In the hours before President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff blitz on Wednesday afternoon, several corporate media outlets reported that a TikTok deal was nearly finalized ahead of the weekend deadline. One report even claimed the new U.S. entity set to acquire TikTok’s algorithm from Chinese parent company ByteDance would be named “TikTok America.”
Fast-forward to early Friday morning: China launched a counter-offensive tariff strike—a volley of levies between the superpowers—in response to Trump’s 54% effective tariff rate on Chinese imports. Beijing’s effective tariff rate on U.S. imports now stands at the same level.
Great chart from Goldman.
Trump’s tariff war with China is like a giant game of chess. The board? Well, the global economy—specifically, trade relations between the world’s two largest economies. That’s why, last week, Beijing delayed the strategic deal involving the Panama Canal. Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings had been preparing to sell BlackRock a portfolio of global ports, including two critical ports near the Panama Canal—ports that would have strengthened Trump’s effort to bolster Western Hemispheric defense.
That’s why, despite all the reports that Trump was preparing to approve a deal with U.S. investors behind TikTok America and ByteDance, the president found