Trade War: What it could mean for America?

Trump says winning a Trade War will be easy but history might tell us otherwise. Greater tariffs on imported goods and greater tensions with China could be results of the Trade War. While the idea of a Trade War may seem crazy it has happened before. In 1927, George and Ira Gershwin create a musical called “Strike Up the Band” which is about an American cheese maker who is unhappy with the U.S dairy market. This musical put pressure on Switzerland to put a tax on imported cheese. However Switzerland refused which sparked a Trade War between the 2 countries. However the Trade War the U.S is threatened by was sparked by a very different circumstance. Some of the effects of a Trade War could be high prices for consumers, businesses going bust because they can’t sell their products abroad or import the things they need. According to The Economist the trade war could “apply to some $46bn of trade, roughly 2% of America’s goods imports”. Making this trade war President Trump’s biggest act of protectionism to date.According to Marc William Palen the main weapon in a trade war is a tariff,  a tax on foreign goods coming into your country, rather than heavy artillery. In March Trump slaps tariffs on steel and aluminum, later China put taxes pork and recycled aluminum. Both countries are simply trying to protective themselves with a protective tariff which according to Marc William Palen has and could spark a trade war.