President Donald Trump should admit his error in starting a trade war with China. He is risking destabilizing the U.S. economy and possibly pushing it into recession by forcing U.S. consumers to pay more for Chinese manufactured goods.

The improvement of our standard of living over the last decade is mostly due to our ability to purchase cheap Chinese goods.

If inflation were to spike upward due to the increasing cost of consumer goods, borrowing cost increases would follow.

For tourism-reliant Hawaii, it would mean fewer tourists visiting the islands. For millennials, it would mean unaffordable mortgage rates. For consumers, it would mean an increased cost of living.

If China were to decide not to follow the U.S. lead of increasing tariffs, their consumers would reap the benefit of cheap U.S. grain. China might decide to reconsider its position of retaliatory tariffs and could end up winning the trade war.

Stuart Shimazu

Kapahulu

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