Written by Jason Taylor.
On Saturday, President Trump made another move in his ongoing trade war, imposing a 10% tariff on Chinese goods. This latest round of tariffs has only added to the already strained relationship between China and the U.S. tech giant Google.
It wasn’t just China feeling the heat either—Trump also slapped a 25% tariff on imports coming from Mexico and Canada. But there’s a catch. Before the tariffs could go into effect on Tuesday, Trump gave both countries a 30-day pause to address his concerns about border security and drug trafficking. All this while Trump was gearing up to talk to China’s President Xi Jinping in the coming days.
But China wasn’t going to sit idly by. On Tuesday, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation announced it was launching an investigation into Google for alleged antitrust violations. At the same time, China also revealed plans to impose tariffs on several U.S. imports, including a 15% tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas, 10% on American crude oil, farm machinery, and certain vehicles. The trade war is far from over, and it’s getting messier.
Google’s Ties with China: A Complicated History
Despite the fact that Google shut down its search engine and other services in China back in 2010, the company didn’t entirely sever its connections with the country. While the internet giant stopped offering its services to the Chinese public, it still continued helping Chinese businesses with advertising services. It’s clear that Google still had a foot in the door.
Things got even more complicated during Trump’s first term. In 2019, he pushed Google to cut ties with Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant, due to national security concerns over potential espionage. As a result, Google blocked Huawei from accessing its digital products, following Trump’s executive order banning foreign telecoms that were deemed national security threats.
This wasn’t just Trump making random decisions. The U.S. Department of Commerce followed through by adding Huawei to its “Entity List,” a move that effectively banned the company from dealing with American firms, including Google.
Tariffs and Trade Tensions—The Bigger Picture
Trump’s approach to trade with China, particularly regarding technology, has always been a mix of diplomacy and pressure. While he’s gone after Chinese companies like Huawei, he’s also worked out deals like the one with ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, which had been facing its own issues in the U.S.
In fact, Trump had given ByteDance 75 days to work out a deal to continue operating TikTok in America. Even after TikTok briefly disappeared one day before Trump’s inauguration due to a law signed by Biden, Trump didn’t give up on it. He proposed a joint ownership deal between the U.S. and China to keep TikTok alive in America.
Trump recently took to Truth Social, sharing his thoughts on TikTok with his followers. “GREAT INTEREST IN TIKTOK! Would be wonderful for China, and all concerned,” he wrote. It’s clear that while tariffs and regulations are his go-to moves, Trump isn’t always opposed to deals that benefit both sides, as long as it aligns with his vision.
Our Take
Looking at the bigger picture, it’s easy to see how these tariffs and tech-related tensions are putting a strain on the relationship between the U.S. and China. The back-and-forth between both countries is only growing, with companies like Google caught in the middle. While the tariffs might seem like a necessary measure to counter China’s trade practices, they also risk pushing China further away from the U.S., forcing American companies to make tough choices. This could have long-term consequences, not just for trade, but for technology development, market access, and global economic stability.
From a conservative standpoint, this kind of strategy could ultimately harm American businesses by limiting their market opportunities. While the Trump administration’s tough stance on China might win favor with some, it may also make it harder for U.S. companies to thrive in a globalized economy. The tariffs might protect domestic industries in the short term, but they also risk hurting the very businesses they aim to support.
Google’s relationship with China was already a complicated one. Now, with tariffs and investigations looming, it’s clear that these tensions are only going to get more intense. Whether or not the U.S. can maintain its edge in the global tech industry will depend on how well it can navigate this increasingly hostile environment.
Trump’s trade policies have made waves, but they also come with consequences. In the end, we might find that the costs of these trade wars outweigh the benefits, especially when it comes to future growth and innovation.
