My point on Trump, as so many others write on him I see little point in a long essay especially from an Aussie, is that his Tarrifs were highly inflationary and, in effect, a tax on the American consumer who had little choice where to buy from.

I am all for home grown industries and keeping jobs onshore- or at least having those jobs go to Mexico and stabilizing a neighbour(who can often compete with China on cost), rather than have so much come from China.

China needs Europe and the US for its exports, the rest of the world combined does not make up for either if it lost one. America does have alternatives-both at home and elsewhere-but these decisions require forward thinking and planning, not bluster.

Biden is not immune from some of the same criticism. Under the Inflation Reduction Act, credits can be applied for products and materials not sourced in China that can be used in renewable energy and EVs. Right now, Indonesia qualifies for its Nickel, produced at a price no one can compete with- forcing Nickel mine closures in Australia and the US. Those nickel mines have their Nickel processed in Indonesia by- wait for it- Chinese set up smelters.