Trump changed China tariffs 17 times
Trump raised or lowered tariffs on China 17 times, causing China to diversify exports away from the US — from 24% to roughly 10%.
Snapshot · The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway
The Basics of Financial Security + Can American Small Business Compete Again?
Explore episode
Aug 5, 2026
Where this was said
Question 2: Can American Small Business Compete Against Subsidized Foreign Competition?
At 12:37 · chapter starts 9:30
The second question comes from a small custom manufacturer who is being squeezed by foreign-subsidized competition and asks whether American small business can survive. Galloway responds with a comprehensive data picture: from 2005 to 2024, Chinese firms received 3 to 8 times more government support than their OECD counterparts [1] — Scott Galloway "Chinese firms got 3–8x more gov't support: From 2005 to 2024, Chinese firms received 3 to 8 times more government support than firms in OEC…" 09:35 , and among those that expanded globally, state subsidies drove nearly 60% of their market-share gains [2] — Scott Galloway "60% of Chinese market-share gains from subsidies: Among globally expanding Chinese firms, government subsidies accounted for nearly 60% of …" 09:48 . Research on over 2.5 million firms confirms that sectors targeted by China's 5-year plan grew in China while the same sectors in the US shrank in output, employment, and earnings. The US imports $3 trillion of manufactured goods annually, $1.4 trillion of which is dangerously concentrated among fewer than four supplier economies — a vulnerability made vivid when Shenzhen's COVID closure left 80% of Urban Outfitters' tops out of stock. Then Galloway introduces what he calls the biggest underreported business story: China is now engaging in AI dumping, with the majority of US AI token consumption already coming from open-weight Chinese models priced 70% below US alternatives [3] — Scott Galloway "Majority of US AI tokens from Chinese models: Galloway says the majority of AI tokens consumed in the US are currently from open-weight Chi…" 10:17 . His verdict on tariffs is blunt: Trump identified the right problem but executed it chaotically, changing China tariffs 17 times and pushing China to diversify its exports away from the US, while costing nearly 100,000 American manufacturing jobs.
Chinese firms got 3–8x more gov't support
From 2005 to 2024, Chinese firms received 3 to 8 times more government support than firms in OECD countries.
How Chinese Government Subsidies Captured Global Markets
Chinese firms received 3–8 times more government support than OECD peers between 2005 and 2024. Among those that expanded globally, state subsidies accounted for nearly 60% of their market-share gains — not competitiveness, just subsidized conquest.
60% of Chinese market-share gains from subsidies
Among globally expanding Chinese firms, government subsidies accounted for nearly 60% of their market-share gains between 2005 and 2023.
China's AI Dumping: The Biggest Business Story Nobody Is Discussing
China is now running the same playbook in AI that it ran in steel in the 1980s: flood the market with subsidized supply to consolidate market share. The majority of AI tokens consumed in the US are already from Chinese open-weight models priced 70% below US alternatives.
Majority of US AI tokens from Chinese models
Galloway says the majority of AI tokens consumed in the US are currently from open-weight Chinese models priced 70% below US equivalents — a form of AI dumping.
US imports $3T manufactured goods annually
The US imports $3 trillion of manufactured goods each year, with $1.4 trillion concentrated among fewer than 4 supplier economies.
100K manufacturing jobs lost since Trump tariffs
Since Trump proposed tariffs, the US has lost almost 100,000 manufacturing jobs and the industry hire rate is lower than at the pandemic's onset.
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