Here’s a short and sweet take on the tariff situation between these two superpowers by Paul Renaud, a “trusted independent adviser to CxOs and boards in Canada, the UK, and the US. (Source: LinkedIn.) I especially like the graphic that puts things in perspective.

I’ve been hammering away at the blind spot of US nationalism, “the greatest nation on earth,” and all that jazz for years in the spoken and written word.

The US has many other weaknesses, which the current regime will only exacerbate, including high consumer and national debt levels, record income and wealth inequality, defense spending that exceeds half of total discretionary spending (and is slated to increase), a high functional illiteracy rate, and a high poverty rate when compared with peer countries. These are selected items on a long and growing list.

All of this is why I’m fond of the hashtag #AsianCentury.

Peace, MAA

Americans are socially conditioned to see the USA as the centre of the Universe, creating a huge blind spot.

While the American economy is important, it is less than 30% of the global economy that can trade around it as it turns inwards.

Can Americans support their own economy given the low 4.7% savings rate? That is not a lot of room to absorb the cost of tariffs.

There are many flaws in Trump’s trade war, not the least of which is that he doesn’t have the cards.

Personal savings rates are 11-20% in Europe, over 18% in Mexico and 34.4% in South Korea. The EU average is over 15%.

Even Canada has a 6.1% savings rate.

Only Japan has a lower savings rate than the USA due to years of negative interest rates.

China’s savings rate is half of its total output.