'Cool heads' needed to deescalate trade standoff, says U.S.-China expert
China’s call to impose tariffs on $3 billion worth of U.S. products, a response to President Trump’s push to Implementing tariffs on China, could lead to a trade war that will hurt both countries, says a Virginia Tech expert who has focused her research efforts on Chinese markets for over a decade.
“We’re looking at game-theory playing out on the world stage in real time,” said Virginia Tech's Mary Marchant, a professor of agricultural and applied economics. “And that theory predicts that both countries lose in the end. Protected sectors may gain, but overall, the results of trade war are bad for both countries’ economies.”
Quoting Marchant
“China is our number one market for agricultural products – specifically soybeans are the number one U.S. export to China. And if China implements tariffs on soybeans, which it is likely to do if things don’t settle down, the results could be devastating for U.S. farmers. China has been diversifying its suppliers and these tariffs could expedite this process and leave U.S. producers in a lurch. What we need is cool heads to prevail to deescalate the situation. China and the U.S. have a synergistic relationship and we need each other; right now we just need leaders that promote this.”
Marchant is a professor of agricultural and applied economics in the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Her research examines the impact Chinese policies have on U.S. agricultural trade, with an eye toward increasing U.S. market access to China. She leads a team of Chinese and U.S. researchers that provide analysis to China’s unsteady trade policies. She has focused her research efforts on Chinese markets for over a decade and is affiliated with the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ Center for Agricultural Trade, which promotes agricultural trade through research, education, and outreach.
Schedule an interview
To interview Mary Marchant, contact Michael Stowe by email at mstowe@vt.edu; or by phone at 540-231-2611.
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