President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose for a photo at Zhongnanhai in Beijing, China, on May 15, 2026. President Trump’s recent trade deal with US adversary China is another insult and injury to US trade partners, writes Jonathan Fritz. (Shutterstock/RawPixel.com)

Prioritizing US Adversaries Over Allies Is a Losing Strategy 

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President Donald Trump’s recent China trade deal stands in stark contrast to his treatment of US trade allies like Canada.

Much of the press around President Donald Trump’s lavish reception of Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Washington last week focused on artificial intelligence and the presence of so many US tech executives at the state dinner. But the two governments’ agreement to lower tariffs on $60 billion worth of trade deserves far more attention—not because it is a good deal, but because it makes clear the president’s disregard for the United States’ traditional partners and allies and his willingness to appease China at a direct cost to the American people.  

Under the terms of the deal, both sides will reduce tariffs on roughly $30 billion worth of imports from the other, lowering rates to the non-discriminatory baseline that World Trade Organization members apply to one another.  At first glance, lowering tariffs on US agricultural exports to China in return for reducing prices that American consumers pay for non-essential goods like toys and furniture seems reasonable. But here’s the catch: the White House has now agreed to lower rates on these goods below what it charges importers for doing business with........

© The National Interest