Trump's trade war with China is finally here – and it will not be pretty



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BEIJING – Some said that the day would never come, that it was all a bluff. But as the Independence Day fireworks cool down in Washington, the eve of the trade war has arrived in the Chinese capital, where government leaders continue to remind people: We have not started, but we will defend ourselves.

President Trump 's first tariffs are expected to reach 34 billion dollars of Chinese imports on Friday, and Beijing plans to react quickly by levying taxes on an equal amount of goods. Customs officials here could receive orders as early as midnight to strike new taxes on hundreds of US products, including pork, poultry, soy and corn.

And so would an unprecedented trade battle between the two largest economies in the world – a conflict Analysts fear to disrupt markets, cripple trade and undermine US-China ties at one time where the administration seeks to obtain Beijing's cooperation in North Korea.

As the international business community monitors the time, China is preparing to pin the fallout on Trump, framing the United States as a tyrant that the Asian nation is forced to face. A state media editorial this week described America's "dictatorial threat" as a global threat, while officials said China would "take absolutely no" broomsticks. "19659005" As long as the United States deploys its tariffs All the necessary measures to firmly protect our rights and legitimate interests, "said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang, to the attention of reporters

[Editorial: Trump’s trade war with China is over for now. China won.]

Midwestern farmers, extremely red, fear losing access to China's lucrative market and end up with the bill for surplus products and livestock.

Analysts say that what will happen next, that is no one will wait there. "It's a dark day for world trade tomorrow," predicts Joerg Wuttke, former president of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States. European Union in China

Uncertainty hovers over companies, supply chains and investment plans US companies in China are already reporting peaks in random inspections in the United States. ports. [19659008] An American manufacturer stated that the Chinese authorities used an average of 2% of the vehicles sent abroad. Since June, officers have looked closely at each product.

"Do not expect the" war "to be open on an imaginary tariff battlefield," said James Zimmerman, a partner in the Beijing office of the international law firm Perkins Coie LLP. "The real battle will be on the flanks" – in the form of unnecessary inspections, quarantines of products and increased regulatory control.

Supply chains will also suffer a blow, said Cliff Tan, Director of Global Markets. Bank in Hong Kong. The initial set of US tariffs could tip technology companies and drive up the price of Walmart products.

"It's like a war where everyone points the guns on themselves," Tan said.

The trade dispute between China and the United States has been preparing for years, but has intensified rapidly in 2018. On April 3 a list of targets for proposed tariffs on imports Chinese worth $ 50 billion, targeting high-tech and industrial products. On April 4, China fought back.

In the following months, the latest has been stepped up, with the United States threatening successive rounds of goods valued at hundreds of billions of dollars. China has promised to match US movements, using both quantitative and qualitative measures.

Kenneth Jarrett, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, said that the business world in the port city was suffering from anxiety

"I hope that from that point on early, people will feel that the cost is "Too far and we will not go to the second wave," he said.

Up to now, the US president has not been able to do so. showed no interest in a last minute truce.Although he called Chinese President Xi Jinping a "good friend", he expressed no apprehension about what could happen in both countries when the first tariffs will land.

"Trade wars are good" to win. "

Yang Liu contributed from Beijing.

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