Did Donald Trump lose a trade war he started, as Joe Biden says?

[tulc]

PolitiFact - Did Donald Trump lose a trade war he started, as Joe Biden says?

The ad approved by Biden said, "Trump lost a trade war that he started."

Longstanding Chinese trade policies may have provoked Trump into acting, but by moving first to impose tariffs, Trump at the very least escalated existing trade tensions into a trade war.

And while it may be premature to say that Trump has "lost" the conflict, we found wide agreement among trade experts that he is losing. He has not succeeded in getting China to capitulate to structural demands. He’s made marginal gains in the U.S.-China trade balance and in U.S. manufacturing output. But those have been undercut by significant retaliatory tariffs for the agriculture sector and wider harm to the economy from higher prices, supply chain disruptions, and slower economic growth.

We rate the statement Mostly True.

tulc(thought this was interesting)

 

[Der Alte]

PolitiFact - Did Donald Trump lose a trade war he started, as Joe Biden says?
tulc(thought this was interesting)

Well it must be true Biden said it. Of course Biden would never do or say anything untrue to discredit Trump and bolster his own chances for you know the thing.

 

[tulc]

Well it must be true Biden said it. Of course Biden would never do or say anything untrue to discredit Trump and bolster his own chances for you know the thing.

...or what he said could be mostly true.
tulc(could also point out there were even links to support it)

 

[The Barbarian]

Trump even offered welfare payments to American farmers to make up for their losses in the trade war, as China went elsewhere to buy grain.

Sept 2019

Trump trade war with China has cost 300,000 U.S. jobs, Moody's estimates

• Moody's Analytics estimates that the Trump administration's trade war with China has resulted in 300,000 fewer jobs being created in the U.S.
• That figure could rise to 450,000 by year-end if the dispute continues, according to the economic research firm.

 

[JackRT]

From a historical perspective trade wars have usually hurt both parties about equally. Case in point: the Trump administration is considering the reimposition of a 10% tariff on Canadian aluminum. US industry consumes about 6,000,000 tons of Al/year but produces only 800,000 tons/yr domestically. If the tariff is imposed American manufacturers will be forced to pay 10% more for product they desperately need with little if any effect on Canadian exporters. This will simply drive up the costs of US goods both domestically and for export. I should mention that the US Al industry is somewhat obsolete and hampered by high electricity costs. These are problems that don't exist in Canada and there are a couple of refineries in Canada whose output exceeds the entire US output.