Refer Report
Jacques Attali, a world-renowned scholar, claimed that in the US presidential election, China prefers former President Donald Trump, who predicted a bomb of tariffs. The explanation is that tariff barriers will reduce the country’s growth engine, not that of other countries, and thus make it more difficult for the United States to resolve its rapidly growing national debt.
Jacques Attali, a French economist and futurist, appeared as an interlocutor on the ‘global impact of the US presidential election’ at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, on the 30th (local time), emphasizing the seriousness of the US national debt and saying, “We must solve this problem. “The safest way is to grow,” he said. However, he said that imposing tariffs weakens both growth and growth capacity, and “this is why China prefers Trump.”
This is interpreted to mean that China may view former President Trump’s election as an opportunity. If Trump’s ‘universal tariff’ pledge is realized amid the fierce competition for hegemony between the US and China, the US’s growth will weaken and it will become difficult to respond to national debt. From China’s perspective, if the United States falls into a quagmire of rapid national debt and low growth, it could be an opportunity to further strengthen its economic status. “Anyone who knows economics will tell you that tariffs have a negative impact on growth,” Attali said. Former President Trump pledged to impose a “universal tariff” of 10 to 20 percent on all imported goods. A 60% tariff was announced on Chinese products.
He gave a pessimistic outlook for the U.S. economy, mentioning “bankruptcy.” Attali said, “American public debt is at its highest level since World War II,” and “America is bankrupt.” The United States reduced its national debt by 31% in the mid-1970s thanks to strong growth, but explained that the increased debt “cannot be digested no matter how much it grows.” The federal government’s debt-to-GDP ratio is 123%, or $35.28 trillion (about KRW 4.8667 trillion) as of the end of August this year. Last June, the U.S. Congressional Budget Office predicted that federal government debt would rapidly increase over the next 10 years due to increases in mandatory spending, exceeding $56 trillion (approximately 7,250 trillion won) in 2034.
There are many concerns about the increase in U.S. national debt. International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said at the Milkon Global Conference in May that the United States spent less than 7% of its federal revenues on debt-related interest costs in 2015, but that number has now risen to more than 17%. pointed out. He predicted that if this situation is not controlled, it could harm U.S. and global economic growth. “Whoever becomes president in the U.S. presidential election will face the bankruptcy of a country with the world’s strongest economy and strongest currency (the dollar),” Attali said.
Reporter Lee Jeong-yeon xingxing@hani.co.kr
Source: Korean