Trump threatens more tariffs
Taxing oxygen from China – it could happen
Breathing might get more expensive if the U.S.-China trade dispute continues to escalate.
Playing baseball could get costlier, as well.
Staying dry would hit the pocketbook harder, too.
Oxygen, baseball gloves and raincoats are three of the thousands of Chinese goods that would be subject to new tariffs threatened by President Donald Trump as the clash intensifies.
The wide-ranging list of targeted products amounts to about $200 billion in goods sold to Americans every year, representing about 40 percent of total U.S. imports from China.
Trump is threatening 10 percent tariffs on this round of goods. The administration has already imposed 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese imports, prompting blow-for-blow retaliation from the Chinese government.
Tariffs are effectively a tax on imports. They often result in increased prices as businesses pass along extra costs to their customers, though sometimes companies choose to absorb the impact instead.
Trump accuses China of unfair trade practices, such as subsidizing certain industries and ripping off American intellectual property. China says Trump is flouting established world trade rules and that it must protect its own economy.
“The U.S. administration is calculating that because of the large U.S. bilateral merchandise trade deficit with Chi-
na,” totaling about $375 billion in 2017, “China will run out of U.S. products to impose retaliatory tariffs on long before the U.S. runs out,” IHS Markit Asia-Pacific chief economist Rajiv Biswas wrote Wednesday.
The proposed tariffs on $200 billion in additional Chinese goods cover an array of industries. Here’s a selection of everyday items that could be affected:
❚ Seafood, including trout, eels, salmon, tuna, swordfish, herrings, cod, catfish, crabmeat, squid, clams.
❚ Whey protein
❚ Eggs.
❚ Produce, including garlic, onions, cauliflower, cabbage, turnips, beets, radishes, peas, sweet corn, potatoes, squash, celery, cucumbers, bananas, pineapples, strawberries, peaches, cherries, grapes, oranges and raspberries. ❚ Cashews.
❚ Tobacco products, including cigars and cigarettes.
❚ Dog food and cat food.
❚ Plastic raincoats and ponchos.
❚ Baseball gloves and batting gloves.
❚ Various forms of leather.
❚ Many suitcases, luggage and handbags.
❚ CD cases.
❚ Artificial fire logs.
❚ Wooden shingles.
❚ Parchment paper.
❚ Human hair and animal hair.
❚ Yarn.
❚ Flooring, including linoleum.
❚ Silver spoons.
❚ Air-conditioning wall units.
❚ Sandblasters.
❚ Manure spreaders.
❚ Parking meters.
❚ Bicycle speedometers.