President Donald Trump's aggressive new trade policy isn't going too well. His threats to impose tariffs on imports from China, Europe and other trade partners have so far yielded much less than he promised--and instead of retaliating, he shows signs of backing off.
It's right to criticize him for saying one thing and doing another, but bear in mind that he could do worse things than that--such as actually keeping his promise to start a trade war. Given this president's benighted approach to trade and international relations, capitulation with no further damage done would be a pretty good result.
Ideally, having chosen to de-escalate his fights with trade partners, Trump would press for changes in smarter and more productive ways. The U.S. does have valid complaints about subsidies and other state supports in Europe, and about China's efforts to coerce intellectual property from its inward investors.
Trump's erratic bullying has been failing, and persisting with it would risk enormous damage to the U.S. and global economies. So if the administration retreats, fine--especially if it learns the lessons at hand: In leveling the playing field for international trade and investment, cooperation and mutual interest get you a lot further than threats and bluster ever could.
Editorial on 05/24/2018