Trump’s Tariff Threats Are Paralyzing American Business
Print this Article | Send to Colleague
President Donald Trump wants to level the playing field for American companies in the global economy, but his combative stance has unsettled business plans from the Atlantic to the Pacific. From Washington cherry farms to Midwestern chemical plants to New England lobster-trap makers, the risk of global trade war is creating anxiety among executives whose firms rely on foreign markets for revenue or to keep costs down with imported products.
On Friday, Trump announced $50 billion in tariffs on imports from China. Those came on top of levies he’d put on imported steel and aluminum from the European Union and Canada, which provoked anger and frustration that erupted rancorously at a Group of Seven summit last weekend in Quebec.
China has vowed to raise import fees on everything from American soybeans to airplanes. The EU is targeting iconic products like Harley-Davidson motorcycles and Levi’s jeans.
As Trump disrupts the rules that have governed global trade for decades, the prospect of a standoff is rippling through U.S. regions, industries and economic sectors, touching every aspect of business.
To read more of this article, click here.
Article Source: Bloomberg
