E-Paper
With new tariffs, Donald Trump brings trade war into US homes
The new tariffs will impact $300 billion worth of Chinese goods in two tranches, the first effective Sunday and the second from December 15.
New US tariffs on Chinese goods that go into effect Sunday will bring President Donald Trump’s trade war into American homes as items impacted include clothing, footwear, pencils and everyday groceries such as meats, dairy, tomatoes, lettuce, and pumpkins.
Goods impacted by previous rounds of tariffs were largely “intermediate” goods such as machinery parts and raw materials while the new 15% tariff cover a large range of common use consumer goods — the list runs into 124 pages — that according to some estimates are going to set back an average American family by $1,000-1.400 annually.
The new tariffs will impact $300 billion worth of Chinese goods in two tranches, the first effective Sunday and the second from December 15. In October, Chinese goods already taxed at 25% will go up to 30%.
Also at midnight, Chinese retaliatory tariffs between 5% and 10% go into effect on a portion of $75 billion worth of US goods.
“No, they are on,” Trump told reporters Friday when asked if was considering not imposing the new tariffs. But he added talks with China were on. “We’re having conversations with China. Meetings are scheduled. Calls are being made I guess the meeting in September continues to be on. It hasn’t been cancelled. And we’ll see what happens.”
President Trump is coming under increasing pressure from farmers, industries and businesses as the impact of the tariffs imposed by him, and retaliatory actions from China, are being felt, amidst talk of a recession and signs of a slowdown.
Echoing those concerns and citing global challenges, Tom Donahue, chief executive of the powerful US chamber of commerce, publicly called for the President to end the trade war in an Op-Ed in the Washington Post Thursday. “President Trump — and Chinese President Xi Jinping — should withdraw the additional tariffs scheduled to go into effect Sept 1 and Dec 15 and return to the negotiating table in good faith.”
