Over the past few weeks, the world had a front-row seat to the chaotic mind of American president, Donald Trump. In just a few months, the man has made some of the most irrational decisions imaginable – none more so than the tariff war that he has entered into with the world, including the US’s historical allies like Canada and Europe.
Trump believes that the entire world – from developed countries in the Global North to some of the poorest countries in the most underdeveloped regions in the Global South – has conspired to take advantage of the US. He has retaliated by imposing tariffs, which he says will encourage US consumers to buy more American-made goods, increase the amount of tax raised and lead to huge levels of investment in the country.
Now, there’s a baseline rate of 10% for almost all countries (after a 90-day pause on the much higher tariffs announced just over a week ago) – with the exception of China. Tariffs for China have since increased to 125%. However, for some Chinese products, taxes will be set at 145%.
This is due to a previous 20% levy for those producing the drug fentanyl. Though its primary clinical utility is in pain management for cancer patients and those recovering from painful surgeries, the drug has caused an opioid epidemic in the US. China, in retaliation, put tariffs on US imports at 125%. The country has said it will not respond to any further US increases because they will become a “joke”.
The US now runs a trade deficit with China. In 2024, the US imported far more from China than it imported from the US. To put it into perspective, the US bought goods from China to the value of $440bn (about R8-trillion), whereas China only bought goods from the US worth less than half of that, at just $145bn (about R2,7-trillion). This is despite China’s population being five times bigger than that of the US, representing a much larger market than the US.
In his first term as president, Trump imposed significant tariffs on China, almost all of which were retained and expanded by his successor, Joe Biden. Trump’s goal is to stall the growth of China, which has become the world’s second-largest economy after the US.
Trump knows that China’s manufacturing capacity makes it unstoppable, and that someday, the country’s economy may surpass that of the US. This is an unthinkable scenario for a Trump whose American exceptionalism is so deeply rooted.
There’s no question that a tariff war hurts everyone. Even with higher tariffs paused, we in SA are already bearing the brunt. The rand is more volatile than it has been in many years. But in this war, there’s an important lesson that we can learn from China – and it is that when you’re self-sufficient, you can withstand bullies.
While the rest of the world bends to the whims of a lunatic by issuing licences to his allies (Lesotho just issued a licence to Elon Musk’s Starlink despite its noncompliance with the country’s laws) trading mineral wealth for Trump’s favour, sending envoys to plead for meetings, and going with a begging bowl to the US, China can hold its own. It can impose reciprocal tariffs and take on the US toe-to-toe.
It can do this because China knows its worth. It has invested in its people and economy. It has built solid alliances with the rest of the world, insulating itself from US dependency that permeates everywhere else in the world – including Europe. Africa, the richest continent on earth in terms of natural resources, should be able to withstand bullying like China is.
But we’re so disorganised that despite our capacity to rebuild from the ruins of colonialism, we are reduced to beggars and pawns in Trump’s and Musk’s power games. It’s a fate we deserve for our poor leadership choices.
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