LETTER: Trade war with China isn’t hurting U.S. consumers

Your Jan. 8 editorial perpetuated the myth that the trade war has cost the average American. While the final 2019 Consumer Price Index has not been released, it appears that it will be around 2 percent, same as last year. If we were paying more because of tariffs, it would be reflected in our cost of living, but it is not. You say that the trade wars have driven up prices for U.S. consumers. If so, the effect has been negligible.

Elsewhere in the same edition we are advised the trade deficit fell in November, and we are going to have a lower annual deficit than last year. That’s great news.

Some U.S. companies have been seeking sources of supply outside of China because of the tariffs. Further, they no longer have to have a Chinese partner to do business in China. That’s also good news.

Previously, you reported that, as a result of tariffs, China has made major concessions to stop stealing our intellectual property — patents and copyrighted material. You have reported their theft of such has cost the U.S. economy $900 billion a year. Meanwhile, the tariffs have cost us a small fraction of that. So it is clear that the United States is winning the trade war.