I don't think the US will have the time for a "post-mortem", this is not a bug that just disappeared/was solved because Trump is no longer president. More people voted for him in 2020 than they did in 2016, the racist things that he has said and done have not come out of no-where, he had (and still has) a strong support behind him, and that support won't disappear over night.
He probably received a lot of votes from liberals like myself who see China as the greatest threat the world is facing today, and were thus forced to vote against our interests (since Biden has a history of being pro-China and even said he would end Trump’s China tariffs during the campaign).
The way to deal with China through legislation and working with our allies because it has to be a long term process. Tariffs and photo ops like FoxConn in WI did nothing hinder China.
The allies, just like Biden, have no interest in standing up to China. Tariffs definitely work, because if they’re high enough then companies will be forced to leave to setup shop elsewhere (such as Vietnam).
You can also see that China’s GDP growth (in 2019) was the lowest it’s been since 1990 (2020 will no doubt be much lower), and their reputation around the world is at an all-time low.
It’s also worth noting that the administration did a lot more to stand up to China besides tariffs (but tariffs that force companies to leave will of course hurt them the most).
I agree that China is a big threat, but trade wars is a bad way to address it. History has shown that the US pretty much always ends up losing in a trade war. Mind you, I don't know what the right solution is, but I do know that trade war is not it.
Sometimes it’s necessary to make sacrifices to try to stop an evil regime. This is one of those times, and besides war then there’s no other solution besides trying to isolate China from the rest of the world and hurt their economy. Trump went a long way towards achieving that goal.
It would of course be ideal if EU and all democratic countries got together, but they (just like Biden) unfortunately have no interest in doing so. Biden believe that it’s USA’s self-interest to see China prosper.
I mean Trump's China tariffs have been paid for by Americans. Because that's how tariffs work.
Have they deterred business with China in favor of moving that business back to America? Or have they just passed the price along to the American consumer?
I don't think the US will have the time for a "post-mortem", this is not a bug that just disappeared/was solved because Trump is no longer president. More people voted for him in 2020 than they did in 2016, the racist things that he has said and done have not come out of no-where, he had (and still has) a strong support behind him, and that support won't disappear over night.