Most people have heard about how Trump has started a big trade war with China in the form of tariffs, but many of us don’t know what that means or what the impacts of it will be.

Basically, a trade war is when countries try to damage each other’s trade, typically by imposing tariffs or quota restrictions. Some pros of tariffs are that they can provide job protection within the US by making it harder for competitor’s goods to be imported. However, tariffs also have negative effects; they raise prices for consumers and decrease the number of options for products available.

For most of his presidency, Trump has been negotiating with China about trade and other issues. He placed the first tariffs on March 23, 2018, a 25% tariff on all steel imports and a 10% tariff on all aluminum imports. Then on April 2, 201,: China imposed tariffs ranging 15-25% on 128 products worth  $3 billion US. These goods included fruit, wine, seamless steel pipes, pork, and recycled aluminum.

From there, the number of tariffs has only escalated. The US now has imposed $250 billion in tariffs and Trump has threatened another $325 billion. Meanwhile, China has imposed $110 billion on things like soybeans, chemicals, coal, and medical equipment.

What does this mean for our economy and us as citizens? For starters, it will greatly affect the economy through inflation (raising of prices) and availability of products. Also, the prices of many goods will increase more and more as the trade war continues. You will likely see increases in some food products like mustard seeds, stuffed pasta, olives, strawberry jam, rice wine or sake, and soy sauce, a. As well as other goods like computers and some furniture.

This conflict will likely affect everyone in the US in some way, especially if it escalates more and more tariffs are put in place. Hopefully, the US and China can come to an agreement that will remove many of the tariffs so that prices won’t continue to rise and won’t damage our economy.