Hello everyone, welcome to “News Discussion”. I am Fu Yao.
Today’s guests are Dr. Ye Yao-yuan, an expert in international relations and a lecturer in international studies at the University of St. Thomas, and Mr. Qin Peng, a current affairs commentator and senior political and economic analyst.
Let’s talk about the latest developments in the new round of “tariff wars” initiated by the United States.
On February 4th, the new U.S. government officially imposed an additional 10% tariff on goods from China. Former President Trump had expressed his wish to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but after China announced retaliatory measures, he stated that he was “not in a hurry” to talk to Xi Jinping and that the tariff increase was just the “opening move” with more “substantive” measures to follow.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) retaliated by announcing measures including a 10% tariff increase on crude oil, agricultural machinery, large-displacement automobiles, pick-up trucks, and a 15% tariff increase on coal and liquefied natural gas. Additionally, restrictions on the export of five rare elements, an investigation into Google for potential monopolistic practices, and the inclusion of PVH Group and Illumina on the unreliable entities list were also announced. These tariff measures by the CCP against the United States went into effect starting from the 10th of this month.
On February 7th, President Trump met with Japanese Prime Minister Shozo Ishiba at the White House, where they held a joint press conference. Trump stated that his team would announce “reciprocal tariffs,” with actions set to commence this week. Forbes believes that this move may bring the U.S. closer to a trade war.
President Trump mentioned that these tariffs would apply to all countries and emphasized this as the only fair approach.
According to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce as of November 2024, the top 10 countries contributing to the U.S.’s trade deficits were China, Mexico, Vietnam, Ireland, Germany, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and Thailand.
Mr. Qin Peng, first of all, do you think President Trump’s actions are indeed as he described, the “only fair approach”?
Professor Ye, President Trump had proposed imposing a 100% tariff on semiconductors produced in Taiwan shortly after taking office. Given the unprecedented significance of chips today, do you think Trump is really likely to implement a 100% tariff policy on semiconductors?
Mr. Qin Peng, President Trump has also criticized the previous U.S. “Chip Act,” which had stimulated over $450 billion in investments in the U.S. semiconductor and electronics industry. If implemented, could this potentially cause the previous investments to falter, making it more challenging for U.S. businesses and the already struggling U.S. manufacturing sector?
Professor Ye, how do you observe Trump using the “tariff stick” in geopolitics to play games?
The “reciprocal tariff” policy was a key proposal put forward by Trump during his first term and the 2024 election. A 2019 Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll showed that “reciprocal tariffs” had the support of 91% of conservatives and 75% of Democrats.
However, this measure also appears in the “2025 Plan” authored by Trump’s trade advisor Peter Navarro. The opposition views this plan as the second American revolution and finds some of its policies extreme.
According to MarketWatch, Navarro analyzed the “2025 Plan” and stated that in terms of “reciprocal tariffs,” the countries of primary consideration are China and India, followed by the European Union, Thailand, Taiwan, and Vietnam, with Japan and Malaysia as secondary targets.
Mr. Qin Peng, with Navarro serving as the senior trade and manufacturing advisor of this administration, many are questioning whether Trump is indeed implementing the 2025 plan?
In addition, billionaire Elon Musk is leading a group of high-IQ young geniuses to head the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and has been restructuring the U.S. International Development Agency, putting tens of thousands of global employees at risk of dismissal. President Trump praised him for saving tens of billions of wasteful and corrupt expenditures for American taxpayers annually.
Last weekend, Trump approved the addition of 45 employees from his various tech companies to join DOGE. DOGE members work unpaid, putting in 120 hours per week.
However, the DOGE team has encountered some resistance. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on Saturday, prohibiting billionaire Elon Musk’s Government Efficiency Department (DOGE) from accessing sensitive financial and personal data held by the U.S. Treasury Department.
The case was filed in a New York district court mainly concerning the issue of whether Musk’s team’s access to the central payment system of the Treasury Department violated federal law, as stated by multiple Democratic attorneys general from 19 states.
The central payment system of the Treasury Department processes tens of billions of dollars in expenditures annually, including tax refunds, social security benefits, veterans’ payments, and stores a vast amount of sensitive data like social security numbers and bank account information.
U.S. District Court Judge Paul A. Engelmayer not only prohibited the DOGE team from accessing financial data containing sensitive information but also ordered the destruction of any data downloaded by DOGE since January 20th.
Professor Ye, to what extent do you think Judge Engelmayer’s temporary restraining order against DOGE would impede Musk’s actions?
Mr. Qin Peng, The Washington Post also pointed out that Musk is leading a few trusted individuals to take control and automate government functions with the aim to replace manpower with machines. How do you view the dual role of AI at this moment?
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