It's only been a week since Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announced that the Trump regime's trade war with China has been canceled, but it looks like the trade war is back on.
The White House made a surprise announcement this morning that they intend to impose the tariffs that were first announced earlier this year.
Beijing has already pledged to retaliate against the 25 percent tariffs, which the White House said will specifically target Chinese imports “containing industrially significant technology, including those related to the ‘Made in China 2025’ program.” The list of targeted goods will be announced by June 15 and imposed shortly after, the White House said.
Trump's tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods will target items like electronics, cars, and household appliances which aren't going hurt Chinese producers nearly as much as China's tariffs on American agriculture will hurt American producers. American pork producers have already lost $2.2 billion in profits on an annualized basis according to Politico citing research from Iowa State University.
And that's just one industry. American soybean and sorghum farmers looking to get back on China's good side after last week's brief reprieve should probably forget about it.
If Trump's tariffs are actually imposed in the coming weeks, China will retaliate (more than they already have) and things could escalate from there.
I feel the need to leave open the possibility that Trump's tariffs will be delayed or canceled again, or something, because this a rudderless ship with no clear direction or purpose.