Why it matters: Confronting China's auto industry has always been part of the White House's plan, as Axios' Jonathan Swan reported last March. Per Swan, China currently exports very few cars to the U.S., but it's itching to sell dramatically more. Trump is perfectly positioned to negotiate the terms of China's market entry. He's got plenty of leverage with tariff levels and ownership restrictions.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly claimed that Trump had the rates swapped between China and the U.S. His tweet is correct. We regret the error.