President Trump’s Tariffs: The Ins and Outs - 09/18

TRADE President Trump’s Tariffs: The Ins and Outs

Tariff game on

After a summer-long preview of a Mayweather/Pacquiao-level brawl between the world's two biggest economies, President Trump has again ramped up the trade war with China. Here's what happened Last night, Trump announced a 10% tariff on $200 billion in Chinese goods set to take effect next Monday. The kicker? That rate will more than double to 25% on the first day of 2019. Time will tell if it's the New Year's hangover cure the U.S. economy is hoping for. The reasoning: Trump's camp is reportedly waiting until 1/1/19 to give American businesses a chance to find alternative supply chains before the year's up. Wondering how Beijing feels about all this? Not great. It's vowed before to retaliate against U.S. farmers and other industries. And if it does...Trump said he'll immediately go after more tariffs on $267 billion in Chinese imports. Trump's take "We have been very clear about the type of changes that need to be made, and we have given China every opportunity to treat us more fairly. But, so far, China has been unwilling to change its practices," the president said. What's being taxed? After a public comment period, about 300 products were removed from the tariff list the Trump administration initially targeted back in July, including smart watches, Bluetooth devices, bicycle helmets, high chairs, children's car seats, playpens, and some industrial chemicals, to name a few. No items were added. But, thousands of goods will be affected and it could raise prices for electronics, housewares, food, tools, and more. Is it too late to say sorry? Not sure yet. China had previously said it would turn down new trade negotiations if Trump went ahead with the tariffs. The bigger picture Remember: The U.S. already imposed 25% tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese goods earlier this summer (with China hitting back). The new round brings the total for Chinese imports subject to tariffs to roughly half the value of all goods China shipped to the U.S. last year.