Rumors of War - Kings of the East

Trump announces tariffs on steel, aluminum imports; China cries foul - UPI.com
UPI reports: "President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he would place tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to the United States. Speaking at a White House meeting with business leaders, Trump said he would officially impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff for aluminum next week. [...] Chinese officials condemned the prospects of U.S. tariffs ahead of the decision Thursday. [...] Trump has said the tariffs would help U.S. businesses in those sectors. 'I want to keep prices down, but I also want to make sure that we have a steel industry and an aluminum industry, and we do need that for national defense,' Trump has said.  'If we ever have a conflict, we don't want to be buying the steel from a country that we're fighting, because somehow that doesn't work very well.'"

Comment: I don't normally share economic news, but I'm making an exception in this case for two reasons. First, there is a well established link between trade wars and actual wars. Many historians have blamed protectionist policies implemented during the Great Depression for souring relations between countries and contributing to the outbreak of WWII. Second, note that among the reasons for this decision, Trump explicitly lists likely war with a major importer, namely China. Is Trump preparing for war with China or merely bringing trade policy in line with national security requirements? Or both? Time will tell.