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DECEMBER 1, 2019
Prepared by: Ahmad Ahnaf Amin, Junior Trade Analyst,
World Trade Organization
Prepared for: Senior Executives,
World Trade Organization
USA-China Trade War and Implications
A report of the causes and effects of the ongoing trade
disputes between the two largest economies in the world.
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Table of Contents
List of tables and illustrations……………………………………………………………3
Abbreviations…………………………………………………………………………….4
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………..5
Executive Summary…………………………………………………………………….…6
Introduction……………….………………………………………….…………………..………………………..7
The US-China trade deficit..………………….…………..………………………..………………………..9
Welfare effects of the trade war……….………………………………………………..…………………11
Policy changes and recommendations…………………………………………………………………..13
References…………………..………………………………………..…………………..………………………15
Glossary……..…………………………..………………………..………………………..…………………….16
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List of tables and illustrations
1. “US-China Trade Deficit”, 1985-2016, U.S Census Bureau
2. “The Widening Gap”, 1998-2016, U.S Census Bureau
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Abbreviations
• WTO- World Trade Organization
• GDP: Gross Domestic Product
• MFN: Most Favored Nation
• MOFCOM: Ministry Of Commerce (CHINA)
Abstract
This paper examines the recent ongoing China-United States trade war and its effects on
the two economies and livelihoods of their local people. The paper also explores the
trade policies of the Trump and Xi Jingping administrations. In 2018, the United States
had deemed that China has been engaging in “unfair trade practices”. The Trump
administration pointed out several infringements by the Chinese that effected the
growing trade deficit, the theft of intellectual property and the forced transfer of
