Will Trump ignite a trade war with China? Economist Oleg Pendzin provides insights.

The day after the inauguration, on January 21, President Donald Trump warned that tariffs on goods from China could be imposed in the coming week. "This time, his target was China, as Trump threatened to unleash a wave of higher import taxes on America's second-largest trading partner," writes CNN.

According to the publication, Trump stated that he is considering a 10% overall tariff on all Chinese goods starting February 1. Previously (on January 20), Trump threatened a 25% tariff for Mexico and Canada, but separately from China, noting that former President Joe Biden maintained the high tariffs that Trump implemented during his first administration.

Interestingly, before the elections, Donald Trump spoke of a 60% tariff on all goods from China, but now his position is somewhat softer.

Commenting on Trump's previous statements about a 60% tariff, economist and executive director of the Economic Discussion Club Oleg Penzin remarked: "Essentially, he is planning to start trade wars, regardless of any World Trade Organization restrictions. But no one is paying attention to that now. In reality, we are expecting serious trade wars with consequences for the global economy."

Regarding the quite high tariffs on Chinese goods, the expert expressed doubts that Trump would pursue raising tariffs to 60%, as mentioned before the elections. The reason is the simple dependency of the U.S. on a number of Chinese-produced goods.

"Regarding the tariff against China, in my opinion, Trump will not do this. I think this is a signal to initiate negotiations with China. If implemented, a huge array of Chinese goods would simply disappear from the American market, which would hit it very hard. One must understand the level of Chinese goods' presence in the American market. It is very high. Therefore, in my view, this situation is more of a proposal for negotiations," said Oleg Penzin.

Recall that earlier Donald Trump promised to impose large tariffs on Chinese exports, and foreign media reported that Trump is likely to increase tariffs on older generation chips, which Joe Biden raised to 50%.