Donald Trump, early in his presidency, decided the trade deficit with China could not be tolerated. He thought it was hurting the U.S. economy (it wasn't).So, he decided to do something about it. He started a trade war with China by putting tariffs on most goods imported into the U.S. fro that country.
He told Americans that trade wars were easy to win, and his trade war would erase the trade deficit with China. He was wrong on both counts.
His trade war was bad for farmers, because they lost one of their biggest markets. China stopped buying from them, and found what they needed in other countries. It was bad for taxpayers, because the government had to replace the loos to farmers with government payments. It was bad for consumers, because they had to pay the tariffs (in the form of higher prices for goods).
The only entity not hurt by Trump's trade war was China. In fact, the current trade deficit with China is higher than it has ever been. They just kept exporting while Americans paid the tariffs for them.
Trump lost the trade war with China. To be blunt, it was an unmitigated disaster -- for the U.S., not China.
