Bilateral tariffs in theory cannot work because imbalances only matter at the systemic level; they could only work in practice if every country imposed bilateral tariffs on China simultaneously, which is not happening and appears unlikely.
causalpending
Speaker
Michael PettisEvidence Quote
“bilateral tariffs in theory simply don't work...imbalances only matter at the systemic level...In practice, they could work...if every country...decided to impose bilateral tariffs on one country, say China...but clearly that doesn't seem to be happening”
Source
Michael Pettis: China’s Consumption Crisis Is The World’s Crisis— The Monetary Matters NetworkCreated: 8/11/2026, 7:43:21 AM
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