Unforeseen consequences of US-China trade war

Four years ago, when the US-China trade war resulted in tariffs on roughly $450 billion worth of goods, it was hailed as a game changer in international trade and geopolitics. Although Sino-US trade figures dipped afterwards, the situation was exacerbated by chip shortage during Covid-19, making the case for prioritising US self-reliance in hi-tech manufacturing. Additionally, Beijing began to exercise quotas in the global supply of rare-earth metals – crucial for many strategic projects, including the manufacturing of F-35 jets. All these developments foresaw a resurgence of manufacturing and mining in the US, aimed at keeping the US-China trade deficit in check. But the question remains: Did it work? Has manufacturing returned to the US? And have the soaring trade deficits been contained? It appears that progress has been made on the manufacturing front. Thanks to Biden’s Chips and Science Act of 2022, hundreds of billions of dollars are being committed to research and domestic production of semiconductor devices.