** from surcharges with air puffs: chaotic dance of trade war **
The trade war between China and the United States has something to recall the great conflicts of the 20th and 21st centuries: low blows, green betrayals against a background of steel. On April 10, 2025, a new episode was written, where Beijing imposed 84 % surcharges on American products, triggering a storm of return to the country of Uncle Sam. But is it not the absurd of a strategy which, instead of advancing the economy, is only girling under the weight of its own protectionist rhetoric?
To understand what is happening below the surface, it must be remembered that surcharges are a tree that hides a forest of interests far beyond simple trade. China, with its new measures, has decided to play a high risk card. On the one hand, it stands against America, with a tireless desire to prove its power. On the other hand, it risks isolating itself in an increasingly interdependent global market. We are in a time when supply chains seem stable, but their foundations are bathed in rivalries.
Ironically, at the very moment when Beijing sets up these customs barrier, the Asian markets fly away. The Nikkei climbs to 8 % following the unexpected turnaround of Donald Trump, who decided to suspend customs taxes for many of his business partners. What to think of this acrobatics? It almost looks like he is doing his dance steps in an air of uncertainty. Trump would he clown to amuse the scholarship, to bang furiously where it hurts while offering a treat to his partners?
This turnaround is not only a reflection of a desire to please. It’s a turning point, an entry into a joker with an uncertain timing. In the corridors of the White House, Trump once again used his traditional flexibility – at least to its only advantage. At a time when political debates within the global economy are expressed in an increasingly harsh and disenchanted language, this flexibility is perceived as a calculated risk on its part. Maybe, but at what price? Who will pay the note of this improvised dance?
The countries of Asia, carried away by the euphoric breath linked to this half-measure, seem to be packed, but behind the stocks of stock market greenery, the surregulation and the friction remain. What about small businesses, workers who see their exports collide at prohibitive prices? It is the very heart of the local economy that could suffer from it, crushed under the weight of impulsive decisions, balanced between the requirements of powerful nations and workers’ anxiety.
Japan, through the voice of Yoshimasa Hayashi, in turn demands the lifting of the remaining commercial restrictions. “We positively welcome American announcements,” he says, but each word seems to betray a contained anger. Why does Japan still see in this economic war a reason for compromise when he is himself a victim of the Trumpist punitive logic? It may be a strategic blindness-or perhaps a diplomatic tip to open the doors to other alliances, a tacit “we let pass, but we do not forget”?
While the Asian markets dance on a rebound melody, a crucial question remains unanswered: who really benefits this chaos? Are China and the United States writing the tragicomedy of exposure to more devastating commercial practices within their borders? Directing them towards a more proven confrontation with Europe? It all starts to look like a huge poker game between giants, where bets amount to billions of dollars, but the consequences could affect millions of lives.
We are at a crossroads where bargaining leads to alignments that may well be fatal. So, the dance continues: stress the show, but be vigilant. For each euphoric rise in markets, another storm could well arise, like a calm sea just before the cyclone. Who will get up to face? The future there, at the end of this delicate shore, is blurred like fresh cement.