Experts dismiss tariffs

As the tariff dispute between the United States and China escalates, some experts are calling for the two countries to seek greater cooperation and solve the current situation in a reasonable fashion.

“The episode that is called ‘trade war” is totally unnecessary, and I doubt it’s going to end up benefiting anybody. Hopefully, it’s just a temporary bump in the road,” said Kenneth Judd, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University, on the sidelines of the Sino-US Economist Fintech Innovation Forum on Tuesday.

“There’s nobody in Washington who is doing any serious analysis on what the impacts of these tariffs are on American jobs. As we are seeing, many of those tariffs are now hurting jobs in the US,” said Judd.

His advocacy for the kind of analysis is meant to create more facts and more understanding, and then it’s harder for there to be major disagreements, he said.

However, there’s no economic justification for the tariffs, which are all driven by politics, said Judd. “I don’t know of any economist, who is not on Trump’s payroll, who would say anything positive of the current situation,” he added.

Ren Faqiang, deputy Chinese consul general in San Francisco, told the forum in his speech that there’s no winner in a trade war and that the only solution to a dispute is conversation and negotiation.

Despite the ups and downs of the past 39 years, the relationship between the US and China has made remarkable progress and has brought tangible benefits to the people of both countries, said Ren.

“I’m old enough to remember China of the 1960s, and it is remarkable to me how much things have changed and how much progress has been in the relationship, but these things always take time where both parties become more trusting of each other,” said Judd.

“Both sides have to create a relationship within which each trusts each other to not challenge the other’s legitimate interests,” he said. “My hope is that (both sides) go past this tariff war business and the silly talk about Chinese currency being manipulated and move on to greater cooperation and interaction.”

After all the “antagonistic negotiation”, entrepreneurs in the US and China should continue to collaborate and look for opportunities, said Franklin Urteaga, a former White House technology adviser.

“If you look at the American history on trade wars, it’s not an efficient or productive way to negotiate,” he said.

“There are always individuals in the government that are cautious and not as cooperative, but I believe in cooperation. I think cooperation and collaboration are key components of innovation. You can’t innovate in a bubble,” said Urteaga.

Both sides have to create a relationship within which each trusts each other to not challenge the other’s legitimate interests.” Kenneth Judd, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University