As the US and China continue to exchange blows in an ongoing trade battle, Professor Richard Wolff talks to RT’s Boom Bust about the possible outcomes of the skirmish.
“It is already costing jobs, it is already costing money, it is now costing huge losses in stock markets and the irony of it all is that it’s mostly political theater,” the analyst said, discussing the impasse caused by the trade war sparked by US President Donald Trump.
“Mr Trump has initiated a massive tax on Americans. Tariff is just a word for a particular kind of tax,” Wolff said, stressing that the president is taxing goods and services that come into the US.
The professor highlighted that those taxes would be paid for by American businesses, with some of the burden expected to shift to US consumers.
“When the dust clears, and I believe a deal will be struck, [the] Chinese will say they prevailed, Mr Trump will say he prevailed, and we will go on to some other crisis that can keep our president in the news,” the expert said, adding that economically the entire tariffs war is costly for both sides.
“But it is a cost that is fundamentally politically driven,” Wolff concluded.
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