Trade War Begins as US Issues Tariffs Against China

The looming threat of a trade war that has had global markets – especially those in China and the US – on their heels for the last couple weeks has officially begun. 

Trade tensions between the United States and China further escalated today as the US issued a fresh round of tariffs that officially went into effect at 12.01pm, setting off what state-run newspaper China Daily referred to as "the largest trade war in history." 

US President Donald Trump confirmed that the tariffs would apply to USD34 billion in Chinese goods, and added that further rounds could result in duties on products worth up to USD500 billion (roughly equal to the total amount of imports from China to the US in 2017, according to Reuters).

China immediately imposed retaliatory tariffs in response, with the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council announcing that its own duties also went into effect at 12.01pm. China’s tariffs match America’s, increasing prices on their products by 25 percent.

Earlier this morning, a US cargo ship carrying soybeans was reportedly racing to China to beat the retaliatory tariffs. If all goes according to plan, the ship will make it just in time to clear customs before the tariffs go into effect.

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