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Trump unleashes trade war with tariffs on China

Trump’s confrontational outlook applies to other trading partners as well as China, said Tai Hui, chief strategist for JP Morgan Asset Management, in a report.

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“This doesn’t only hurt OH farmers, it will hurt the entire OH economy”, said Allen Armstrong, OSA president and a Clark County soybean farmer. “From China canceling soybean orders, to cheese exports to Mexico plummeting, to farm equipment prices rising, the stories of financial loss are now rolling in from farms across America”, the statement said. “The math is simple”. This figure exceeds all of China’s annual goods exports to the U.S.

First, it’s retaliating with tit-for-tat tariffs on USA -made products, including soybeans, cars, pork, dairy and other goods disproportionately made in Trump Country. US hiring topped forecasts in June, while the unemployment rate rose from an 18-year low and wage gains unexpectedly slowed.

A model by Pictet Asset Management reckons a 10 per cent tariff on United States trade fully passed on to consumers could tip the global economy into stagflation and knock 2.5 per cent off corporate earnings globally.

John Heisdorffer, a soybean grower from Iowa and president of the American Soybean Association, said the group had appealed to the Trump administration to find other solutions to addressing trade issues with China.

At 12:01 a.m. on July 6 in Washington – noon in Beijing – the United States began imposing tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese goods.

General Motors now sells more cars in China than it does in the United States – and many other iconic American brands now derive a large proportion of revenue from the fast-growing Chinese market.

“China is engaged in industrial policies and theft of intellectual property that merits a response, but across the business community we feel that tariffs are not the answer”, John Murphy, senior vice president for worldwide policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, told CNBC.

Canada hit back by imposing tariffs on more than 100 USA products, from ketchup to toilet paper, insecticide and washing machines. Beijing had said it would retaliate with punitive measures on United States products worth a similar amount, including soybeans, pork and cotton, but it had not officially confirmed on Friday that they had taken effect.

China could either tie up these firms in red tape or encourage an effective boycott by Chinese consumers, experts said.

“This will impact growers coast to coast”, Grondine said.

Other major US industries – including pork producers, who rely heavily on Chinese demand – could potentially lose billions of dollars as a result of the second round of pork tariffs from China.

Non-frozen orange juice will also be hit with export tariffs.

Daimler, the carmaker behind Mercedes-Benz, already warned last month that its profits will fall this year. And it could force them to pass those higher costs on to their business customers and, eventually, to consumers.

Alas, the tariffs going into effect Friday will probably punish us and our allies more than they’ll hurt China.

Wall Street pros say no, but then, they never thought Trump would publicly attack Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or that the tariffs would actually be applied.

At one level, India should welcome China’s being called out for its predatory trade and investment policies. For example, the tariffs are expected to make soybeans more expensive. Imports of cars from Europe – particularly Germany – are the primary source of complaint for the U.S. president.

The president has said trade wars could be good for the economy – and “easy to win”.

US Customs and border protection officials were due to collect 25% duties on a range of products including motor vehicles, computer disk drives, parts of pumps, valves and printers and many other industrial components.

It forced USA firms to hand over their technology if they wanted to operate in China.

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Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the number of top soybean producing states that voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.

Trump's Trade War Officially Begins - Hit & Run : Reason.com