Nearly all of Washington's trade policy efforts over the last two years have been wasted on an obviously no-win China deal.
Since the Trump administration took office in January 2017, the goods trade deficit with the rest of the world has subtracted $1.6 trillion from the U.S. economy. About half of that — $760 billion — was a net wealth transfer to China on goods trade, with assorted technologies and liberal access to U.S. markets.
During that time, the excessive and totally misguided focus on China left an unattended and deepening $670 billion black hole of American deficits on goods trade with Europe, Mexico, Canada and Japan — markets that account for about two-thirds of U.S. exports.
On current policies, trade deficits are set to keep soaring, taking away American wealth, jobs and earnings in hard-pressed import-competing industries.
Absurdly, the U.S. is being lectured by China to be "cooperative" (sic). In other words, Beijing is saying that America's transfers of wealth and technologies to China are the way it should be. So, the implied advice to Washington is not to fuss about it, and to work with Beijing on a "great power relationship" — whatever that is.