Paolo Gerbaudo in Phenomenal World:
Tariffs are typically used at one of two key junctures in the development of a national economy: either at the time of industrial infancy, when they are trying to cultivate fledgling national champions, or at the time of financial senility, when a country’s elites are hoping to forestall impending decline. Donald Trump’s chaotically managed trade war is a clear example of the latter. Amid the intensifying retreat of American hegemony, however, an alternative geo-economic and geopolitical arrangement is coming into view: a battery-powered globalization with Chinese characteristics. In this reordering, China is poised to be the leading actor, with green technology the driver. Its most evident manifestation is the massive international expansion of its electric vehicles (EV) industry.
The excellence of Chinese EVs, which were until recently derided by the likes of Elon Musk, is now incontrovertible. What is more, China’s tech supremacy is quickly translating into market dominance, so much so that it is now threatening to overtake other leaders not only in the EV market, but in the automotive industry as a whole. This bears seismic consequences for international economic geography.
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