BBC: US-China Trade War Could Hurt All

The United States launched tariffs on a range of products, and China, the European Union, Canada and Mexico quickly retaliated. The US targeted products associated with the Made in China 2025 initiative, and in turn China targeted US agriculture, the car sector, medical products and coal. “A list of Chinese products will be hit with a 25% tariff from Friday – effectively making them 25% more expensive for US consumers, reports Karishma Vaswani for the BBC News. “According to the Petersen Institute of International Economics more than 90% of the products on the US tariffs list are made up of intermediate inputs or capital equipment. That means stuff that you need as raw material to make other products – so it could have a knock-on effect on many other goods too.” Companies anticipate a period of uncertainty with reduced investment and expansion. Other economies part of the supply chain like South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan could experience disruptions, too. Shifting operations to other locations cannot be done quickly and few countries could match China’s scale. Countries may take other steps, too, like increased inspections and delayed shipments. Trade is expected to shrink with prices going up for all. – YaleGlobal