The trade guns of April are in position. The US Trade Representative released the list of proposed tariffs under Section 301 and China responded with their list almost immediately. The tariffs will not come into effect for at least a couple of months, leaving plenty of time for negotiation, so there is a chance lobbying and concessions will water them down significantly. However, even if there is some sort of “settlement” over this specific trade spat the structural forces driving the two countries towards a much more difficult future will remain unchanged.