominance-tariffs-china-producer\/\">Marketplace.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump\u2019s tariffs on Chinese steel weren\u2019t just a unilateral move\u2014they mirrored how other countries, like China, tax U.S. goods to protect their own industries. Tariffs are a common tool nations use to shield domestic businesses from foreign competition, and a couple of examples can shed light on this. First, consider how China taxes U.S.-made bourbon. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3211,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,47],"tags":[122,899,4807,4806,4805,2531,4804,4803,99,911],"class_list":{"0":"post-3210","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bourbon","8":"category-politics","9":"tag-bourbon","10":"tag-china","11":"tag-domestic-producers","12":"tag-economic-protection","13":"tag-import-taxes","14":"tag-national-security","15":"tag-steel-industry","16":"tag-tariffs","17":"tag-trump","18":"tag-usa"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/politicalbourbon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/politicalbourbon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/politicalbourbon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicalbourbon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicalbourbon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3210"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/politicalbourbon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3210\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3215,"href":"https:\/\/politicalbourbon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3210\/revisions\/3215"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicalbourbon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/politicalbourbon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicalbourbon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicalbourbon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}