IN HIS trade war with China, President Donald Trump appears to have the upper hand. The new tariffs his administration unveiled this week, which will raise the share of Chinese imports subject to levies to at least 44%, are unlikely to dampen America’s sizzling economy, or to boost inflation by much. Though some firms will be disrupted, most Americans will not notice the damage (see article). China, however, is under pressure. Its growth seems to be slowing and its stockmarket is down almost a quarter from its peak in January. China’s government has announced retaliatory tariffs against American goods, but it is fast running out of imports to tax.

During conflict, an imbalance in strength should lead to a swift resolution. Here the side with the advantage may prolong the war. That is because America has several goals, some of them unachievable.

Unjust war

The official justification for the tariffs is rooted in anger about Chinese mercantilism—anger which is shared across the rich world. China gives vast and opaque subsidies to its state-owned firms. It requires exporters to hand over intellectual property as a condition of access to its market. The world’s consumers benefit from the artificially cheap imports that result. But trade of this sort is unsustainable, politically and economically. America is right to demand that China play fair.

That is not the limit of Mr Trump’s ambition, however. He also wants to eliminate America’s trade deficit with China, which he mistakenly sees as a transfer of wealth. He has broadcast his desire to force manufacturing supply chains back to America. And his administration has identified China as a strategic competitor. Some of the president’s advisers seem to relish the chance to do it economic harm.