The U.S.-China Trade War: A Brief Recap

Yesterday President Trump announced an additional 10 percent tariff on $300 billion in Chinese goods, which will be put in place on September 1st. Over the past three months, the world’s two largest economies were pursuing trade talks to come to an agreement over the trade dispute.

The last round of tariffs was put in place at the beginning of June when China announced 25 percent tariffs on U.S. goods worth $60 billion. The move comes after President Trump placed 25 percent levies on $200 billion of Chinese goods late last week.

The back-and-forth started in January of last year when the U.S. rolled out safeguard tariffs on washing machines and solar cell imports, signaling China out in the official statement the U.S. released. Less than a month later, President Trump signed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum from all nations. While that was a move directed at all nations, China is the world’s largest steel exporter.

By mid-June, the tit-for-tat trade dispute developed further, with Trump announcing 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goods. China announced tariffs matching that amount that same day. Both countries rolled out the levies over the course of the summer. In late September, Trump instated a 10 percent tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods effective till the end of 2018, with the potential for it to rise to 25% at the end of the year. President Xi responded with 25 percent tariffs on goods worth $60 billion. While things looked hopeful after the G20 Summit, a deal has still not been reached.