A look at the questions, and answers, about the latest tariff move.
President Donald Trump‘s announcement of tariffs on Chinese goods escalates tensions between the world’s two largest economies. The move has stoked business fears of a sustained trade war that could raise prices on American consumers, while heartening some lawmakers who have long called for a tougher stance against Beijing.
Here’s what you need to know about the president’s latest trade move:
What’s new about today?
Trump has made a number of tariff-related threats. He has previously put tariffs on washing machines, solar products, steel and aluminum — at imports from much of the world. Friday‘s actions are only aimed at China.
Which products are covered by the new tariffs?
A lot, but not a lot. The 25 percent tariffs will be placed on roughly $50 billion in imports from China. The tariffs will cover more than 1,000 types of items, but many of those are very similar manufacturing components. In general terms, they are products containing “industrially significant technologies,” like aerospace, robotics and automobiles.
For context, China exported about $505 billion in goods to the U. S. in 2017, so this hits about 10 percent of goods that come here from China.
How will U. S. consumers and businesses be affected?
Any U. S. business that buys products from China that are covered by the new tariffs will face a tax on those products. Those increased costs will show up somewhere, most likely through decreased profit margins for the companies or increased prices for their customers — perhaps both.
But the administration tried to target products that wouldn’t have as big of an impact on American consumers. Goods like televisions and birth control, which had initially been proposed for inclusion, were removed from the final tariff list.
