U.S.-China Competition and U.S. Trade Policy: Understanding the U.S.-China Decoupling

Abstract

This paper analyzes the U.S. trade policy in the age of great power competition at both international and intranational levels and put it in theoretical and historical perspective. While from international point of view, the U.S.-China decoupling is caused by the geopolitical confrontation between great powers, from domestic point of view, the U.S.-China trade war is triggered by the backlash of the American middle class against a flood of imports from China. These two factors constrain the course of the U.S. trade policy and the progress of the U.S.-China decoupling.