U.S.-China Trade Clash Has Now Gone Global
Trump’s effort to isolate the Chinese manufacturer Huawei gives pause to businesses and consumers around the world.
U.S. measures against Huawei caught some by surprise. Future interruptions to supply chains will be less surprising.
Photographer: Justin Chin/Bloomberg
The impact of the U.S.-China trade spat is no longer limited to just the two countries. The Trump administration’s latest move – seeking to limit access to American suppliers for the Chinese telecom manufacturer Huawei Technologies Co. – may force many businesses worldwide to reconsider their own dependence on supply chains that go through China, and consumers their reliance on Chinese phones. The more they try to insulate themselves from similar future actions, the more global this trade conflict will become and the greater the likelihood it will end up re-aligning global economic relationships.
It remains an open question whether the dueling tariffs will be a permanent feature of a more fragmented and protectionist global system or, instead, just part of a journey to still-free but fairer trade. What’s clear already is that there’s limited likelihood of going back to the way things were.