The art of trade war

It feels to me that we are watching the world order shift right before our eyes. Trump is using tariffs to create trade leverage and bring home manufacturing that the US no longer has. But thus far, China has called every bluff. Pausing the tariffs now on everyone BUT China creates a tug-of-war, each country vying for trade partnerships with everyone caught in the middle. So it comes down to who’s willing to do business with who. And why should it continue to be the US? China can offer everything anyone else needs—industry, commerce, tech and finance. They played the long game and became the manufacturing giant that the US was for the past 150 years. They patiently vacuumed up every opportunity to become the backbone of an increasingly outsourced economy.

It reminds me of the strategy the Belichickian Patriots deployed over a 20 year football dynasty—hold onto the ball, play for field position, wait for the opponent to screw up and take advantage of it when they do. Much of that philosophy famously stems from Belichick’s favorite book: The Art of War by Sun Tzu, a 5th century Chinese military strategist. This is the battle we are watching play out in real time—A tried and true ancient war philosophy versus a 1980's McDonald Trump value meal.

The Art of War vs. The Art of the Deal.