China Hits the United States With New Tariffs, Dow Falls More than 600 Points

Email to a friend Permalink

Friday, August 23, 2019

GoLocalWorcester Business Team

This September, $75 billion worth of American items will see additional tariffs of 5 or 10 percent due to new tariffs announced by China on Friday.

Nearly 5,100 products, including coffee and seafood, will be affected.

It is the latest move in the ongoing trade war between the two economic powerhouses. Just days ago, China warned it would retaliate after President Donald Trump announced a 10 percent tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports.

Half of those planned tariffs have since been postponed until December.

Trump has already responded to China's new tariffs, saying American companies should stop working with the foreign nation. President Trump, via Twitter.

“We don’t need China and, frankly, would be far better off without them,” Trump tweeted midmorning Friday after Beijing said it would place added tariffs of 5% and 10% on $75 billion of U.S. imports, phased in from Sept. 1.

“Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing your companies HOME,” Trump tweeted.

Besides the tariffs, Trump has also continually been irked by the Federal Reserve's refusal to cut interest rates.

At one point, he even questioned whether its chairman, Jerome Powell, was a "bigger enemy" than Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump tweeted.

The result of the ongoing tread war saw the Dow close down more than 600 points