The debate over North Korea has heightened as of late. President Trump’s threatening mannerisms toward the Communist regime is potentially problematic. The United States’ trade and safety may be put in jeopardy. By threatening sanctions on trade, the President is in turn endangering the U.S economy.

When North Korea claimed to have tested a hydrogen bomb several weeks ago, President Trump responded in absolute retaliation. Previously in his United Nations speech he menaced North Korea stating, “The U.S. has great strength and patience but if we are forced to defend ourselves or our allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea.” This blatant intimidation came as a surprise to the UN leaders as well as world citizens. President Trump furthered this by saying that he wanted to halt “all trade with any country doing business with North Korea.” In this, he is not only disrupting the current trade agreements the United States has with North Korea, his is agitating all trade, especially that of our most vital importer. It is thought that this remark is a reference to The People’s Republic of China, the country that accounts for nearly all North Korean imports. Not only is China North Korea’s main importer, China is also currently the United States’ largest trading partner. Exports and imports between the countries were about $650 billion last year. Along with that, China often trades important technological equipment, as well as other key items. A disruption to trade with China could result in grave consequences for our country.

President Trump threatening to sanction the United States’ most valuable trading country has many economic downfalls. The United States gets many economic advantages from trading with China, which is incentive to continue. This balance is important because countries benefit from trade when one has an advantage in a particular production area. In this case, the U.S relies on many key trade items from China. For this reason, it is imperative that we do not challenge or disrupt our commerce agreement. We specialize in certain items, but it would be difficult for the United States to keep up with the demand if we lost China as a manufacturer. In regards to the U.S. economy, it is crucial that we do not lose trade with China.