TARIFFS/TRADE WAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration can’t shield consumers from its trade war anymore. Until now, President Trump’s tariffs on a total of $250 billion in Chinese imports have largely hit intermediate and capital goods — items typically bought by businesses, not shoppers. That will change if Mr. Trump follows through with his threat to tax nearly every product China sends to the United States, or roughly $300 billion worth of goods. The United States trade representative on Monday [5-13-19] detailed a list of what would face a tax of as much as 25 percent, which includes nearly 4,000 product categories. Mr. Trump said on Monday he had not yet decided whether to impose the tariffs, but his administration has begun the formal process necessary for the United States to make good on his threat. Officials said that the new batch of tariffs ‘covers essentially all products not currently covered’ by Mr. Trump’s existing tariffs on Chinese imports, but that the list ‘excludes pharmaceuticals, certain pharmaceutical inputs, select medical goods, rare earth materials, and critical minerals.’”
–Jim Tankersley and Jeanna Smialek, “Toys, Phones and Sneakers: The Chinese Goods Trump Wants to Tax Next,” The New York Times online, May 13, 2019