U.S. businesses are preparing for another possible wave of tariffs while seeking product exclusions from existing tariffs on goods from China. Find out how the Trump administration is responding to these product exclusion requests, and keep track of the “tranches” or waves of tariffs announced or implemented by the administration using our graphic.
China is stockpiling its rare earths production. Does China think the United States is trying to contain China’s economic expansion? Threatening to withhold rare earths exports could be China’s way of digging into this trade war with the United States.
There are rough waters ahead for shippers dealing with the tariff uncertainties. The prospect of tariff hikes is incentivizing companies to lock in better shipping prices now. But many retailers are competing just to find space for their goods on an ocean carrier, and the shipment surge has resulted in massive congestion at ports and warehouses.
In September last year, the Trump Administration finalized a list of $200 billion in imported goods subject to tariffs. The list included rubberized textile fabrics, affecting water resistant clothing. Find out how apparel and footwear companies are weathering the storm of tariffs on imports from China.
There are some in the United States who are frustrated with the administration’s willingness to toss out the traditional trade policy playbook, but if trade talks over soybeans and intellectual property protections can be leveraged to address illicit trade in deadly fentanyl, we can all get on board with that.
Discussions are now underway as to whether EU antitrust policies need to be relaxed in order to allow greater latitude to meet the challenge posed by Chinese mega-firms.
China went from a net importer of critical intermediary goods such as glass, paper, steel, and auto parts, to becoming the leading producer and dominant global exporter of these products. How could this seismic shift occur in industries where China does not maintain a particular advantage in labor, technology, or natural resources? The answer in large part is subsidization of Chinese production in the form of state-directed capital flows.
The announcement that trade talks in Beijing between the United States and China had been extended by a day sparked an uptick in stocks and renewed optimism that a resolution to the trade war might be in the offing. A minimal face-saving agreement should be possible before the March deadline, but this would only delay the ultimate day of reckoning. Friction points between China’s state-directed economic system and the United States’ ostensibly free market, free trade system will reassert themselves sooner rather than later.
Chicken trade has been a sore spot in bilateral agricultural trade since 2004 when the United States and China banned each other’s poultry products after an outbreak of avian flu. If these long-simmering disputes are resolved in the context of ongoing U.S.-China trade talks, millions of Chinese could again see American chicken feet grace the dim sum buffet at Chinese New Year festivities.
Manufacturers of labor-intensive products like apparel have already been looking elsewhere in Asia as labor costs continue to rise in China. China has not substantially increased market access for foreign investors in many sectors, causing foreign investment to slow or flatline in recent years. With lingering doubts about the worsening investment climate in China, the trade war is hastening decision-making that had already been underway.