tariffs

There is a lot of concern over the possibility of a trade war between China and the U.S. In early April, President Trump announced that his administration was considering levying $100 billion of additional tariffs on Chinese exports, after the Chinese government responded to a previously proposed U.S. tariff hike on Chinese goods of $50 billion by announcing its own equivalent tariff hikes on U.S. exports. And the Chinese government has made clear it will again respond in kind if these new tariffs are actually imposed.
So, what’s it all about?

by NoahA quick examination of the list of businesses that will be the first to be damaged by Señor Trumpanzee's market roiling tweets and tariff insanity illustrates yet another sad case of people voting against their own best interests.

The latest round of sanctions the US Treasury has imposed on Russia are a strange affair.
Earlier rounds of sanctions have been linked to specific acts of real or alleged Russian misbehaviour e.g. the death of Sergey Magnitsky, the Crimean crisis, the war in the Donbass, the shooting down of MH17, and the alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US Presidential election.

On Tuesday (4/3/2018) the US published a list of Chinese imports, set to be hit with a $50 billion tariff increase. This is the latest in an escalating trade skirmish between the US and China, that could escalate into a war.

In early March, US President Donald Trump announced a package of section 232 tariffs on raw materials goods such as aluminum and steel in order to punish China for its “aggressive” trade policies, which allegedly compromise American national security. With the threat of these tariffs on the horizon, China prepared its own tit-for-tat tariff measures in response to Trump’s imposition, which went live once their American counterparts saw implementation, three weeks into the month.

Following the Trump administration’s introduction of its section 232 tariff package, largely tariffs on metals like steel and aluminum, China brought its own retaliatory tariff package to the table, mirroring the actions of the US.

(ZHE) As previewed one week ago, on Sunday China unveiled new retaliatory duties on US food imports including pork, nuts, wine and fruits of between 15% and 25% in response to Trump administration’s Section 232 tariffs (not to be confused with the $60BN in Section 301 tariffs unveiled subsequently) on steel and aluminum imports. In a statement posted on […]

Talk of a potential global trade war has had the headlines buzzing very loudly in recent weeks, and now it seems to be looming over the horizon. As President Trump announced in early March his intention to impose tariffs on imported aluminum products to help strengthen our national security baseline, based on the idea that such imports are actually a threat to American national security.

(RPI Op-ed) — President Trump’s planned 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports may provide a temporary boost for those industries, but the tariffs will do tremendous long-term damage to the American and global economies. Tariffs raise the price of, and reduce demand for, imported goods. Tariffs ensure the preferences of […]


Many Republicans seem more aggressively opposed to Trump's protectionist plans-- the steel and aluminum tariffs-- than quite a few Democrats. Thursday night, Chris Hayes had iron worker and progressive candidate Randy Bryce and DEMOS Action president Heather McGee on his MSNBC show to discuss the tariffs. Bryce's Republican opponent, Paul Ryan, has come out against the tariffs. Bryce agreed that protecting American industry and jobs have the potential to be good policy-- but not the way Trump is going about it.