A Diverse and Divided Washington on Trump's Trade Policy
Wenyu Fang, Yuqi Guo, Yuan Xin
Tourists lean against the rails outside the White House lawn, taking pictures. Teenagers cycle through the Lafayette Square, chatting and laughing. Protestors hold their anti-Trump banners, shouting “lock him up”. Squirrels peel off the pine nuts, as if they are out of the bustling world.
Located within the President’s Park, the history-drenched Lafayette Square is steps away from the White House, close enough to see the windows of the center of the U.S. politics, and have a glimpse into the locals outside it.
From here to the whole Washington, D.C., different voices are echoed on the fever-pitch—Trump’s trade policy, an episode of the American society as a whole—diverse and divided.
Cycling with his family on the Lafayette Square, Graham Swaney, the 19 Canadian boy, didn’t see any rationale on the trade dispute between Trump and his homeland. “They are our allies. Largely it’s just to inspire his own base. I guess they would see Trump moving away from the rest of the world and act independently.”
Going from the Lafayette Square, the avenues are connecting every corner of the Washington DC.
Sheltered under the eaves from a sudden rain, Leo McNicholas, an 18-year-old student who spent 7 months in Taiwan, directly express his opinion on Trump’s trade polcy. “In China, you have 5-year policies and 10-year policies. Trump is like having a 1-minute policy. I don’t understand his policies. Trump is hurting the people he claims to protect.”
As a professor at George Washington University, which is one kilometer from the White House, David Brown passed through the Lafayette Square several times a day.
Contrast to the younger generation, the law school professor believed that “putting up barriers is not good. What I’m hoping is that this is a tactic to get to fair trade between countries. There is a little bit struggle right now, but I’m pretty confident it will work out.”
A senior House Representative Committee Staff said the reason of Trump administration’s trade policies is that China has been distorting free market by subsidy, which is against the WTO rules. “Trade between China and the U.S. has been unfair for a long time.” The controversy on intellectual property right and “Made in China 2025” also play a role in pushing Trump’s current policies. Right now, tariff is the most powerful tool of the president.
According to a journalist at Bloomberg who covers trade, although tariff is related to almost every branch of the government, the current policies are by large the choice of the president. “Covering trade in the Trump administration is very chaotic and very exciting.” Based on the fact that the government’s system for how trade agreements or negotiations happen are more straightforward than that in the past, the “loop” of dialogue which congress used to keep up with has now been broken.
In terms of the accuse that China is distorting global market by encouraging over capacity, American companies are in a hard situation where they agree that China is against some of WTO rules but they want a different approach other than what Trump is promoting right now.
Understanding the rationale behind the policies of the White House, the chamber of commerce who represents multinational companies very much holds the attitude like this: we do know that China is a problem and you have our support on this, but don’t put tariffs on the US consumers.
Same as the Chairman of Ways and Means Committee Kevin Brady puts that they do not hope an increasing level of tariffs and there really is the opportunity at a presidential level for President Trump and President Xi to sit down and avoid any trade war which will hurt both sides.
Truly, the hope towards series of softened trade policies is the consideration of most trade associations. “Trump administration is simply not doing things in a diplomatic approach, but Chine does not like to be pushed this way,” said the Bloomberg journalist.
With the Lafayette Square located in the middle, the U.S. Capitol is on the east and the streets surrounding George Washington University is on the west. The Constitution Avenue connects the three parts, but what connects them in trade issues is not as clear-cut or “straightforward” as a road.