Illustration: Luo Xuan/GT

Tariffs are now becoming toys for US President Donald Trump. He always plays the "tariff card" when he feels bored, and he needs to because he is addicted to tariffs. Without tariffs, President Trump has no fun with himself and his team members.

President Trump has used tariffs like an ATM to draw money from other countries. This is ridiculous for the whole world. Whenever he finds a shortage of money to sustain his administration, he begins to threaten others with tariffs, and he acts like a robber who collects money from others' pockets.

Now we can see why Trump launched a "tariff war" with China. He is not really interested in eliminating a trade deficit and he is not sincerely helping US farmers or factories to improve their profits. He is not even trying to realize his dream of "America First," because he always shows "Trump First" instead.  

The desire for tariffs has become endless and no one in the world can fill his insatiable appetite. 

The US is now trying to use tariffs as an ATM to get additional benefits from China. But this will not work because all tariffs imposed on China will eventually be paid by end-users in the US, which is to say that the Trump administration has made a foolish decision to launch a tariff war against China and the rest of the world. The facts have showed that the US economy is being deeply and negatively affected. 

The manufacturing index shows that tariffs don't help rejuvenate manufacturing power and that President Trump has started a lone war against China. Over past years Trump has asked US companies to move out of China, and settle down in the US. Now what has happened? We have seen data that shows the GDP in the last quarter remains low, and it seems it will continue that way in the future. 

The only good thing that President Trump has done is maximize the value of China, by repeatedly blacklisting it as a "threat" to America. Under such lie, he has successfully made himself "a savior." By doing so, Trump won his first presidency, and now he is playing the same trick to cheat his voters for a second term as president. 

We can see that without China, Trump had no chance of being elected or re-elected as president. He should really thank China's presence in the world as his top imaginary enemy. Time will tell what the truth is. China has been and will forever be a sincere and real partner in the global community. 

The latest data has told us that the factory output has decreased sharply, which proves again that tariffs can never become a driving force to increase productivity and they cannot be converted into an ATM for the US to draw money from free of charge. Now it is high time for the US to reconsider its wrongful policy toward China.

There is an old Chinese saying that all people must act in accordance with the rules and laws, to enhance order to do business everywhere around the globe. And dialogues and cooperation will encourage the whole world to further progress and cooperate. 

Another Chinese saying is that it's never too late to correct your mistake. This is also advisable for the US administration to learn from and reverse its wrongful tariff actions.

The author is a senior research fellow of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China. bizopinion@globaltimes.com.cn
Newspaper headline: US should stop using tariffs at will, reconsider wrongful policy toward China