Massive China Tariffs

U.S. President Donald Trump and PRC President, CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping at G20 Buenos Aires Summit, before the working dinner in 2018.

The US is set to impose 104% tariffs on Chinese goods today, following through on President Donald Trump's trade threats. The escalation comes after China retaliated against the US with a 34% tariff on American products, which was a response to Trump's 34% tariff on all imported Chinese goods atop an existing 20% tariff. 

Last year, bilateral trade between China and the US reached $585B, with a $295B US deficit. Analysts warn prolonged tensions could disrupt global supply chains, inflate prices, and destabilize roughly 43% of global GDP represented by both economies. See business leaders' reactions here and a breakdown of US-China trade here.

The US will also begin collecting new country-specific tariffs (see chart) from 85 other trading partners today. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted roughly 70 countries have approached the US to begin trade talks after last week's tariff rollout, while Trump has signaled a potential trade deal with South Korea. 

US stock markets fell again yesterday (S&P 500 -1.6%, Dow -0.8%, Nasdaq -2.2%), with Apple losing its most valuable public company title to Microsoft. Apple is considering shifting its iPhone production to India to offset tariff costs. See how tariffs can raise iPhone prices here.