Washington, D.C. — As President Donald Trump heads to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, he does so from a position of self-inflicted weakness, according to a new analysis from the Center for American Progress. The Trump administration has both sabotaged the sources of American strength and competitiveness at home and dismantled American power and influence abroad, the analysis finds.
Even if the Trump administration announces a trade deal with China, the United States will emerge weaker than before Trump’s trade war began. Tariffs remain higher than they were last year, export controls against the United States have expanded, American farmers have lost billions of dollars’ worth of export opportunities, and trust between the United States and China is at its lowest point in decades.
“At best, this week’s developments will mark a pause in a conflict that has left the United States economically and diplomatically weakened,” said Damian Murphy, senior vice president for National Security and International Policy at CAP and co-author of the analysis. “Regardless of what spin the Trump administration puts on its ‘deal’ with China, that’s hardly a win.”
Read the column: “China First: The Trump Administration Has Willfully Destroyed U.S. Levers of Power in Advance of the APEC Summit” by Damian Murphy and Michael Clark
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