Good news -- Trump's next effort to start a recession will be delayed by at least a month.
Trump said he would impose additional tariffs on $300 billion in Chinese goods by the end of this month if China doesn't give in to his demands but, legally speaking, he won't be able to do that.
According to a timeline established by Trump's unhinged trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, the earliest he could impose those tariffs would be near the end of June.
From CNBC:
The USTR outlines a potential duty of up to 25% tariffs on China for goods with an annual trade value of roughly $300 billion. The committee will hold a public hearing on June 17 followed by another week for comments, meaning the earliest possible action for tariffs would be June 24. This gives the White House a window of time leading up to the G-20 Summit to decide.
The USTR unveiled a list of new items that would be subject to the potential round of tariffs. The products, published on the agency's website, include "essentially all products not currently covered" by the previous rounds of tariffs against China. It ranges from milk and animal products to steel and aluminum.
Trump is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G-20 summit which begins on June 28th. That is where Trump will presumably decide if he wants to impose the new tariffs, but that is obviously subject to change as Trump's whims will ultimately decide where and when he will do it.
If Trump does impose these tariffs, the trade war will become very real for millions of people who haven't directly felt its effects before. The new tariffs will cover a wide range of consumer products from smartphones to computers, shoes, t-shirts and other apparel.
I for one will try to buy some new clothes before the end of June because I am not optimistic about where this is going.