Both sides have published the list of targeted commodities, and the tariffs will come into effect on August 23
The second and latest tranche of tariffs has raised the total value of products targeted by both sides to about $50 billion each. According to economists, the most likely impact of the simmering tension in the long term will be price escalation in the local market, which will hurt the finances of both consumers and enterprises.
While the unprecedented shift in trade policies of the world’s largest economies has left economists speculating about its long-term impact, Wall Street and the oil market are keeping their fingers crossed. Soon after reports on the new China tariffs arrived, all major oil indexes slipped and prices dropped about 1%, paring the early gains. Beijing’s tit-for-tat move shows there is no end in sight for the investors’ trade war woes.
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Experts believe that China will find it difficult to match the scale of trade sanctions being proposed by Trump, considering its comparatively lighter exposure to US industries, in terms of imports. That leaves Beijing exploring other ways to put pressure on its biggest trade partner, going forward. At one point Trump had threatened to levy additional tariffs on items worth $200 billion, or, almost all products imported from China.
Last month, the US government had slapped taxes on $34 billion of Chinese products, prompting the other side to react with sanctions on US products of so much value.