Sorry, Xi, China hasn’t suddenly gained a lever over Trump

Published February 27, 2026 6:00am ET



Bloomberg’s Malcolm Scott is wrong. Last week’s Supreme Court decision to suspend President Donald Trump’s tariffs on nations including China did not give Beijing new leverage against the United States, nor did it undermine Trump’s efforts to uncouple the U.S. economy from the Chinese economy. Trump continues to possess several powerful tariff levers that he can use against China.

Trump is justified in employing these levers against China.

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