Both the EU and China started off targeting the US on political grounds because the US is the injured trade party. They have few other vectors of reciprocal tariff targeting because existing US tariffs are lower than nearly all other major economies and the US economy is more open than nearly all other economies. What are they going to target otherwise? The options are slim, maybe the US truck tariffs.

Funny enough, re China targeting US agriculture: the US has nearly the lowest agriculture tariffs. Only Australia is lower that I'm aware of among large economies. What's the legitimate grievance that China could possibly have about US agriculture? They obviously have none, it's all political retaliation.

> Both the EU and China started off targeting the US on political grounds

So US tariffs are justified, but retaliation is political? Is that what you're saying?

EDIT:

> What's the legitimate grievance that China could possibly have about US agriculture? They obviously have none, it's all political retaliation.

Here's a mental model for this. You hit them first, they hit you, now you're complaining that they hit you. "It's political!". The rest of the world is watching and thinking "well, you started it".

Warning shot across the bow? I wonder what's next?