Imagine a scenario in which all American consumers, individuals and corporations alike, agreed not to buy any Chinese products for a year. Since this action was not ratified or mandated by the government in any way, the Chinese did not retaliate against our exports, so we are now running a large trade surplus with China.
What would be the result? Prices would soar. Goods for which there is no alternative supplier outside of China would be completely unavailable. Supply chains would be disrupted. There would be no new iPhones. The Fed would raise interest rates to keep prices under control. The dollar would go up, damaging our ability to export to the rest of the world. Real estate prices would decline. We would have a complete nightmare on our hands.
In Trump’s eyes, this scenario constitutes “winning at trade.”