If Donald Trump were trying to lose his trade war with China, it's hard to see what he would be doing differently. The president's gambit is likely to strengthen China's geopolitical position, embolden Beijing militarily, and diminish both the United States' global standing and its economy. Earlier this month, Trump increased tariffs on all goods from China to 145 percent. China, in turn, responded with 125 percent tariffs on American goods, plus more targeted measures. This is a classic trade war: two countries engaged in a tit-for-tat escalation of trade barriers, each with the goal of forcing the other country to back down and, at least in theory, agree to certain concessions. The Trump administration believes that it has the upper hand in this fight. 'We export one-fifth to them of what they export to us,' Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently remarked, 'so that is a losing hand for them.' That view has things backwards. The fact that the American economy is hooked on...
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