The U.S. trade war with China is showing no signs of letting up. President Donald Trump is leaning into his threat to slap more tariffs to practically all Chinese imports not already hit with duties.
The United States is preparing tariffs on another $300 billion of imported Chinese goods. This comes after China announced it will increase tariffs up to 25% on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods. Amid the war on trade, the American consumer may be caught in the middle since 5,000 Chinese goods would be impacted.
In your kitchen, that includes peanuts, sugar, wheat, chicken, turkey, dairy and tilapia. Household items like towels, sheets, blankets, clocks, are also on the list. Even sporting goods like baseballs, and furniture, paint brushes, clothing, toiletries, and baby products are imported goods from China that made the list.
China is currently America's largest goods trading partner with $659.8 billion in total (two way) goods trade during 2018. Last year America exported a total of $120.3 billion worth of goods. The U.S. brought in almost four times the amount of exports. In 2018, the U.S. imported a total of $539.5 billion of Chinese goods.
"The big question is how quickly these tax hikes will make their way through the production line and to the retail outlets," said Southern Methodist University Business Economics Professor Mike Davis, who says the tariff increases will likely be passed down to the consumer. "It’s not going to be dramatic, it’s not going to be a doubling of price, but you will see about 15%, 20%, 25% more," he said.
"If you can figure out what size shoe your kids will need to go back to school in August, you should buy those shoes now. They are going to be more expensive in August," Davis said.
Experts say the price of electronics, such as cell phones and televisions, could also go up. According to the most recent report from the National Retail Federation, tariffs on furniture and travel goods from china would cost American consumers nearly $6 billion a year.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
President Trump is standing firm in his decision to implement tariffs. He believes this is the only way to ensure American businesses are protected. President Trump also says China does not respect America’s intellectual property rights.
The IP Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property reported the annual cost of IP theft is between $225 to $600 billion. IP theft includes counterfeit goods, pirated software and stolen trade secrets.
According to White House Economic Advisor Larry Kudlow, President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jingping are likely to meet at the June G20 summit in Japan — the same month those tariffs are set to go into effect.
