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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Gene Marks

This pause in the trade war will be brief. Small businesses, plan accordingly

shipping containers marked with 'China Shipping'
Shipping containers at the port of Oakland in California, on 12 May. Photograph: Carlos Barría/Reuters

Donald Trump’s massive Chinese tariffs are on pause. The media debated. Wall Street rejoiced. Many of my clients breathed a sigh of relief. Big retailers jumped for joy. But for how long?

For starters, the tariffs that weren’t paused – a 10% levy on all Chinese goods, plus a bonus 20% tax that somehow relates to fentanyl, are still in place. When you take into consideration existing tariffs on steel from previous Trump and Biden administrations, the effective tariff rate on Chinese goods is actually closer to 40%, according to an analysis done by the Wall Street Journal.

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