BUSINESS
Trump’s trillion-dollar trade war
July 4, 2018 - U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade wars with allies and trade partners could easily surge through the trillion-dollar mark and affect almost a third of America’s total trade with the world.
The U.S. is due to start imposing tariffs on Friday on $34bn of imports from China, and Beijing is set to target an equal amount. In June, angered by Beijing’s retaliation, Trump ordered a further $200bn worth of imports to be targeted by 10 per cent tariffs and threatened to go for another $200bn beyond that. To which Beijing has vowed tit-for-tat levies.
Adding Trump’s threats to hit the European Union’s $61.2bn trade with America in cars and car parts, and auto trade with NAFTA partners Mexico and Canada worth $246bn, his dispute will soar through a trillion dollars.
An Oxford Economics report concludes that Trump’s threat of tariffs on Europe's automotive sector could destroy 100,000 American jobs in 2019.