US and China Fail to Reach Agreement, Tariffs Rise to 25% on $200B of Chinese Imports
The White House is quick to the turn up the gas after a week of negotiations with China prove fruitless
At 12:01am last night, the White House officially raised the existing tariff against $200B worth of Chinese imports from 10% to 25% - a 250% increase. The tariff list- which was first issued with the 10% tariff in September 2018 - includes items from all sectors including frog legs, chemical compounds, engine parts, and baseball gloves. Only items leaving Chinese ports after 12:01am EST will be penalized with the tariff. Items already in transit before the cutoff time will only be penalized at the existing 10%.
China has promised to retaliate with a similar tariff soon and are expected to made good on that promise, though no policies have been released or implemented yet.
Disruption from the increase could lead to far greater economic repercussions than the tariffs previous iteration, and not only because the increase is steeper: US buyers had little to no notice that the spike would be coming so soon. The first mention came when Trump claimed China “broke the deal” at an election rally in Florida less than a week before the tariff was levied.
Even through the clock has already stuck midnight and the tariff has been levied, negotiators from both nations are expected to resume talks today in hopes of minimizing the damage done. According to Trump, Xi Jinping expressed his optimism on reaching a trade agreement in a letter received on Thursday.
Some speculate the time expected arrival of those first ships – Jun 1st – will serve as the second cutoff date for the continuing negotiations. And if no agreement is reached by then, Trumps says he isn’t afraid to tax the remaining $325B untaxed Chinese imports.
The first wave of tariffs most notably hit farmers, but many predict the latest tariff may hit closer to American consumer's pockets. One study shows a family of four should expect to spend $500 more on clothes annually. Others predict the hike in material costs will show on computer and furniture price tags.



