US President Donald Trump’s new tariffs will slam US consumers and heighten fears of recession.
In a sharp deterioration in the US-China trade war, Trump last week ramped up the punitive duties for the vast majority of US imports from China. A broad array of 160 other trade groups – including software and electronics manufacturers, as well as retailers, liquor producers and others – also warned Trump of higher prices and damaged consumer confidence and urged him to abandon the tariff strategy.
The Information Technology Industry Council agreed China needs to change its unfair trade practices, but said in a statement yesterday that “the current tool of tariffs has simply not worked, and we’re continuing to see the negative results”.The companies agreed with economists that recession risks are rising, warning on Wednesday that uncertainty caused by the confrontation with Beijing was rattling the wider economy – a sensitive subject as Trump seeks reelection next year.
US officials have delayed or cancelled tariffs on some popular items until December, including some shoes, preventing price hikes from hitting just before the holiday shopping period.